Norway's «Maskorama» returns to NRK on Saturday with a reworked format, the broadcaster announced in a press release reported by Nettavisen. The gong is gone, and each episode will now end with one mask being unmasked. The masks will also compete in two groups rather than appearing all at once.
According to the press release, four masks perform in the first broadcast and the next four in the second, before the six remaining masks meet in the third show. NRK says the grouped rollout is meant to build suspense from the opening episode.
Pia Basberg, executive producer of «Maskorama», said the aim is to let viewers get to know the individual masks better. She said the audience will hear two songs from each mask and have more chances to pick up clues about who is behind it, according to the press release.
Why it matters
«Maskorama» is one of NRK's biggest entertainment brands, and the changes touch the two things that have shaped the show: when the audience learns a celebrity's identity and how the masked cast is introduced. Moving to a reveal in every episode compresses the guessing game into a weekly payoff, while the two-group structure spreads the introductions over the first two broadcasts.
The shift also changes the viewing rhythm. Under the old setup, viewers met the full lineup early and waited for eliminations. Now the first two episodes each present a smaller set of masks, and the third brings the survivors together. For NRK, that means the season's opening weeks carry more of the mystery rather than serving mainly as an introduction.
What the broadcaster is saying
NRK's press release confirms the removal of the gong and the introduction of a weekly unmasking. It also sets out the group split: four masks in the first broadcast, four in the second, and six in the third.
Basberg framed the grouped format as a way to stretch out curiosity and anticipation. In her comments to the press, she said the show wants the audience to become more familiar with each mask, with two performances per mask giving viewers more material to work from when hunting for clues.
The broadcaster has not said in the release how the remaining episodes will be structured after the third broadcast, or how the weekly unmasking will affect the total number of episodes.
Coverage across Norwegian outlets
The announcement drew immediate attention from Norwegian media. Dagbladet reported on the changes to the groups and the unmasking in every episode, VG covered the format changes, and TV 2 reported further details of the revamp. Bygdanytt.no noted that the production team had spent ten months on the season and quoted a promise of a «wow-show».
The breadth of the coverage reflects the show's place in NRK's schedule. «Maskorama» has become a fixture of the broadcaster's autumn programming, and format decisions for a new season tend to generate headlines across rival outlets as well as within NRK itself.
What to watch
The first broadcast on Saturday will show how the four-mask opening works in practice, including how much screen time each performer gets and how the clue trail is laid out for viewers. The second episode will complete the introductions, and the third will bring the six remaining masks together for the first time.
Whether the weekly unmasking keeps audiences engaged through the season, and whether the two-group approach delivers the suspense NRK is promising, will become clearer as the broadcasts unfold.
