As tends to happen every four years, America's Got Talent is currently on a mini break while NBC broadcasts the Olympics, but Season 19 finished the auditions round before starting break. AGT will return in the 2024 TV schedule for the first episode of quarterfinals on August 13, and will involve the second big golden buzzer twist of the season. While that's all well and good, I really just miss one element of the show from days gone by.
Another New Golden Buzzer Twist
The first golden buzzer twist of Season 19 involved the addition of another five opportunities to advance somebody straight through to the next round, with each judge and host Terry Crews getting to hit two. The newest twist was confirmed by Crews in the very last moments of the last episode of AGT prior to the Olympic break.
For the first time in the history of America's Got Talent, each judge will get the chance to hit one golden buzzer in the live shows and send their favorite straight to the finals. This could be a big deal for the contestants, since AGT champions often get a golden buzzer first. It wasn't made 100% clear in the end-of-episode reveal, but I'm guessing Terry Crews will also get a live show buzzer to hit along with Simon Cowell, Sofia Vergara, Heidi Klum, and Howie Mandel.
All in all, golden buzzers do add a little something special to episodes of AGT, and I feel like the judges started to go out of their usual boxes a bit in Season 19 with access to two of them. Somehow I doubt Sofia Vergara would have chosen comedy duo Schumacher if she only had the one golden buzzer! Still, I'm less excited about five more buzzers in the live quarterfinals and more bummed that AGT is skipping what used to be a normal step.
I Miss The Judges' Cuts
There used to be a whole other round of competition to a season of America's Got Talent with the judges cuts, which resulted in getting to see more performances from some favorites. The judges cuts round also made getting a golden buzzer for an audition more valuable, since the recipient could skip that round and rest easy in knowing that they'd make the live shows.
The judges cuts used to run for four episodes, with that total cut down to one in AGT's first season back under COVID-19 production guidelines, and Simon Cowell did have some regrets about the change in hindsight. I personally loved this particular round to raise the stakes and deliver some extra performances, and the show just hasn't felt the same to me ever since AGT cut it entirely.
Alas, judges cuts won't be part of the current Season 19 of AGT, and there's no saying if the round will ever return no matter how long the show runs. There should still be plenty to look forward to after the successful performers from the auditions make their live debuts.
The first round of America's Got Talent live quarterfinals premieres on Tuesday, August 13 on NBC at 8 p.m. ET. In addition to the judges' extra golden buzzer each, fans will be able to vote and advance two acts ahead to the semi-finals. If you've missed any of Season 19 so far, you can find it streaming with a Peacock Premium subscription.
