'American Idol' Reboot: NBC Looking To Revive Reality Show Phenomenon For Season 16? [VIDEO]
American Idol might be coming back to television sooner than you think.
American Idol ended in May 2016 after 15 seasons on the air, though host Ryan Seacrest cryptically teased at the end of the finale that this was the end "for now." Seacrest appears to have been right on the money about season 15 not being the last for the reality TV juggernaut, as there's a new report that will surely please many diehard fans.
NBC is in talks to potentially revive American Idol, according to Variety. Freemantle, the production company behind the reality series, has reportedly pitched the revival to NBC, whose executives might be talking about where to program the show. After all, NBC already has singing competition show The Voice, which airs two seasons per year, plus America's Got Talent in the summer.
However, one option for NBC is the possibility of The Voice going down to one season per year to make room for American Idol in that other timeslot.
Nothing has been confirmed thus far on either end, though Variety does report that multiple sources are claiming they are definitely in talks.
Seacrest seemed pretty confident before the final season of American Idol aired that it could be revived at some point.
"When you've got a franchise that has this kind of heritage and you've got a franchise that generates X amount of millions of people, if it sustains, does that mean it's the end?" Seacrest said. "I'm not so sure."
NBC also has another big reality show in the works -- World of Dance, which will feature some of the world's best dance teams competing against each other. Former Idol judge Jennifer Lopez will executive produce and serve as a judge on the series, alongside Dancing With the Stars pro Derek Hough and singer Ne-Yo.
