It’s official. American Idol has been renewed for season 21, the long running show’s 6th on ABC. It’s not a surprise. After all, host Ryan Seacrest announced the kickoff of season 21 auditions last week. Hopefuls can sign up right now to virtually audition for the new season.
In a press release. ABC spinned the ratings success of American Idol, calling it its number one show this season in total viewers, and that it’s up 15% over last season among adult 18-49 after 35 days of multiplatform viewing. The live coast to coast shows, in particular, have been winning Sunday nights for ABC. And with The Voice out of the picture this spring, American Idol has had a solid showing on Monday nights as well. It regularly beat NBC’s American Song Contest and FOX’s The Masked Singer in both the key 18-49 demo and overall viewers.
According to Deadline, rumors swirled that American Idol would follow fellow ABC unscripted series Dancing with the Stars to the streamer Disney+. But Idol has helped Disney own Sunday night ratings in the midseason. It would have made little sense to disrupt that success.
It’s not clear yet if Ryan Seacrest, Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan are returning for another season
It’s not clear yet whether the judges panel consisting of Lionel Richie, Katy Perry, and Luke Bryan will return. Host Ryan Seacrest hasn’t announced a return either. However, cast announcements don’t typically come until later in the summer. Those contract negotiations take some time!
The three-hour American Idol season 20 finale airs on ABC Sunday May 22 coast to coast at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT.
ABC renews The Bachelor, Funniest Home Videos and more
ABC has also renewed unscripted series The Bachelor, Funniest Home Videos, Shark Tank and Celebrity Wheel of Fortune. The network previously announced that Dancing with the Stars will return for season 31 and 32, but will air live on the streamer Disney+ in the fall instead of broadcast ABC. The move opens up the night for the network to air Monday Night Football for four weeks.
