American Idol hasn't necessarily reached its end on television despite all the hype of Season 15 being the franchise's final and farewell edition, according to show creator Simon Fuller.
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"Idol will certainly be coming back for sure... There will no doubt be another format or refinement or elevation of the format," said the 55-year-old CEO of XIX Entertainment. "Now I can actually revamp it and come up with a new version."
Fuller came up with Idol's concept in 2001 and American Idol debuted the following year.
"We can look back on 15 seasons and think of some legitimate ways to allow people to enjoy them again, maybe adding another dimension to it," Fuller told The Reporter.
"For the last 15 seasons we've been very protective of the TV show. We've never done more than one season a year. The touring and merchandising has always been thoughtful. I think we've had great integrity [in] protecting the brand so it wasn't tarnished."
Fox is airing American Idol's fifteenth-season finale as a three-part special this week. La'Porsha Renae, Trent Harmon and Dalton Rapattoni are still in the running for the title, and the last winner of the franchise will be crowned on Thursday, April 7.
"So here we are facing our last season on Fox and now the legacy can be more in our focus. Now we can catch our breath," Fuller explained.
"It allows me to rethink the show for the first time. When you're a No. 1 show, it's hard to be too bold and brazen about changing the format because it's working and succeeding. Also, you're always rushing to get the next season completed. Now we start with a clean sheet of paper."
Fuller hinted that streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon and Hulu or digital platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat could play a role in the series' next incarnation.
"There are loads of ideas being shared and I'm deep in thought about how we can evolve Idol. We debuted at the very beginning of the digital world. So the next generation of Idol will be a lot more interactive, a lot more immersive," Fuller revealed.
"For me, the most exciting thing is we can really now dive deep with all the new technology that's coming. My head is exploding with opportunities. The next generation of Idol... will have a youthful glow and it will be pioneering again, just as it was when we first began."
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
