'American Idol' to Debut Many Major Changes for Season 24 on ABC

American Idol‘s 24th season will be debuting on ABC next week and you can expect some major changes to the format of the show.

This is the ninth season of the show on ABC and the second season with Carrie Underwood at the judges table. She’ll be joined by returning judges Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie, as longtime host Ryan Seacrest.

The network decided to make some changes heading into the 2026 installment.

“There’s always an immense amount of pressure regarding how we level up.