Ryan Seacrest, Jamal Roberts and Lionel Richie on 'American Idol' season 23. Eric McCandless/Disney Share on Facebook Share on X Share to Flipboard Send an Email Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Print the Article Post a Comment Logo text As expected, the band will be back together on American Idol in the coming season. Host Ryan Seacrest has signed on to return as host of the talent competition for its ninth season on ABC and 24th overall - for both the show and Seacrest, the only on-camera personality who has been with the show for its entire run to date. Seacrest's deal closing comes two weeks after judges Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie and Carrie Underwood signed new agreements for the 2026 edition. Seacrest's new deal comes as American Idol is beginning its new production cycle, with virtual auditions taking place for the next couple of weeks. It's become customary in recent years for Seacrest and the Idol judges to ink new deals just before the next season gets rolling. Last season, American Idol drew 7.25 million cross-platform viewers over five weeks for Sunday-night episodes, while the handful of Monday shows came in a bit below that. The show's seven-day linear audience (not including streaming) was 5.87 million viewers for Sunday episodes and 5.15 million for Mondays, on par with the previous year. The new season is set to premiere in the first quarter of 2026. Fremantle and 19 Entertainment (part of Sony Pictures Television) produce the series. Showrunner Megan Wolflick executive produces with 19 Entertainment's Eli Holzman and Aaron Saidman. THR Newsletters Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day Subscribe Sign Up Robin Wright 'The Girlfriend' Review: Robin Wright and Olivia Cooke Bring Their A-Game to Amazon's Amusingly Nasty Thriller Toronto Film Fest Kevin Beggs on Surviving New Hollywood and Not Inspiring 'The Studio' Storylines: "We Don't Want to Be in Season 2" Live Feed 'Law & Order' Gets a FAST Channel from NBCUniversal, Wolf Entertainment Live Feed Olivia Cooke Says She Slapped a 'House of the Dragon' Co-Star So Hard It Made Him Cry Live Feed Sigourney Weaver Reviews 'Alien: Earth': "More Profound" Than an 'Alien' Movie Live Feed 'Black Mirror' Creator Charlie Brooker Reveals Next Netflix Show Robin Wright 'The Girlfriend' Review: Robin Wright and Olivia Cooke Bring Their A-Game to Amazon's Amusingly Nasty Thriller Toronto Film Fest Kevin Beggs on Surviving New Hollywood and Not Inspiring 'The Studio' Storylines: "We Don't Want to Be in Season 2" Live Feed 'Law & Order' Gets a FAST Channel from NBCUniversal, Wolf Entertainment Live Feed Olivia Cooke Says She Slapped a 'House of the Dragon' Co-Star So Hard It Made Him Cry Live Feed Sigourney Weaver Reviews 'Alien: Earth': "More Profound" Than an 'Alien' Movie Live Feed 'Black Mirror' Creator Charlie Brooker Reveals Next Netflix Show