When American Idol announced the return of judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, Luke Bryan and host Ryan Seacrest to the show for season 19 on Tuesday (Aug 19), there was NO mention in the press release of Bobby Bones.
Bobby served as mentor to the contestants full time last season, from the first audition right through the finale. Why did ABC leave him off of the announcement? Did the network fire him? Did Bobby bow out? Right after the announcement, the country radio personality, and Dancing with the Stars winner, tweeted a shrugging emoji with no comment.
Now, late Monday night, Bobby finally addressed fans’ questions! Will Idol watchers see Bobby mentoring contestants when American Idol hits the airwaves in 2021? Maybe, he says. Unfortunately, the delay of another TV series commitment due to the COVID-19 pandemic could interfere with the American Idol schedule.
“Still working on it,” Bobby wrote on Twitter. “It’ll be tough though. Problem is that I’m shooting my own show on Nat Geo Channel. and it was supposed to be done by Idol time. But COVID delayed it 2 months.”
still working on it. Itll be tough though. Problem is that Im shooting my own show on Nat Geo Channel. and it was supposed to be done by Idol time. But COVID delayed it 2 months. https://t.co/3MGxYx2ATp
— Bobby Bones (@mrBobbyBones) August 20, 2020
The National Geographic show, Breaking Bobby Bones, is a 16 part series that will feature the personality traveling to far-flung destinations across the country to find people with unique skills, hobbies and abilities. Upon arrival, locals will challenge him to try to learn the tricks of their trade.
It’s a show that will include a ton of travel, and interaction with people. When will what is essentially a travel show be safe to shoot? That’s the big question, I suspect, and it’s why he can’t commit to American Idol at the moment. My guess: Bobby will wind up joining American Idol, which CAN film during this pandemic. National Geographic will postpone Breaking Bobby Bones until later in 2021. That’s just my speculation, however.
