For 24 seasons, “American Idol” host Ryan Seacrest has welcomed aspiring singers to the competition with his now-iconic catchphrase “You’re going to Hollywood!”
When the show returns with Season 25 in early 2027, however, those words will no longer apply — according to a bombshell report from Deadline.
A New Home for ‘Idol’
ABCThe outlet is reporting that “Idol” will be shifting its production from Los Angeles — the show’s home since its debut in 2002 — to Georgia.
Freemantle, which produces the show in conjunction with Sony Pictures Television’s 19 Entertainment, has confirmed that the show will be pulling up stakes and setting up shop somewhere in the Atlanta area.
“We hear that Fremantle is in final talks with a studio complex in the area but that it has not signed the deal,” writes Deadline.
It remains to be seen what kind of impact the upcoming move will have on the show.
Will Seacrest still tell auditioning singers, “You’re going to Atlanta!” when handing out the show’s famed Golden Tickets? Will the show continue its “Hollywood Week” tradition?
Meanwhile, ABC has not yet confirmed the return of judges Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie and Carrie Underwood, although all three are expected to return.
If the current iteration of the “Idol” judging panel stays intact and all three return, it would mark 10 years as judges for Bryan and Richie, and the third for Underwood, the former “Idol” winner who replaced Katy Perry in Season 23.
Viewers will find out when the new season kicks off early next year.
The Latest Domino to Fall
ABCAs TheWrap points out, “Idol” is the latest of several shows to shift its production out of Los Angeles in recent years.
As producing television in L.A. becomes increasingly expensive, the number of shows being shot there has dwindled.
Fox’s “The Masked Singer,” for example, recently announced production was moving out of L.A., with the upcoming 15th season to be shot in New Jersey.
Meanwhile, several Fox game shows have gone even further afield, and aren’t even produced in the U.S.
While “The Floor” and “Beat Shazam” initially filmed in L.A., both are now shot in Ireland. Meanwhile, “Name That Tune” is produced in Australia.
Why Georgia?
ABCThe reasons underlying the decision to move the production of “American Idol” from its longtime home in Los Angeles to Georgia are purely financial.
As Deadline points out, Georgia offers a generous tax credit of up to 30 percent for unscripted and reality television productions that spend a minimum of $500,000 in the state. That’s a huge financial incentive that reportedly drove the upcoming move.
According to the outlet, a recent report from FilmLA that surveyed film and television production during the second quarter of 2026 shared some sobering statistics.
That report indicated that unscripted productions in Los Angeles had 40 percent fewer shoot days than during the same time period the previous year. Meanwhile, over the last five years, production of unscripted television in Los Angeles has dropped by a staggering 62.7 percent.
