An "American Idol" revival is being pondered by NBC after the Fox staple ended last year after 15 seasons.
NBC has been in talked with producer FremantleMedia about bringing back the reality singing competition that launched the careers of such stars as Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, and Jennifer Hudson, Variety said in an exclusive report.
In its 15 seasons, "American Idol" peaked in 2006 with an average 12.4 rating in the important 18-49 demographic and 36.4 million total viewers, according to Nielsen live-plus-same day numbers, Variety said.
The ratings tumbled in its final years, averaging 2.2 rating and 9.1 million viewers in its final season.
"When you've got a franchise that has this kind of heritage and you've got a franchise that generates X amount of millions of people, if it sustains, does that mean it's the end?" "American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest said in 2016 while promoting the show's final season. "I'm not so sure."
Josef Adalian, writer for the culture website Vulture, said "American Idol" could be the perfect vehicle to run opposite of the NBC current hit reality show "The Voice." Adalian reported that NBC had been thinking about dialing back "The Voice" from its current two editions per season to one because of ratings.
"Doing so, however, would require NBC to replace dozens of hours of programming in either the fall or spring — and that's where 'Idol' could be a useful addition to the Peacock roster," Adalian wrote for Vulture. "The network could simply sub 'Idol' for either the fall or, more likely, the spring edition of 'The Voice.'
"Or, if it wanted to hedge its bets, NBC could shift its reliable summer powerhouse 'America's Got Talent' into the regular season and replace it with a new take on 'Idol,' which would air between June and September," Adalian continued.
Entertainment Weekly writer James Hibberd said NBC and "American Idol" producers would have to overcome some hurdles before making such a return.
"'Idol' was axed for a reason," Hibberd wrote for Entertainment Weekly. "The series was expensive due to its ambitious format of nationwide auditions, live results shows, multiple episodes per week and a celebrity-filled judges panel (the 15th and final season had Harry Connick Jr., Keith Urban, and Jennifer Lopez).
"Any revival would probably look for ways to both freshen the format and cut costs," he continued.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.