After what was reportedly a long laborious process, producers for ABC’s American Idol reboot have apparently have their judges signed on the dotted line. All of them.
Full story below…
[UPDATED]
Per TMZ, Katy Perry will officially be joined by legend Lionel Richie and Country star Luke Bryan. Both names had been in the mix for a fair amount of time.
Lawyers are said to be crossing the t’s and dotting the i’s, but the deal is said to be essentially done and an announcement is as imminent as today.
It brings to an end a tiresome journey to find talent to join Perry. Not because there was no interest. But rather the sky-high pay-packet she commanded ate into the budget.
As widely reported, the Pop star is taking home $25 million for her services and host Ryan Seacrest was enticed back as host for somewhere in the region of $10-$15 million. That left little to work with within the original budget allocated.
Now, sources say that said budget has been binned and Bryan will pocket $13 million and Richie close to $10 million. A potential issue when it comes to the show being able to turn a profit (which in turn impacts its renewal prospects for subsequent seasons).
Still, we’re willing to give Idol a chance when it returns at the top of 2018. Are you?
UPDATE: It’s been confirmed!