American Idol is moving ahead with its live shows, with contestants, judges and host Ryan Seacrest all filming from their homes.
The live rounds will begin April 26 on ABC with the top 20 contestants. Seacrest will host from his home in Los Angeles, and judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan and in-house mentor Bobby Bones will also conference in remotely. The contestants will also perform from their homes.
The last member of the top 20 will be revealed Sunday with the second part of American Idol: This Is Me, a behind-the-scenes look at the remaining contestants. More details on how the live shows will proceed will be revealed closer to air, but viewers will still be able to vote for their favorites.
American Idol was one of hundreds of TV and movie productions that stopped work amid stay-home orders during the novel coronavirus pandemic. The singing competition had enough pretaped material to run through April 5, when the top 21 contestants were announced. The This Is Me installments, a mix of unseen footage and performance highlights, helped bridge the gap between the previously filmed material and the live shows.
(Excerpt) Read more in: The Hollywood Reporter