Fox network ‘feels bad’ about Idol reboot
Fox executives have some complicated feelings about American Idol, specifically the recently announced rebooted version of American Idol, which will air on ABC next season.
After 15 seasons on Fox, the longrunning singing competition wrapped up last May. On a conference call Monday, Fox Television Group chief executive Dana Walden said it “feels bad” knowing that the series is being revived on another network.
Although Fox executives talked with FremantleMedia about bringing the show back, she said ultimately they felt it didn’t make sense to revive a show after they spent $25 million (U.S.) promoting the “farewell season.”
“It felt . . . it would be extremely fraudulent to bring the show back quickly, that our fans would not appreciate being told one thing and then have the show brought back right away,” she said.
Walden said that after the show’s ratings dropped 70 per cent over four seasons, they met with Fremantle producers to make some trims or test out a new panel of judges. However, Walden said, Fremantle didn’t want to start the arduous process of trying to find new judges and decided they would rather “rest” the show rather than make significant changes.
But after the series finale aired, she said, Fremantle was “determined to get this show back on the air as quickly as possible
Meanwhile, Fox hopes to make an impact this fall with several new shows, including its first Marvel series, The Gifted, about a suburban couple who discover their children have mutant superpowers; sci-fi drama The Orville, starring Seth MacFarlane ( Family Guy) as a commanding officer on a space ship; and comedy Ghosted, features Craig Robinson ( The Office) and Adam Scott ( Parks and Recreation) as a detective and a genius, respectively, who have to save the world from aliens.