America’s Got Talent video: Laverne Cox tees up Judge Cuts appearance

Tuesday night’s new episode of America’s Got Talent is going to be a big one for a couple of different reasons, beginning with the guest judge! For the first time Laverne Cox of Orange Is the New Black / Doubt fame will be appearing with the panel, and that should help to make the Judge Cuts round all the more fun. We’ll get to learn more about the sort of talent that she’s the most interested in, and see in the process just what sort of rapport she has with some of the other judges.

One thing that is personally very exciting about her presence here is that the majority of the guest judges we get are comedians, singers, or hosts of other programs. She’s one of the few act people, alongside maybe Neil Patrick Harris from a couple of seasons back, who we know best as an actor going into the Judge Cuts. As a result of that, she’s not going to be predisposed to singers, comics, or anyone else that should appear on stage, and when she uses her Golden Buzzer, she will likely just go with who she feels is the most compelling and who appeals to her on a personal level. There’s an unpredictability there that is exciting and different from the mold.

What’s very interesting about this season as a whole is that despite it coming across as very singer-heavy on the surface (especially in terms of some of those aforementioned buzzers), there are a number of other really great, interesting acts that we’ve had a chance to see. Take a look at Tyra Banks’ Golden Buzzer Light Balance, escape artist Damien Aditya, “real-life Sherlock Holmes” Colin Cloud, or roller-skaters Billy & Emily (seriously — watch their latest performance complete with beard power over at the link here). These Golden Buzzers do create wonderful TV moments, but they don’t really guarantee anything when the dust settles. What matters most is that you’ve got a good mix of talent turning up in front of America. At that point, the ball is more in their court in order to determine who they want to get the million-dollar prize in the end.

We’ve already seen both Chris Hardwick and DJ Khaled stop by as guest judges on the show during Judge Cuts; following Cox, the only one remaining is “Kiss from a Rose” singer Seal. That’s mostly interesting just because seeing the rapport between him and his Heidi Klum should be fun. They get along very well and have a good back-and-forth. Seal also has judging experience from the Australian version of The Voice.

Rest assured, we’ll have more coverage of this episode of America’s Got Talent over at the link here when the installment actually airs. For now, let us know in the comments below what you want to see from Laverne as a judge! (Photo: NBC.)