One good turn deserves another, so they say, and American Idol had 15 turns at it on Fox, with some not quite as good as others. However that proverbial math works out, the reality competition may have ended last year, but its impact on America was apparently enough to already spur legitimate talks for an American Idol revival, but not on Fox. This time, NBC wants in on the vocal action.
As far as official news goes, there are only conversations happening for American Idol to reprise its role as an audience favorite on a different network. Producer Fremantle Media reportedly pitched NBC a take on bringing the show back, and network execs are taking a look at the already packed schedule to see where a new-ish American Idol could go.
"Wait, what?" you're probably saying. "NBC already has The Voice, so why would they do this?" Well, person who talks to their Internet browser, that's part of how this "problem" could get solved. According to Variety, one viable option for how American Idol could work its way onto NBC's primetime slate is by taking The Voice down to just one season a year, rather than its current twice-a-year production. That might not make fans of The Voice happy, but the show has been declining in ratings over the years, seemingly faster than the average, thanks to its dual cycles. Perhaps American Idol, which came to an end due to its own ratings dips, can somehow re-stoke the singing competition fires by teaming up with its former pseudo-rival.
It's not much of a surprise that American Idol producers are trying to get the show going again, as that's the nature of the TV industry, and it's actually something that's come up before. Creator Simon Fuller was talking about it (with some changes) just before the finale aired, and Ryan Seacrest was confident about its return almost immediately after its cancellation was announced. Fremantle has apparently been shopping the show around to several studios, and NBC is where the most attention was given, which perhaps isn't shocking given the recent news of Will & Grace's return for a new season.
Possibly the most important thing to fans at this point is knowing whether or not the show would keep its same judge lineup (not likely) and host (super-likely), and what new faces might show up. Or what other old faces might also return. These are things that make you go hmm, which is a song that will hopefully never be used on any future version of American Idol.
There's no telling at this point how long it will take NBC to make a decision, but we'll be listening for those lovely harmonies. In the meantime, head to our midseason premiere schedule to see what definitely will be coming to the small screen in the future.
