‘American Idol’ Reboot: FOX Slams ABC’s Relaunch Of ‘Idol,’ Calls It Fraudulent

FOX had been the home of American Idol for 15 years. The network aired the show’s last season last year, but now, ABC is bringing it back on television. While fans are happy about it, FOX is feeling otherwise and called ABC’s reboot “fraudulent.”

Fox Television Group Chairman and CEO Dana Walden told reporters that the network “feels bad” about seeing the American Idol on another network. It’s been tied to FOX’s brand and knowing that it will have a new home is a tough one for the network.

Why FOX lost American Idol

Walden said the network planned to relaunch American Idol in 2020 and the talks about it began a few months after airing the show’s final season. They felt that it would be “fraudulent” to have a reboot too early after telling the audience about the show’s farewell season. She said that if they relaunch AI too soon, “fans would not appreciate being told one thing and then have the show brought back right away.”

FOX wanted to take a longer break before an American Idol reboot as it experienced declining ratings in the later seasons. They were also losing a huge amount of money because of it.

However, FremantleMedia, the producer of American Idol, was very eager to have the show come back on television. Apparently not liking FOX’s offer for a 2020 reboot, which it thought is an enough and respectful time to be off the air, FremantleMedia approached other networks. It saw fans enthusiasm and excitement FOX didn’t see.

According to TV By The Numbers by zap2it, FremantleMedia went in talks with NBC right after the initial conversations with FOX. Walden said that it made sense to approach the network because of Simon Cowell, who left American Idol in the last few seasons. Having him return as a judge could help bring the ratings up. NBC also has a deal with Jennifer Lopez, who joined the judging panel in Season 10 and was with the show until its farewell season.

“My memories are when we first started. It was a different time with Randy, Ryan and Paula. You can’t recreate that.”

Simon Cowell not interested in the reboot

As ABC prepares for the American Idol reboot, there are anticipations as to which judges would join the panel for the singing competition. The network approached music executive Simon Cowell, who was one of the original judges along with record producer Randy Jackson and pop singer Paula Abdul. Unfortunately for ABC, Cowell told Extra that he is not interested in joining its version of the Idol.

“My memories are when we first started. It was a different time with Randy, Ryan and Paula. You can’t recreate that,” he told Extra. He added that there’s a reason he left American Idol in 2010 and that he never regretted his decision.

Paula expressed her excitement over the American Idol reboot but is also not keen on coming back. While she had a great time being part of the show, Abdul thinks ABC should do a complete reboot, as reported by Us Weekly. Randy, meanwhile, previously told TMZ that he’s ready to come back as a judge of the singing competition if ever it is rebooted.

Meanwhile, it was just confirmed that Katy Perry will be joining as a judge on the American Idol reboot on ABC. ABC Entertainment President Channing Dungey confirmed Perry to be the first judge for the revival of the show during the network’s presentation to advertisers at Lincoln Center, as reported by LA Times.

“I am honored and thrilled to be the first judge bringing back the American Idol tradition of making dreams come true for incredible talents with authentic personalities and real stories,” the pop star said during the announcement of her new album and tour on Monday. Dungey added that ABC is aiming to make Idol bigger and better.

[Feaured Image by Kevin Winter/ImageDirect/FOX/Getty Images]