There was big news today in American television as it was revealed that ‘American Idol’, one of the first reality competition shows to grace the small screen, will return this fall on ABC. However, according to its long-term host Ryan Seacrest, he might not be a part of the revival.
The big announcement was made on Tuesday morning’s (May 9th) edition of ‘Live With Kelly and Ryan’, which of course led host Kelly Ripa to ask her colleague Seacrest whether he would be a part of the comeback.
“No, I don’t know about that part yet,” Seacrest told Ripa when she asked if he would return as the host of ‘American Idol’, after he fronted the original Fox series from its introduction in 2002 to when it folded in 2016. Of course, he has been the full-time host of ‘Live’ since May this year, so he said the workload of preparation ahead of episodes of ‘American Idol’ would place a strain on him.
Ryan Seacrest was the host of ‘American Idol’ from 2002 to 2016
“We haven’t gotten that far. This was news to me, actually, last week. I had said at the end of the series, ‘Goodbye for now,’ hoping somewhere it would come back.”
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“I don’t know if I can host it. Do you know the preparation I have to do for this show [‘Live’] every night?” he said when Ripa urged him to take the job on, saying she would lighten his workload for their daytime show if he said yes to it.
As an integral part of the proposed ABC revival, Seacrest is bound to receive a lucrative offer to reprise the role he held down for 14 years.
Striking a deal with producers FremantleMedia and Core Media Group to bring back ‘American Idol’, ABC reportedly had to fend off a last-minute bid by Fox to have the programme back, even though they cancelled it a little over a year ago themselves amid declining ratings and viewership figures. It is believed that ABC is looking at a Sunday night window for the revived show.
More: Ryan Seacrest dating former Miss Teen USA Hilary Cruz? [archive]
