Season 13 of American Idol is getting a complete make-over with the departing of judges Randy Jackson, Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj and executive producers Nigel Lythgoe and Ken Warwick.
FOX executives are revamping the long-running singing competition and will add some fresh faces to show, both on-stage and backstage. Network bosses have now officially added producing duo Jesse Ignjatovic and Evan Prager, who go by Den of Thieves, to serve as Idol‘s new executive producers.
The duo’s resume for live TV captured FOX executive’s attention for their experience in producing several successful live shows, including the MTV VMAs, MTV Movie Awards, CMT Awards, Critics’ Choice Movie Awards and VH1 Divas.
“To take an iconic show like American Idol to the next level, we wanted executive producers who really had a deep affection and respect for American pop culture,” said Marc Graboff, president of 19 Entertainment parent CORE Media.
Ignjatovic and Prager will be working along with executive producer Per Blankens, who was also added to Idol earlier this month. Blankens previously ran Sweden’s version of Idol for five seasons.
As for a new panel of judges, the network and producers plan to get prospective judges together before filming to ensure the group has chemistry, instead of having them meet for the first time during auditions.
