NBC is talking to FremantleMedia about reviving American Idol, Variety reported Thursday.
FremantleMedia has pitched the network a new version of the singing competition series, according to Variety, and is now considering how it might tie the show into its programming slate. One option: cutting NBC’s The Voice down to just one cycle per year instead of two.
NBC is in the lead as the potential candidate to become the new home of Idol, with Fremantle shopping an Idol revival in recent weeks. No deal is in place yet.
Idol launched on Fox 2002 and ran for 15 seasons. Starting in 2003-4, Idol reigned as TV’s top-rated series for eight consecutive seasons.
In its later years, Idol featured high-profile celebrity judges sitting on its panel, including Mariah Carey, Keith Urban, Steven Tyler, Ellen DeGeneres, Harry Connick Jr., and Jennifer Lopez, but ratings continued to decline over the series’ final seasons.
Even prior to the show’s last season, creator Simon Fuller was not mum about his desire to find Idol a new home. Shortly after the went off the air, Fuller was talking about re-envisioning the series.
“There are loads of ideas being shared, and I’m deep in thought about how we can evolve Idol,” he told THR. “We debuted at the very beginning of the digital world. So the next generation of Idol will be a lot more interactive, a lot more immersive.”
NBC currently has talent competitions running all year-long, with The Voice debuting new cycles in fall and mid-season, and America’s Got Talent in the summer, produced by original Idol judge Simon Cowell.
According to Variety, in July, NBC also gave a series order to World of Dance, a dance competition show from ex-Idol judge Jennifer Lopez, no premiere date has been set.
[Image courtesy of THR].
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