FOX is packing American Idol off to the cancellation graveyard earlier than expected, Billboard reports:
Indeed, the busiest man in show business will be a little less busy come April 2016 when Idol sings its last note, anointing a winner four weeks earlier than in previous years, sources reveal to Billboard.
FremantleMedia North America president of entertainment programming Trish Kinane, who shares showrunning duties with Fox executive vp David Hill, won’t confirm season 15’s truncated schedule, but she does acknowledge, “The storytelling works better in [fewer] weeks.” The problem, surmises Kinane, is that during its heyday, “Idol was so successful [that the season] got too extended too much. There are only so many hours that viewers will devote to watching these shows, so if it is shorter this year, it will be a good thing.”
HT: Samuel R.
Michael P. says
It is generally assumed that American Idol died because “it had run its course.” In my opinion, it started going downhill after Simon Cowell left the show which left an unbalanced judges panel and no real chemistry. The show became more of a love fest after that. In addition, the producers decided to make the show more about the judges than about the performers and the judges were only too happy to accommodate. I was happy to hear the same assessment from former Top Ten contestants. I grew weary of the constant Jennifer Lopez adulation very quickly. The reason folks tuned in originally was because of the contestants. The same thing is happening with ABC’s Dancing With The Stars. Len Goodman left the judges box tbefore last season and the panel became unbalanced. To its credit, ABC is bringing Len back for the new season in February.