FOX may have lost American Idol to ABC/Disney, but they continue to trade off the legendary status of the series that aired for 15 seasons (2002-2016) on FOX. It’s still FOX’s highest rated entertainment series, even to this day. Why not mine that vaunted history to launch and promote new shows?
For instance, former American Idol judges Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson star in two new FOX reality shows, The Masked Dancer and Name That Tune respectively. FOX has scheduled the two shows on Wednesday nights. Dancer airs at 8, while Tune airs at 9. Also, the network has the two former co-workers out promoting their new series together. FOX is also airing promos that tout their famous connection to each other.
Paula is a judge on The Masked Dancer, which is pretty much the same format as Singer, but with dancing. Randy plays piano for the rebooted game show, Name that Tune. FOX practically promotes their connection as if they are working together on the same show. But they are not. Speaking of Idol connections: I’m looking forward to the episode when Exotic Bird is unmasked, and Paula discovers American Idol season 6 winner, Jordin Sparks!
Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul Zoom Into the Ryan Seacrest Show
Of course, now Randy and Paula promo tour would be complete without Zooming in for a chat with American Idol host Ryan Seacrest on his radio show. Simon Cowell couldn’t make it, so Ryan punked them, airing a few old soundbites from the media mogul. Paula thought they were real!
Paula got over the lack of Simon pretty quickly. “Happy that the three of us are together right now!” she said. Randy joked that Ryan should go back to his old network, “Paula and I are back on FOX! What are you doin’ man, c’mon over.”
“I’m still hosting American Idol which is now on ABC!” Ryan explained, stating the obvious. He described his time on Idol during those halcyon years as the most “life changing” chapter of his career. After remarking on how the time has flown by, Paula mentions meeting adult fans who gush about watching her on Idol when they were little kids.
The four of us, it was like magic, says Paula
Randy muses, “The magic that we guys had, that everybody tries to copy or emulate, it can’t be duplicated.” Ryan adds, “When you try to cast magic, it doesn’t work.” Paula adds, “The four of us, it was like magic.”
Ryan reminisces about the pranks they pulled on each other. And how someone coughsimoncough would promise not to talk about something Ryan didn’t want to talk about, but then talk about it anyway. (There’s a specific anecdote connected to this, I just can’t remember it off the top of my head…). “it was literally fly by the seat of your pants sometimes, but that’s what was so fun,” says Ryan.
Eventually, Randy finds a way to pivot to he and Paula’s new shows. Because if that convo had gone on any longer…the message was basically THEY DON’T MAKE COMPETITIVE REALITY SHOWS LIKE THEY USED TO AMIRITE. And the brass at FOX probably wouldn’t be very happy about that.
Check out the American Idol reunion below.
