A slimmed-down season as American Idol returns

Starting in March, the show will be cut back to a single two-hour show once a week, on Wednesday nights.

From left, singer Keith Urban, singer and actress Jennifer Lopez, and singer Harry Connick, Jr. Dan Steinberg / Invision / AP

It's all change for American Idol, which returned for its 14th season last night in a somewhat slimmed-down form in the face of falling ratings.

The longtime judge Randy Jackson is gone. The music executive Scott Borchetta, whose credentials include acting as mentor to Taylor Swift, will take over and the winner will be signed to his Big Machine Records.

The show returned with an hour-long episode last night and a two-hour episode tonight – but starting with the live episodes in March, the show will be cut back to a single two-hour show once a week, on Wednesday nights.

It's a logical move given the ageing show's ratings decline in an increasingly competitive entertainment landscape, said the analyst Brad Adgate of Horizon Media. Still, Idol remains a relatively strong performer for Fox, one the network wants to protect.

It’s only fair to viewers to ­reduce the demand on their time, said the executive producer Trish Kinane.

“To commit to three hours a week for our or any other of the shows is too much, even if you adore these [talent] shows,” she said.

Ryan Seacrest, the sole original cast member, returns as host, and Harry Connick Jr, Jennifer Lopez and Keith Urban will be back for their second year together as judges.

All that's needed now is the kind of compelling contestants and future stars that American Idol has discovered in the past, such as Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and Jennifer Hudson.

“If I have a criticism of the show for us last year, it is that we haven’t found, in the last two years, a group of kids who have captured the imagination of the public,” Peter Rice, the chairman and chief executive of Fox Networks Group, said after last year’s season. That bar will be met, Kinane said, by the talented performers discovered during the latest auditions.

But as the TV landscape changes, this year’s contestants may be singing not only for their own future hopes, but for those of the show that has given them a chance to realise their dreams.

•For the latest news about American Idol, visit www.americanidol.com