IDOL HANG-UP: SCHEDULING PROBLEMS?

Although it has been widely speculated that the producers of American Idol are withholding an announcement about replacements for Simon Cowell and Ellen DeGeneres in order to encourage water-cooler discussions, returning producer Nigel Lythgoe maintains that actually talks have bogged down over the show’s demanding schedule. Appearing on Ryan Seacrest’s syndicated radio show, Lythgoe said that “when you’re just dealing with ordinary people, and you say, ‘I want to take you out of everything for the next four months to do American Idol, that’s OK. But when you are dealing with stars who have other lives to concentrate on, it’s like, ‘I want to take you off the planet and you’ll join us on Planet American Idol for four months,’ that’s really tough.” His comment appears related only to Jennifer Lopez; it has been widely reported that Steven Tyler has already been signed for next season and that Kara DioGuardi will be cut from the show and not replaced.