The hit singing competition show American Idol wrapped up a 15 season run on FOX, but NBC may be in discussions to bring the franchise back to life.
According to a report from Variety, NBC has pitched the idea of a resurrection of the hit singing competition to producer FremantleMedia. This is hardly the first time the idea of bringing American Idol back has popped up, and it likely will not be the last if NBC cannot land a deal to bring the show to its airwaves.
“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?” former American Idol host Ryan Seacrest said previously. “I’m not so sure.”
FOX aired 15 seasons of American Idol from 2002 through last April before ending the franchise. The show had a significant impact on television as we know it by inspiring similar reality competition shows on competing networks, like The Sing-Off, Dancing With the Stars, So You Think You Can Dance, and The Voice.
That last show is important to this discussion because it airs on NBC and is essentially the same gimmick. The show has suffered a bit in the ratings and would likely be scaled back in order to make room for its spiritual predecessor. Variety reports The Voice could be trimmed from two cycles down to one, which would allow for American Idol to, in theory, be inserted into the programming lineup.
So, how many singing competitions is enough? NBC may be hoping there is room for one more.
[Variety]
