‘America’s Got Talent’: Howard Stern confirms return; Howie Mandel still unclear

For those of you who wanted to ensure that “America’s Got Talent” kept the main addition to their judging panel following last season, you are likely to have quite the smile on your face today. Speaking on his Sirius XM radio show Monday morning, “America’s judge” Howard Stern proclaimed that he will in fact be staying put on the NBC show for another go-around.

Stern did not go too much into details on his return, but did share the following message:

“I’m very, very excited, honestly, about going back to ‘America’s Got Talent.’ I’m very excited to be working again with [executive producer] Simon Cowell and NBC and all the various folks who work there.”

As of right now, the state of the rest of the panel is in flux. Although Nick Cannon is for sure returning as host, Sharon Osbourne has already announced that she is resigning from her post, and thus the producers are looking for a female replacement. Meanwhile, Howie Mandel has yet to sign a new deal, though we would be stunned to see him jump ship given his longtime connection to NBC (“Deal or No Deal,” his new game show “Take It All”) and his love for this show.

Audition rounds for “America’s Got Talent” are likely to start filming early next year, so expect there to be some decisions when it comes to Sharon’s replacement along with Howie’s contract status soon. As always, the show should premiere in either late May or early June depending on how long NBC wants to stretch out the show.

Are you glad to see Howard returning, and do you think there are any sweeping changes the show needs to make? Be sure to share your thoughts below, and you can check out some rumored new judges over at the link here.

Photo: NBC