The Masked Singer boss previews season 2: New characters, bigger secrets

Now that Fox's surreal-yet-captivating breakout hit The Masked Singer has been renewed for a season 2, we have a lot of questions.

On this week's EW's Best of Shows podcast, Darren Franich grills Masked Singer exec producer Craig Plestis about the singing competition, from the intense secrecy around the contestants (including recently-unmasked raven Ricki Lake), to those incredible (and sometimes terrifying) costumes, to how hard it was to get celebrities to sign up for the as-yet-untested reality show. Plestis also gave us a preview of what's to come in season 2.

"I can guarantee you, every season you'll see a whole new batch of characters," teases Plestis. "So it feels fresh and different. You also might see some of the older characters come back, but not in a competition way. You never want to say completely goodbye to the Hippo."

Given the incredible efforts the show made to keep the singers' identities from leaking — contestants wear shirts that say "Don't Talk to Me," and they in fact cannot speak to anyone while on set — Plestis is already stressing out about what new measures Masked Singer will have to take going forward, now that America is obsessed with the show. "It keeps me up at night, and I'm not kidding you," Plestis says. "We're going to have to do double duty in season 2 to keep [the singers] secret."

To hear more from Plestis, check out the full episode below. You can also listen and subscribe to EW's Best of Shows podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes are available every Monday morning. Tweet counterarguments to @KristenGBaldwin or @DarrenFranich. <iframe src="https://player.megaphone.fm/DGT6638502498?" width="100%" height="200" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" class="" allowfullscreen="" resize="0" replace_attributes="1" name=""></iframe>