SPECIAL PREVIEW OF ‘AMERICAN IDOL’ TO AIR FOLLOWING LIVE
ABC has announced a special preview of American Idol following the live broadcast of the 96th Annual Academy Awards, airing Sunday, March 2. This preview will offer a sneak peek of the new season of the iconic music competition show, which will officially premiere the following week on March 9. The preview will be available to stream the next day on Hulu.
In this preview, viewers will be introduced to the revamped judging panel for season eight of American Idol on ABC. The panel includes Carrie Underwood, the season four winner and eight-time GRAMMY Award winner, who returns to the show. She will be joined by country star Luke Bryan, legendary singer Lionel Richie, and longtime host Ryan Seacrest. This esteemed panel will evaluate a new crop of hopeful contestants auditioning for the chance to become the next music superstar.
Since its revival on ABC, American Idol has proven to be a dominant force in unscripted television, consistently ranking as one of the network’s top series in total viewers. Additionally, it has seen impressive social media engagement, ranking as the most social entertainment series across broadcast and cable networks in the 2023-2024 TV season. The show garnered over 66 million social interactions, according to Talkwalker Social Content Ratings, which tracks interactions across primetime entertainment series (excluding sports and wrestling).
The eighth season of American Idol on ABC will premiere with a special two-hour episode on Sunday, March 9, from 8:00 to 10:01 p.m. EDT/PDT. This episode will also be available to stream the next day on Hulu.
In addition to American Idol, ABC has already announced that Emmy Award-winning comedian Conan O’Brien will host the live telecast of The Oscars on March 2. The awards ceremony will air live across the U.S., from 7:00 to 10:30 p.m. EST, with a rebroadcast in the Pacific Time Zone during primetime.
American Idol is produced by Fremantle and 19 Entertainment, both subsidiaries of Sony Pictures Television. Megan Wolflick serves as the executive producer and showrunner, with Eli Holzman and Aaron Saidman also acting as executive producers for 19 Entertainment. Fremantle handles the worldwide distribution of the series.
