FOX to Reformat, Shrink 'American Idol'

[OakGoblinFly]

According to EW, American Idol will undergo some changes next season ..... sadly none of those changes involve new judges.

 

http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/05/12/fox-to-reformat-shrink-american-idol/

[Joystickenvy]

Kind of surprised about J Lo if she comes back. Didn't think they'd want to pay her salary for another year, plus I think she had a new show in development she was supposed to star in.

Fewer hours should mean less filler, which is good. It will be interesting to see how they handle eliminations. So far, cutting out the results show has been an awkward transition for DWTS & SyTYCD.

At least it sounds like they are being realistic.

Edited May 12, 2014 by Joystickenvy

[BogoGog24]

I wouldn't expect them to change the judging panel yet again. It looks very bad when they change it every season. They already had to change it once from last year. Changing it again would not be good. They should at least keep a judging panel for 2 seasons before changing it. Even though I think JLo should be gone and Harry should be made a mentor. I'd like to see Kelly Clarkson and Adam Lambert fill JLo and Harry's chairs, keep Keith. Get rid of Randy and make Harry the mentor.

[OakGoblinFly]

I wouldn't expect them to change the judging panel yet again. It looks very bad when they change it every season. They already had to change it once from last year. Changing it again would not be good. They should at least keep a judging panel for 2 seasons before changing it. Even though I think JLo should be gone and Harry should be made a mentor. I'd like to see Kelly Clarkson and Adam Lambert fill JLo and Harry's chairs, keep Keith. Get rid of Randy and make Harry the mentor.

 

 

Personally I don't think Clarkson would make good judges ...... mentors possibly, not judges. 

[Hanahope]

If there isn't a results show, how do you know who got voted off?  Just tune in the following week to see who isn't performing?

[BogoGog24]

Yeah I think the 30 minute results shows are just fine. Maybe cut the performance nights to an hour or 90 minutes.

[Joystickenvy]

If there isn't a results show, how do you know who got voted off?  Just tune in the following week to see who isn't performing?

I assume they will follow the same pattern as DWTS & SYTYCD, which both lost their results shows when ratings declined. The results are announced at some point during the following week's performance show.

Currently, both those shows let everyone perform and then they announce who got eliminated in the last few minutes, though SYTYCD initially tried doing eliminations at the beginning.

I don't see Fox wanting to dedicate two nights a week to a show with sub 2 ratings and the announcement seems to indicate they don't plan to after auditions. I suppose if some half hour comedy gets pulled mid-season they might use it as schedule spackle, but otherwise I expect it to be just one night a week.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

The jidges will be made to accept a significant haircut - most especially the $15 million girl..  Unless there is a specific concert schedule that conflicts with the minimal AI commitment, I'd be shocked if any of them decided they can do without the millions they will still get.  There will be other significant cost reductions.  Happily for 19E, they already invested in the new space-age set, so they won't have to put out much in that area. 

 

The eliminations will have to be based off the previous week's voting.  

Edited May 13, 2014 by Lonesome Rhodes

[BogoGog24]

I wouldn't like it if they announced elimination results the following week, especially not after everyone had performed. What if the person who was eliminated did better that week but they were voted off? That wouldn't exactly be fair. They could do the show literally in 10 minutes if they cut out the stupid dinner conversations, Ford commercials, and Randy recaps. 

[Joystickenvy]

They could but they won't. I didn't like it when they cut the SYTYCD results show, more because the group performance was actually a highlight for me on that show, but I got used to it and it beat losing the show entirely.

They preserved the group routine by moving it to performance night. Getting eliminated after having a good performance happens, but under the normal format, they'd have already been eliminated and not performed at all, so I wouldn't say it's any less fair and they get one additional performance for their fans.

It beats practicing the number all week and not getting to perform like when they eliminated them before performances.

[TheGreenKnight]

It makes sense. Plus, if they reveal the results at the beginning, the judges can decide to save the contestant based on their performance that night.

 

Either way, the show's just going to be as bad or worse next year with these judges. I'd rather they had kept Mariah and Nicki; at least the contestants they put through were talented, barring a few of the guys (which I personally don't think so much reflected their judgment as the fact that the show didn't want a male contestant to stand a chance of ruining their female win after it had been nearly half the series since the last one).

[eatingpaste]

I'd also hate to lose the results shows, and I think if they were gone it might reduce my overall interest in watching Idol next year. The half-hour shows are perfect, and don't have to feel bloated, especially if they moved group performances to results night. I'd rather see 60-90 minute performance shows with a 30-minute results show the following night than one two-hour block each week.

[BogoGog24]

Plus, like it or not, the results shows provide a platform for singers to promote their latest material, whether it's a non-Idol person or an Idol alum. The results shows especially should be used to bring back Idol alum who have something new to promote. If the results shows were gone, they wouldn't have that opportunity.

[JMarie99]

I don't watch SYTYCD but what they do with only one show a week does seem plausible.  Still, I would much rather keep the results show, which, especially when they feature a decent guest performer, seems to be a quick and painless 30 minutes, and cut down that overly-long crap-filled two-hour performance show.  Thank God for DVR or I would never be able to make it through that snoozefest every week.  They could cut it down to an hour and still have plenty of time for performances, especially toward the end of the season when there are just a few contestants left.  We really don't need to see each of them do three performances in one night .  (Wasn't it Keith who thought last week that each of them was doing four performances?  Yikes.  No, Keith, it only feels that way.)  In any event, if they cut out a lot of the crap and nonsense, they could easily do a one-hour performance show and a half-hour results show.  I don't know how that would work out with the economics of television, as opposed to cutting the results show entirely, but it makes sense to me.

[BogoGog24]

I think this week for Top 3 they should have cut the performance show down to an hour, with each contestant only perform 2 songs instead of 3. All of them seemed ill and of course by now their voices are probably so tired from all the rehearsals, hometown visit, traveling, etc. We've seen the wear and tear it's done to them and this is the most important week besides the finale. They should give them a break.

[Joystickenvy]

What they cut will be partially dependant on what else they are adding to the schedule and what new shows survive the first half. In order to cut things into half hour chunks they have to have a half hour show that doesn't need a strong lead in to put in that slot. I'd like to see the performance shows cut down to an hour later in the season. There was far too much filler this year in the later rounds. If Fox was doing better with other shows, I'd say losing the results show would be a foregone conclusion, but if they continue to struggled to launch new shows it might be a matter of nothing better to show.

If they keep the results show, I hope it's a half hour the whole season.