Viewers have only just waved goodbye to ‘American Idol,’ but it appears they’ll be saying hello (again) very soon.
Full story below…
News hit the wire early this year that the production company behind the talent show were shopping a reboot.
And, as is customary in showbiz, things are moving at lightening speed.
Per TMZ, both NBC and FOX are in a fierce bidding war to air the new incarnation of ‘Idol.
Given that it just wrapped last year, what’s the incentive?
According to the report, Idol would solve a pressing issue for NBC and their own singing competition ‘The Voice.’
Currently airing two cycles a year, there’s the internal feeling that they are over-saturating the market. What’s more, key judge Adam Levine – who has appeared on every single season since 2011 – is said to want to only do one per year moving forward.
Perhaps most interesting, though, is FOX’s rationale.
Having aired the original Idol for 15 seasons, insiders say the only reason they allowed it to bow out was because of the increasingly colossal cost attached to the judging panel (i.e the likes of Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj, and J.Lo).
Word now is that any such revival wouldn’t feature previous panelists. Put simply, an altogether less expensive cast would be assembled.
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For us, we’d much prefer all this effort went into conceiving a new format for a new show.
But the reality is that even if Idol returns with a smaller audience, it’s a sizeable franchise that has produced stars still active and relevant today. All of which points to it being a safer bet for execs.
That said, would you be here for the return of ‘American Idol’?