14 DAY TRIAL // Though no official announcement was made about Simon Cowell’s departure from American Idol once this season is over, it is a given with the producers of the show. In fact, they have already started preparing for the day when the most outspoken judge, the one all fans love to hate, leaves, PopEater has learned from well-placed sources.
Starting from the premise that an idea on which a show is based can outlive and even be successful without a host, producers are looking to make American Idol more about the contestants than about the judges, Cowell in particular. This will be obvious starting with this new season, when the focus will shift from Simon to the aspiring singers and, of course, newcomer Ellen DeGeneres, who replaced Paula Abdul after she had a fallout with the network, presumably over differences in salary between the judges.
“Expect to see less and less of Simon this season. The focus is going to be back on the contestants and less on Simon’s harsh criticisms of them. They also will be spending more time focusing on Ellen once she gets through her first few weeks live from Hollywood,” an inside source says for the aforementioned e-zine.
Fans have come to rely on Simon Cowell as regards American Idol, but they too will have to start seeing things differently this season because the time for changes is nearing, the report goes on to argue. Producers placed a lot of emphasis on Cowell’s role in the show all these seasons, as well as on his relationship with the other judges and host Ryan Seacrest, but that will no longer be the case this year. In the end, Cowell’s departure might actually turn out to be a good move for the show.
“That might not be such a bad idea. Watching millionaires make fun of kids’ appearances and laughing when they leave the room feels is so last century to me. After all, many shows have not only survived hosts leaving - they have thrived. (Katie Couric, anyone?) […] The brilliant Adam Hanft, CEO of marketing firm Hanft Projects, agrees. ‘Ideas outlast their hosts. It was and is true for the Tonight Show and The Today Show and it’s proved true for 60 Minutes’,” PopEater concludes.