ABC has announced that its revival of American Idol is renewed for a second season, the show’s 17th overall.
“We knew that American Idol on ABC would unleash an opportunity for singers from all walks of life to realize their dreams and that these incredible contestants would have America rooting for their success,” said Channing Dungey, ABC Entertainment president. “I am thrilled that Katy, Luke, Lionel and Ryan will be back to once again embark on this Idol journey with us to discover the next crop of inspiring talent.”
Included in the renewal are deals for all three judges, as well as host Ryan Seacrest, to return. The renewal itself isn’t a surprise given how much money Disney invested into the competition and how much time and real estate it was given by ABC. It helps that the show has done fairly solid business in the ratings, with Sundays averaging a 2.1 in L+3 demo and Mondays clocking in at 1.9. The series is no longer the Death Star that FOX was able to deploy every midseason, but it’s notched significant time period improvements and, if the winner hits, could supplement its success with ancillary income.
What American Idol hasn’t been able to do, though, is help ABC’s midseason. The two dramas directly after it (Deception and The Crossing) have been underwhelming, while the network’s midseason successes have more to do with Roseanne (Splitting Up Together) and Grey’s Anatomy (Station 19) than Idol. One of the reasons ABC went out and got Idol in the first place was its value as a promotional tool, so it should be interesting how the network’s 2018-2019 schedule is constructed given that it hasn’t had much power in that regard this season.
American Idol airs Sundays at 8:00 on ABC.
