14 DAY TRIAL // If producers and Nigel Lythgoe get their way, the 12th season of American Idol will be the most interesting yet: after reports that Adam Lambert and Miley Cyrus were being considered for judges, a new report throws in Charlie Sheen and Jerry Lewis' names in the mix.
The other day, sources close to the production told the press that Jennifer Lopez was most likely not returning for another season on the judges panel, and that producers were just as uncertain about Randy Jackson and Steven Tyler.
They also revealed a conviction that drastic changes must be made to make the show a better competitor for The Voice and X Factor.
Admittedly, Adam Lambert and Miley Cyrus were being considered for judges, as we also reported. Katy Perry, Fergie and will.i.am were also good options, it was said.
TMZ has now learned that two other names have been thrown in the mix, though they're the exact opposite of what you'd expect: Charlie Sheen and Jerry Lewis.
Lythgoe is reportedly determined to get them both on board in case negotiations with Lopez don't come through.
“There have been numerous reports that Adam Lambert, Katy Perry, Fergie, Miley Cyrus and others are being courted, but we've learned Fremantle – the company that produces Idol has a new head – and nothing has been decided,” TMZ reports.
“We're told producers believe they still have a chance of re-signing Jennifer Lopez – whom they want badly. Our sources say the process of deciding who will be on the show is like a giant jigsaw puzzle. If Lopez goes away, then certain replacements would make sense and others would not,” adds the same media outlet.
“If Steven Tyler or Randy Jackson say bye bye, then a different set of replacements would make sense,” TMZ states.
Two of them would be Sheen and Lewis, comedians in their own right who have a huge appeal to the public.
“Fact is, even Nigel Lythgoe and Ken Warwick haven't been picked up for Season 12. But Nigel tells TMZ... if he does come back he'll push for Charlie Sheen and Jerry Lewis,” the celebrity e-zine writes.
Sheen is now winning his way back into the hearts of those who walked away from him during his infamous and highly mediated meltdown, with his brand new FX show, “Anger Management.”