One of the more draining aspects of Press Tour is that there seldom is any news – as in immediate information worth writing about. I’m sorry, but announcements of upcoming shows being developed are almost always meaningless since there are no guarantees such shows will see air time. So having two days in a row with real news is way cool. As in the big announcement that Simon Cowell will be stepping down from American Idol after this season to work on the American version of his British hit The X Factor.
And in other news, re the sudden pulling of game show Our Little Genius, which was supposed to premiere either this week or next, Reilly called the problem a “mis-communication” among some of the producers. He used the same vague language about the way information was being given to contestants. You can draw your own conclusions there, but it wasn’t just about integrity, I can tell you that. Fixing a game show is a federal crime, thanks to a series of scandals in the 1950s.
Fox
The Fox Executive session started off with no news, basically that the Fox execs have no idea if Conan O’Brien is going to jump ship and leave NBC after his show gets bumped back to 12:05 p.m. when Jay Leno (probably) takes the 11:35 p.m. time slot.
“We’re digesting it just as you are,” said Kevin Reilly, president of entertainment for Fox.
Hmm. Salivating is more like it. Reilly said that it was still too early for actual discussions, even though he and other Fox people have talked to O’Brien’s people in the normal course of the business they already do. Methinks Mr. O’Brien has a pretty good idea of what Fox would offer him, given the chance. I do not envy the negotiating team over at NBC.
American Idol
Ya think tomorrow night’s season premiere will pull in massive numbers? It airs at 8 p.m. and with t.he second night on Wednesday (1/13).
What with former judge Paula Abdul off to other endeavors after being dismissed last summer, not mention the addition of guest judges and Ellen DeGeneres, it was already looking like a banner year for the massively popular show. Now it’s Simon’s last season.
“I want to leave Idol bigger and better than before,” Cowell said. Way to do it, Simon.
The drill is that Simon will produce and star in The X Factor, which is apparently another singing talent show, but with a slightly different format than Idol, including being open to groups and a broader range of ages. That show will launch, presumably, in the fall of 2011. American Idol will continue in the mid-season, presumably, with Randy Jackson and other judges.
I haven’t written much, if anything about American Idol, largely because I just don’t watch it. It started before I got into the family TV thing, when I was refusing to watch any reality TV on principle. I’ve since seen the odd episode or two and have to say that it is generally family-friendly. Generally.
How much of the show’s popularity rests on Cowell’s often harsh (though accurate) assessments of the contestants and how much on the wish-fulfillment aspects remains to be seen.
What do you think? Is it doomed? Will it survive? Post a comment and let’s get the dialogue started.
Anne Louise Bannon
Your Family Viewer
