FOX sets premiere dates for 'American Idol,' 'Touch,' 'The Following'
FOX is hoping you've got a functional sharpie to mark your calendars.
The new season of American Idol, with new judging panel Nicki Minaj, Keith Urban, and Mariah Carey (and also some guy who says "pitchy" a lot and wears way too many pastel colors), premieres on January 16th and 17th.
The two-night premiere looks to get the jump on an Idol redemption arc, since the series has arguably had its biggest mainstream success in a while with 2x platinum-selling winner, Phillip Phillips. American Idol has the potential to capitalize on the success of Phillips by reasserting itself as the one singing competition on TV that still finds viable, mainstream music stars (whether you believe that or not is another story. That said, I don't really buy that Jermaine Paul is going to light the world on fire any time soon, lovely human being though he is).
Meanwhile, season 2 of the Keifer Sutherland vehicle, Touch, which was originally set to premiere this month, will instead bow on February 1st, running 13 consecutive episodes in its new timeslot, Fridays at 9pm.
Credit: FOX
FOX also has big hopes for one of their midseason premieres, The Following, starring Kevin Bacon as a former FBI agent tracking James Purefoy, who plays a demented serial killer. The show will premiere January 21st, in the Monday/9:00 PM timeslot. While this doesn't bode well for freshman series The Mob Doctor, which currently holds the Monday/9:00 PM timeslot, the cast can at least look forward to having an easier time connecting themselves to Kevin Bacon in fewer than six degrees.
Full story: USA Today