‘Idol’ return to shuffle Fox schedule
“American Idol” will kick off its ninth year with a two-night season premiere next month.
The hit singing contest will return Jan. 12 and 13. This year’s big change: Paula Abdul is out as judge and Ellen DeGeneres is in.
Fox also announced that the drama “24” will return with a pair of two-hour episodes airing Jan. 17 and 18, and that “Glee” will take a break after this week’s episode, returning April 13 to follow “American Idol.”
In the meantime, the coveted post-“Idol” spot will go “Our Little Genius,” a new series that tests the knowledge of gifted children. It debuts Jan. 13.
Super-sized ‘Simpsons’
“The Simpsons” is going to wrap up its 20th anniversary with the help of filmmaker Morgan Spurlock.
Spurlock will present the hourlong special “The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special: in 3-D! on Ice” on Jan. 10 at 8:30 p.m., following the series’ 450th episode, “Once Upon a Time in Springfield,” with guest star Anne Hathaway.
Spurlock is best known for his documentary, “Super Size Me.”
Final cut for ‘Nip/Tuck’
The final season of FX’s plastic-surgery drama “Nip/Tuck” is set to begin in early January.
It will return Jan. 6, while the third season of the Glenn Close legal drama “Damages” will begin Jan. 25.
FX also said that a new animated comedy series, “Archer,” set in a fictional spy agency, will begin Jan. 14.
‘World’ stops turning
CBS is canceling the soap opera “As the World Turns” after more than a half-century on the air.
The final episode will air next September, in its 54th year.
Daytime dramas have been in a long-term ratings decline as more women joined the work force and more channels offered such alternatives as news, talk, reality and game shows. CBS ended the daytime soap “Guiding Light” earlier this year.
“Guiding Light” and “As the World Turns” were the last two produced by a subsidiary of Procter & Gamble, the company for which the term “soap operas” was created because it used the shows to hawk products like Ivory soap and Duz laundry detergent.
The cancellation will leave CBS with only two daytime dramas: “The Young and the Restless” and “Bold and Beautiful.” ABC has three soaps left and NBC one.