Via the Hollywood Reporter:
“Idol” executive producer/showrunner Ken Warwick has inked a three-year deal with the show’s co-producer, FremantleMedia North America, to remain at the helm of television’s top series. The pact, said to be well into the eight-figure range, is believed the richest for a reality showrunner.
It comes on the heels of another three-year deal — a $45 million agreement inked recently by host Ryan Seacrest with “Idol” co-producer 19 Entertainment — that broke a money record for a reality host.
Ken Warwick–a man who is just full of great ideas for Idol, like the return of the Top 36, the 4th judge, and the Judges Save. Three years is about enough time for Ken to run Idol completely into the ground.
In a recent interview with the LA Times, ex-Idol producer, Nigel Lythgoe, said:
One more burning question for Lythgoe: Will he ever tap dance again on the show [So You Think You Can Dance], as he did last season, surrounded by a gaggle of cute kids?
“I don’t think so, ‘ he said. Lythgoe, who was an executive producer of ‘American Idol’ for its first seven seasons, continued: ‘I firmly believe that we should be in the background: The focus should be on the kids in the competition. Last year on ‘American Idol, ‘ the judges went into the spotlight a little bit. Thank goodness Adam Lambert and some of the other kids were talented enough to wrest the spotlight back onto them at the end of the season.”
I miss Nigel. There. I said it.
