American Idol Revival Is Already Being Considered….by NBC

American Idol was only canceled a year ago, but already people are looking to bring the once powerful “ratings death star” back to TV.

it is a truth universally acknowledged that reboots and revivals are now the way of the television and movie landscapes as careful studio heads attempt to to draw in audiences using known brands. But most reboots and revivals wait a few years, if not decades. (With the sad exception of those who are fighting to keep their Marvel properties from reverting to Disney.)

Which is why the news of American Idol revival talks today was such a shock to the system. After all, FOX only canceled the show a year ago.

But that’s not the only shocking thing about the talks. Because it’s not FOX who’s looking to reclaim the glory days when they owned prime time for hours at a stretch during the spring. The company looking to bring back the show once referred to as the “ratings death star” is being discussed….by NBC, the channel who brought us The Voice, and ultimately undermined and caused the collapse of Idol.

Promotional Image via FOX

According to Variety:

"According to sources with knowledge of the discussions, NBC has been pitched a revival of the long-running singing competition by producer Fremantle and is now mulling options for how to integrate the show into its programming slate. One possibility being considered: cutting NBC’s existing singing competition “The Voice” from two cycles a year to one.Fremantle has been shopping an “Idol” revival in recent weeks, with NBC emerging as the leading candidate to become the new home of the long-running singing-competition series. Sources emphasize that talks are ongoing, and no deal is yet in place."

The Voice is still going strong for reasons that escape most people, other than NBC’s refusal to make it anything other than a TV show where winners, losers and those in between are all immediately forgotten once the show ends, because the real stars are the “mentors.” But like Idol, oversaturation does it no favors, and moving to a single cycle a year. (Making it “event television” as Idol once was) seems a savvy move. The question is what NBC would do with the granddaddy of singing competitions if they did get it. Like the dog who caught the car, would they know what to do next? Would they retool the show in such a manner that it would become like The Voice, more TV show than star maker? Or would they attempt to rebuild the house that ran on the runaway success of Kelly Clarkson for so long?

Next: Kelly Clarkson Sang “It’s Quiet Uptown” from Hamilton on TODAY Show

The real question: Would they bring back Ryan Seacrest? Because if they did, then we’re listening….