Nigel Lythgoe Returns for American Idol Season 12

Nigel Lythgoe will continue as executive producer for American Idol season 12.  First item on his list?  Lock in the judges.

Per E! online, after months of negotiating, Nigel and Idol have finally agreed to terms and America's favorite executive producer will be returning to the helm of his flagship series for season 12.

All that negotiating comes with a price, as the show is reported to be "way behind schedule."  Nigel's #1 task is said to be finalizing the new judging panel.  Mariah Carey is on board and Keith Urban has also been reportedly signed.  Nicki Minaj has also been reported as being close to inking a deal, while Randy Jackson's fate is still up in the air.

Hopefully, now that Nigel is settled, we'll get some definite answers soon.  It looks like Nigel is going to have quite a few irons in the fire, with So You Think You Can Dance on life support, Opening Act hoping for a second season and a reboot of Fame in the works.

Let's hope these projects don't distract him too much from the task of arresting Idol's decline.  I don't think a new judging panel is going to be enough to stop the ratings slide, so let's hope uncle Nigel has some tricks up his sleeve for the new season.