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American Idol 8

Report: Paula Abdul finalizing 'Star Search' revival deal with ABC

By Christopher Rocchio, 03/16/2010

Paula Abdul is reportedly returning to reality television, but it might not be with her former American Idol colleague Simon Cowell.

Abdul is currently finalizing a deal with ABC to star in the network's latest revival of its Star Search talent competition series, sources told Entertainment Weekly on Monday.

While an ABC representative refused comment, sources told Entertainment Weekly that Abdul's role has yet to be defined but will likely include some combination of hosting and judging.

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Abdul announced last August that she was leaving American Idol and ABC reportedly offered her a $1 million development deal earlier this year with the caveat that she also had to appear on Dancing with the Stars.

However a deal never came to fruition and Dancing with the Stars' tenth-season cast was recently revealed without Abdul.

Cowell inked a deal with Fox in January that will end his American Idol judging role while also launching his British The X Factor reality competition series for the network in Fall 2011.

He immediately began hinting that The X Factor may give him a chance to reunite with Abdul, and she subsequently stated she "absolutely" still talks to Cowell but continued to play coy when pressed about if it had to do with her possible involvement with The X Factor.

Cowell said he "will definitely be doing something with" Abdul in the future during an appearance last week on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

(Photo credit Fox)

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