It was officially announced on "Good Morning America" on Tuesday that "American Idol" is returning to television, and it will be aired on ABC during the 2017-2018 season. The long-running singing competition series is returning not long after it was canceled by the Fox network.
The popular singing television show was on the air for 15 seasons, and loyal fans were disappointed when it ended. Now there is good news for those viewers who watched it from its beginning on June 22, 2002 until it was canceled on April 7, 2016.
The show
"American Idol" was once the most watched show of its kind with more than 30 million viewers during each episode.
In its final season, the show was averaging only about 9.1 million viewers. The numbers had decreased so much in 15 seasons that Fox decided to cancel the show. Ironically, Fox wanted it back.
Variety reported that there were talks about the show coming to NBC. Then in early May 2017, it was revealed that ABC was in on the bidding. It is official that ABC is the network that won the right to air the series even though Fox put up a big fight to get it back. As of now, it is thought that the show will air on Sunday nights premiering in March 2018. No decisions have been made about the host and judges, but that has not stopped the public from speculating who they want in those capacities.
The host
Ryan Seacrest hosted "American Idol" the entire 15 seasons it was air. Seacrest started out hosting along with Brian Dunkleman, who quit after the first season. He hosted the show alone for the remaining 14 seasons and became the face of the popular show.
Seacrest became Kelly Ripa's co-host just a week ago. People, including Ripa, want him to host "American Idol" again.
Some say the show might move to New York from Los Angeles to accommodate Seacrest. Since "Live with Kelly and Ryan" and the revived "American Idol" will be on the same network, that might be an option.
The judges
While Seacrest was the only constant on "American Idol," there were many judges. The first three were Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell.
There were others during the 15-year-period. Some of the most notable ones were Jennifer Lopez, Steven Tyler, Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj, Harry Connick, Jr. and Keith Urban.
The winners
Some of the popular singers today got their start on "American Idol." They include Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Fantasia, Ruben Studdard, Jennifer Hudson, Clay Aiken, Adam Lambert and Jordin Sparks. It is interesting to know that Jennifer Hudson was not a winner on "Idol." In fact, she came in seventh place. Even though she did not win in 2004, she rose to fame and is now a very successful singer and actress and has won many awards and honors.
