‘American Idol’ Renewed for Season 4 at ABC

By Joe Otterson

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – “American Idol” has been renewed for a fourth season at ABC.

The news comes just days ahead of the Season 3 finale, which will air on the broadcast network on May 17. Among the performances scheduled for the finale are: Luke Bryan performing his new single “One Margarita;” Katy Perry performing her new single “Daisies;” and Lionel Richie performing “We Are the World” along with his fellow “Idol” judges, the top 11 contestants, and several past “American Idol” winners.

The top 7 going into the finale are Arthur Gunn, Dillon James, Francisco Martin, Jonny West, Julia Gargano, Just Sam, and Louis Knight.

The show would typically end with a splashy live finale, but the coronavirus pandemic forced the storied singing competition series to begin filming remote episodes for the first time in its history.

The judges to date in the ABC incarnation of the show have been Bryan, Perry, and Richie, as well as host Ryan Seacrest. There is no word yet on whether or not all four will return for the show’s fourth season.

“American Idol” is produced by Fremantle and Industrial Media’s 19 Entertainment. Executive producers include Fremantle’s Trish Kinane, also serving as showrunner, Jennifer Mullin, Megan Wolflick, with Eli Holzman and Aaron Saidman serving as executive producers for 19 Entertainment. Fremantle distributes the series worldwide.

Several other competition shows have shifted to virtual formats in the wake of the pandemic. “The Voice” has also been doing at-home episodes, while “America’s Got Talent” has been accepting virtual audition tapes. Meanwhile, late-night shows like “The Tonight Show” have been doing virtual episodes, as has “Saturday Night Live.”