ABC’s “American Idol” is set to return for season 20 in early 2022. The show is already filming auditions, but not too much is known about the upcoming season.
Following the singing competition series’s season 19 finale, which pulled in around 6.5 million viewers, “American Idol” will be undergoing some changes behind the scenes, according to Deadline. The show will be under the care of a new showrunner.
According to Deadline, Trish Kinane is retiring from “American Idol,” and Megan Michaels Wolflick, who has been an executive producer on the series, will be taking over.
Kinane has been in that role since before the show moved over to ABC, which means that this will be the first season on the network that is not under her care.
“I am happy to have been instrumental in the continued success of ‘America’s Got Talent’ and to have refreshed the ‘American Idol’ format, shepherding it through its last years on Fox to its new home,” Kinane told Deadline.
‘American Idol’ Season 20 Will Likely Have the Same Three Judges
“American Idol” season 20 will likely see the return of judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan. They’ll most likely be joined once again by long-time “American Idol” host Ryan Seacrest and in-house mentor Bobby Bones.
At the time of writing, no contracts have been confirmed, but the judges spoke to Hollywood Life and other outlets about the possibility following the season 19 finale.
“We love our jobs,” Perry told the press. “Like Lionel [Richie] said, it doesn’t feel like we are working because we love what we do. We find a lot of actual dreams come true. We have the power to give a lottery ticket to change somebody’s life. That feels really good. So I feel like… we will see. You’ll just have to tune in for season five!”
The Season Will Premiere in Early 2022
“American Idol” airs once a year, meaning that the show will premiere in early 2022. Like season 19, it’s possible that the show will premiere in mid-February and feature four weeks of audition episodes before moving onto Hollywood Week.
The show will air from February until Mid-May if the pattern holds. Auditions have already started for the upcoming season in the form of virtual auditions. The auditions in front of the “American Idol” judges will take place later this year.
In previous seasons of “American Idol,” any contestants who have previously been on the show and finished in the top 10 have not been able to return to try again.
In the upcoming season, that’s different.
“You are ineligible to participate in the Program if you competed in any previous season of ‘American Idol’ and placed first in the competition,” the new rules read.
That means that only winners are ineligible to return, as well as any former contestants who have record deals or are candidates for public office. It could be a controversial change, as fans were not happy with the season 19 “Comeback” twist where former contestants competed for a spot in the 2021 top 9. When runner-up Arthur Gunn won that comeback spot, some fans were even more upset.
Gunn ended up skipping out on his expected performance at the “American Idol” season 19 finale.
In an Instagram post following the Idol finale, Gunn thanked “American Idol” and explained he backed out for “moral” reasons.
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