American Idol 3 Premieres January 20 and 21, 2003

[David]

http://tv.zap2it.com/tveditorial/tve_main/1,1002,271|84742|1|,00.html

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - Right about now, FOX executives are hoping really strongly that the third go-round for "American Idol" doesn't suffer from "Joe Millionaire" syndrome.
The chances of 70 percent of the audience deserting "AI" seem much lower, however, because the series is entirely upfront about what it promises: Would-be singers trying to become stars and the judges who love (and sometimes hate) them.

FOX won't tinker with the highly successful formula when "American Idol" returns for its third season Tuesday, Jan. 20 and Wednesday, Jan. 21. The new season will kick off with a two-hour episode chronicling the best and worst of the early auditions, with a one-hour episode the following night.


The show will then settle into its usual pattern of performances on Tuesday nights and results on Wednesdays. Judges Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson will be back to offer their fawning-to-flogging opinions on the contestants' performances.
The ratings lift "American Idol" will likely provide -- the show averaged more than 21 million viewers on both of its nights last season -- will come none too soon for FOX. Despite strong ratings for postseason baseball in October, the network's regular lineup has struggled. In addition to the "Joe Millionaire" freefall, the heavily hyped drama "Skin" lasted only three episodes; veteran series like "24" and "That '70s Show" are off somewhat as well.

[-*Leah*-]

yay!