After more than two decades in Tinseltown, American Idol is packing its bags.
Production for the long-running show will move from Hollywood to Georgia, production and distribution company Fremantle confirmed to NBCLA. Fremantle is reportedly in final talks
with a studio in the Atlanta area but has not signed the deal, according to Deadline. A rep for Fremantle did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone‘s request for comment.
Georgia offers at 20 percent based transferable film tax credit, plus an additional 10 percent “uplift” for providing promotional value to the state for eligible projects spending a minimum of $500,000 — an amount that can be reached on one project or with multiple projects produced by the same production company in a single tax year.
The state has become one of the busiest shooting locations in the United States outside of Los Angeles and New York. Stranger Things, The Walking Dead, James Gunn’s Superman, the Javier Bardem and Amy Adams-starring Cape Fear, and more were recently produced in Georgia.
American Idol wrapped Season 24 in May, which included a notable installment thatbrought contestants to Hawaiiand featured a tribute to Taylor Swift. The three-hour long finale saw hopefuls Jordan McCullough, Hannah Harper, and Keyla Richardson compete for the final spot. In the end, Missouri native Harper took the crown.
This year’s season also saw judges Lionel Richie, Carrie Underwood, and Luke Bryan relocate the famous “Hollywood Week” for contestants who make it past auditions — trading Los Angeles for Nashville. Thespecial Ohana round in Hawaii brought 30 finalists before an “industry” panel that included Kelly Sutton, the first female full-time host of the Grand Ole Opry, and Cheryl Porter, a vocal coach and Broadway star, and Rolling Stone‘s Co-Editor-in-Chief, Shirley Halperin.
Last season was the first time the singing competition utilized social voting — which proved to be a challenging and tedious integration into the long-running series.
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