Why NBC Is Moving America's Got Talent To A New Night For The Semifinals When Season 19 Is Already Almost Over

Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum, Sofia Vergara, and Simon Cowell as America's Got Talent Season 19 judges
(Image credit: NBC)

The final round of quarterfinals are complete for America's Got Talent Season 19, leaving just the semifinals before the final fight is on for the $1 million grand prize. AGT usually airs episodes with live performances on Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. ET on NBC followed by results episodes on Wednesdays in the 2024 TV schedule. That's changing for the semifinals, which normally would seem like an odd move so close to the end of the season. There's a very good reason for NBC tweaking the schedule, though!

As host Terry Crews mentioned throughout the fourth round of quarterfinals episodes, AGT will air its next new episode on Wednesday, September 11 at 8 p.m. ET for the performances of all the semifinalists on NBC. The results episode will then air on Thursday, September 12 at 8 p.m. ET.

The reason is that NBC – as well as the other three major broadcast networks – will be airing the presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican nominee Donald Trump on Tuesday, September 10. NBC's "Debate Countdown: Harris Vs Trump" begins at 8 p.m. ET before the debate itself is scheduled for 9 p.m. So, there's just no time for AGT on its usual day and time, and NBC is switching back to Tuesday performances the next week for the Season 19 finale. After the results episode on September 4, the lineup for the semifinals has been set.

The twelve semifinalists who still have a shot at making the finals along with the golden buzzer winners are singer Alex Sampson, band Ashes & Arrows, dance group Brent Street, aerialist/dentist Kelsey Jane, comedian Learnmore Jonasi (the last remaining comic in the running after Erica Rhodes' elimination), teen singer Reid Wilson, Richard Gooddall (a.k.a. my personal favorite Season 19 singer ever since his first performance of "Don't Stop Believin'"), dog act Roni Sagi & Rhythm, drone group Sky Elements, quick change magician Solange Kardinaly, 9-year-old singer Pranysqa Mishra, and magician Young-Min.

Those who make it out of the semifinals will be up against the performers lucky enough to already have a finale slot secured by virtue of a golden buzzer. You can count on seeing dance group Hakuna Matata Acrobats, dance group AIRFOOTWORKS, singer Dee Dee Simon after her second shoes-off performance, and aerialists Sebastián and Sonia.

At this point, it's really anybody's game, and I'm not even going to make a confident prediction about a golden buzzer winner becoming the new champion. After the changes to the golden buzzer rules this season, all bets seem to be off. If you've missed any of Season 19 so far or just want to revisit some earlier episodes, you can find all of the current season to date streaming with a Peacock Premium subscription now.

Laura Hurley
Senior Content Producer

Laura turned a lifelong love of television into a valid reason to write and think about TV on a daily basis. She's not a doctor, lawyer, or detective, but watches a lot of them in primetime. CinemaBlend's resident expert and interviewer for One Chicago, the galaxy far, far away, and a variety of other primetime television. Will not time travel and can cite multiple TV shows to explain why. She does, however, want to believe that she can sneak references to The X-Files into daily conversation (and author bios).