American Idol Season 14 To Keep Lopez, Urban and Connick Jr. but Changes in Format Coming

By Matt Lloyd May 18, 2014 07:53 AM EDT

American Idol Season 14 To Keep Lopez, Urban and Connick Jr. but Changes in Format Coming

FOX's long-standing singing competition, "American Idol," will return for a 14th season in 2015 but there will be changes to the format for the new season. Fox entertainment chairman Kevin Reilly told reporters Monday that "American Idol" will be "streamlined" when it returns next year, Entertainment Weekly reports.

"American Idol" appears be following the lead of some other reality TV shows including "Dancing with the Stars" and "So You Think You Can Dance," which were also trimmed down to one episode per week. Reilly said the show could have fewer show hours next season "around 37," instead of the usual 50-plus it's been airing and also shared, "I think it will be a two-night format initially during the audition phase, and will quite likely end up as a two-hour show on one night for most of its run."

While the producers are discussing ways to shorten the show and make it more interesting to new and current viewers, the celebrities involved will most likely stay the same for next season. Host Ryan Seacrest just closed a deal to come back next year and judges Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban and Harry Connick Jr. are closing in their negotiations and expected to all return for Season 14.

Ratings for the popular FOX show have been declining steadily for the past several years, but the viewership is still steady enough to guarantee at least one more season of the longstanding show. "American Idol" has produced such stars as Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Chris Daughtry, Jennifer Hudson, Phillip Phillips, Colton Dixon and more.

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