“America’s Got Talent” has some big shoes to fill.
The popular summer reality competition series lost one of its original judges last August. Sharon Osbourne, after publicly stating that NBC had fired her son after he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, decided to leave the show.
In February, it was announced that Mel B (also known as Melanie Brown and “Scary Spice”) was replacing Osbourne. NBC must have assumed that “America’s Got Talent” needed more star power, however, as it was announced today that Heidi Klum would also be joining the program’s judging panel.
This marks the first time that “Talent” will have four judges. Both Klum and Brown have small-screen hosting experience – Klum was nominated for an Emmy for her hosting gig on Lifetime’s “Project Runway” and Brown has served as a guest judge on “The X Factor” U.K. – and bring two strong personalities to the show.
Yet that doesn’t explain why NBC felt the need to change the show’s dynamic. Since the fallout between Osbourne and NBC was so nasty, maybe they hope viewers forget about Osbourne altogether? Or perhaps the intention is for the new judges to bring some watercooler drama to the show.
Nevertheless, the new dynamic has proven successful on similar programs, most notably FOX’s “American Idol.” We’ll have to tune in this summer to see how it works for NBC.
