American Idol is a singing competition reality television series. The series is created by Simon Fuller, and produced by Freemantle North America and Industrial Media’s 19 Entertainment. The series first debuted on Fox in June 2002. Fifteen seasons of American Idol aired on Fox from 2002 to 2016. The series was canceled by Fox in 2016. It was then picked up by ABC in 2017, with the network reviving the singing competition in the 2017-18 season. Since then, three seasons of American Idol have aired on ABC, with the eighteenth season recently concluding in May, 2020.
American Idol Season 18 – A brief overview
The eighteenth season of American Idol premiered on ABC on February 16, 2020. Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie returned as the judges; with Ryan Seacrest also returning as the show’s host and Bobby Bones returning as the in-house mentor.
The taping for the eighteenth season was suspended in March 2020 after the Top 21 were revealed, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the contestants were sent home. The shooting resumed in late April, with the on-air talent and the contestants filming from their homes. The segments were shot usually a day in advance, except for the judges’ reactions and the voting results, which aired live. The season was deemed historic by Billboard; with the lockdown protocols and the social distancing rules in place, the producers had “to get very, very creative this time around to keep season 18 afloat amid the most challenging conditions in show history”.
American Idol Season 19 – What we know so far
Season 18 had an average demo rating of 1.17 in the 18-49 category, with the average number of viewers across its 16 episode run at 6.88 million. The series was renewed for a nineteenth season in May, 2020, a few days before the finale of season 18 had aired. Trish Kinane, executive producer and showrunner of American Idol, had this to say about the renewal of the show-
“Katy, Lionel and Luke are fun, astute and really know how to spot talent. Their chemistry is undeniable, and we are delighted that they, along with host Ryan Seacrest, are returning to find the next superstar and take American Idol to new heights next season.”
As mentioned above, Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Ritchie will be returning as the judges on season 19 of American Idol. Ryan Seacrest will also be back as the host of the show. Remote virtual auditions for season 19 of American Idol have already begun across all 50 states. Season 19 of American Idol will likely be a part of the 2020-21 season of ABC.