Executive Producer Per Blankens Exits American Idol

I was wondering if, after another lackluster season of American Idol, executive producer Per Blankens would end up leaving the show. And it turns out that after two hears at the helm, he won’t be sticking around for American Idol’s 15th and final season:

American Idol executive producer Per Blankens is leaving the Fox show after two years on the job, a representative for FremantleMedia, the show’s production partner, confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter.

A well-liked presence on set, Blankens arrived from Sweden, where he oversaw local productions of Idol, Master Chef and The Biggest Loser as programming head for Meter Television, one of Scandinavia’s leading production companies. He also worked at Friday TV, part of The Shine Group.

When he executive produced Swedish Idol back in 2012, the show had a 51 percent share of total viewers and was ranked No 1 among young viewers, in it’s time period with market shares of up to 60 percent. He just could not work that kind of magic here in the US as the ratings for the Idol finale were the lowest yet. Idol also hit a series low this week.

According to sources, reports THR, “news of Blankens’ exit started spreading among staff and crew on finale night.”

Executive Producer duties will continue to be handled by FOX executive David Hill. I wonder if Hill will bring somebody in to produce the show day to day?

Bring back Nigel Lythgoe! No seriously. If we’re doing the Nostalgia Tour for Idol’s last season, why not bring back Nigel? Interesting that he was invited to the finale and happily sat in the audience. Last season he tweeted that he could not even handle watching. Hm.

Via The Hollywood Reporter

About mj santilli 34829 Articles
Founder and editor of mjsbigblog.com, home of the awesomest fan community on the net. I love cheesy singing shows of all kinds, whether reality or scripted. I adore American Idol, but also love The Voice, Glee, X Factor and more!