‘America’s Got Talent’ renewed for season 12; Simon Cowell, full judging panel returning

While this could not come as much of a shock to anyone, we’re glad to see that it’s official: “America’s Got Talent” is coming back for a twelfth year on the air next summer.

NBC made this announcement official while at the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour on Tuesday, and also made it clear that the entire judging panel, including executive producer Simon Cowell, will be back. The same goes for Nick Cannon as host. Other than Simon replacing Howard Stern, the past few seasons have showed remarkable consistency, and we think that the panel’s overall rapport and likability is one of the reasons why ratings have remained remarkably consistent over time. It’s one of our favorite shows of the summer for a reason; the judges are great, but more than that there is such an interesting, diverse group of performers that you cannot see anywhere else.

In a statement, here is what NBC’s reality chief Paul Telegdy had to say:

“With the addition of Simon, the chemistry between our judges has grown even stronger and it’s easy to see how much enthusiasm they bring to the show night after night … Nick adds a boundless energy as host that ties everything together. We’re thrilled to have such a strong team returning for season 12.”

We imagine that we will hear more about auditions for the next season later this summer and early into the fall. In general, this is a show that really doesn’t need to change much moving into the next season. Unlike other competitions like “The Voice,” which has an incredibly boring second round, this show has really figured out something great with the Judge Cuts and the extra golden buzzers.

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