Nigel Lythgoe Is Returning to American Idol

By On 08/29/2012 · 68 Comments · In American Idol, Nigel Lythgoe

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Nigel Lythgoe is returning to American Idol as Executive Producer, reports E News.  Not surprised E broke the news, as Nigel’s show “Opening Act” airs on the cable channel.

After months of negotiations, Nigel Lythgoe will return as executive producer of American Idol next season, E! News exclusively confirms.

Due to the prolonged negotiation, a show source tells E! News that production is “way behind normal schedule,” and that the first thing on Nigel’s to-do list is to “lock in judges.”

Oh to be a fly on the wall during the negotiations. What could have been the hold up? And somehow, I think, FOX and Freemantle have probably locked in the judges on their own. E reports that an official announcement will be made soon.

With all the changes happening at Idol, they really need Nigel to stick around and make sure Idol is STILL IDOL when TPTB are done tinkering with it. I’m glad Nigel will be back.

As far as the judges’ announcements. I’m guessing official word will come down during premiere weed (September 12) just like it did when Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler were formerly introduced. Of course, we knew they would be judges weeks before that time.

VIA E News.

 

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  • standtotheright

    And there’s no rule that says one executive producer has to be in charge of either of those. In fact, that negotiations lasted this long gives me hope that the network insisted that someone else be in charge of those aspects of the show, and leave Lythgoe to keeping the trains running on time, which he is better at than some.

  • julesb2183

    I wouldn’t change the format (definitely keep the sudden death / wildcard show. I love that, and it works the best.) Just concentrate on getting the best singers and performers and judges that are articulate and will bring maturity to the panal.

  • julesb2183

    That was because of the Fox Network, who wanted them to extend to show to fill airtime because they cancelled one of their shows.

  • luvadamlambert

    I have mixed feelings like I don’t like Nigel but I need *something* originally idol

  • Larc

    Whatever other changes may get made, I hope Idol does away with the Judges’ Save… permanently!  Selection of wild cards should be the final say judges have about who stays and who goes.

  • elliegrll

    Why should Nigel care about what happens to them after they leave AI?  He’s a television producer, not a record executive.  I think that Nigel does do a lot for the contestants while they are on the show.  I’d bet that the AI contestants are treated better, and put in a better light than the contestants on any other show.  Things aren’t perfect, but American Idol comes the closest in terms of making the contestants the focus. 

    Nigel and company did mess up last year during the audition and Hollywood Week rounds.  Those shows made it seem like Nigel didn’t have any experience producing the show, but hopefully they learned their lesson, and things will be better during season twelve.

  • potatorocks

    I suppose you are right.   Maybe if they went back to the illusion that it mattered who won the public would believe it too.  They would then watch, vote, and support.  Nigel & Co. have revealed too much of the “inner idol”  and  the magic is gone.  Not just Nigel’s fault–judges have played a part in it as well.

  • blackberryharvest

    He didn’t really change much from season 9.

    Besides the new judges and the return to the 3 judge panel, there was also the addition of Vegas week, a SFYL round, the addition of Jimmy, and a revamped semi-finals round. I also feel like the contestants were different from what we have seen-Scotty with the traditional country voice, Naima with the Reggae style, James with his metal performances, and Haley/Casey and their jazzy interpretations. I’m not saying Nigel is perfect, he has some things I don’t like about him, but he did help save the show IMO. There was a big difference in the reception of Season 10 compared to Season 9.

  • blackberryharvest

     Is it confirmed it will be 2 hours next season? They only did it for Season 11, because they needed an extra half hour to fill due to a show getting canceled.

  • MalwareDie

     Nigel did not direct the audition rounds or the early Hollywood rounds. He only began directing starting at the Las Vegas rounds. The imbecile Warwick was in charge of the those earlier episodes.

  • Incipit

    The imbecile Warwick was in charge of the those earlier episodes.

    Yes, I recall finding that out ‘after the fact’ – and after I gave up trying to grind my way through those – they were bad. They were also guilty of the one sin in TV – they were boring – and it seemed Warwick’s idea of keeping the viewer’s interest was not a look at the singing – but how many green plastic barf bags could he show per episode.

    Hope they don’t lead with that Lamebrain ever again – once they lose the attention – it’s not easy to get back. IMO. Of Course.

  • http://twitter.com/doesmonaknow DoesMonaKnow

    Can someone please explain to me how Warwick wasn’t on the chopping block after Season 9? You would think that FOX would see him as an easy scapegoat for everything that went wrong post-S7. Maybe Nigel wanted him around? 

  • Blou38

    The judges saves and pimping don’t work.  The person saved can seem great to the judges, but their personality comes across as flat to the tv audience. The proof is in how they do after Idol. If they aren’t good enough to sell solo concerts something went wrong on the show, and they probably should have been voted off regardless of how the judges feel.  Not accepting the voting public is nothing more than sour grapes.  The recipe for Idol was great the first few years.  

  • http://twitter.com/tinawinabina Tinawina

    Eh. The save makes for great TV, it’s not going anywhere. The audience will pick the winner it wants in the end anyway so what does it really matter.

  • Jaejae1

    No Randy. Leave it with Mariah, Nikki, and Keith in the middle. I want a total refresh. Ryan is enough of a mainstay.

  • http://twitter.com/LindsayKempFan Not fit to print

    On Twitter they are saying that a contestant tweeted that they got a callback from Idol for September 14th. Judging by cities is going to start mid-month.

    ETA: apparently one person tweeted producer auditions; another tweeted judging auditions. Not necessarily from same cities. Wonder what that means?

  • http://twitter.com/KariannHart Kariann Hart

    With 2 hours to kill, maybe Idol should start having contestants sing full-length songs at about Top 6. That would be a plus for them and for voters who want to hear more than 90-second snippets.

    What an excellent idea!  I really want to see more focus on the contestants NOT the judges.

  • http://twitter.com/LindsayKempFan Not fit to print

    I have to disagree. Something happens at Round 8 – there is so  much rescue-voting for bottom-two likable weaklings at the expense of a front-runners that we often lose a really good one.

    It’s not the TV moment for me (the Casey Abraams moment was awful, imho.) It’s the fact that I would have tuned out of Season 9 altogether if Michael hadn’t been saved. I would have become a seriously intermittent watcher last year if Jessica hadn’t been saved.

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