*“American Idol,” the show that made “You’re going to Hollywood!” part of reality-TV culture, is now leaving Hollywood itself.
The long-running singing competition will relocate production of its upcoming season from Los Angeles to the Atlanta area, Fremantle, which produces the ABC series with 19 Entertainment, confirmed to the Los Angeles Times.
The move comes ahead of the show’s 25th season and ends a Los Angeles production run stretching back to “Idol’s” 2002 debut on Fox.
ABC has already confirmed “American Idol” will return for the 2026-27 television season. Carrie Underwood, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan are expected back at the judges’ table alongside longtime host Ryan Seacrest.
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While Fremantle confirmed the Atlanta-area move, the company did not explain why production is relocating. ABC also declined to comment, according to the Times.
The shift nevertheless comes during a difficult period for Los Angeles’ entertainment workforce.
FilmLA reported that television production in the region fell 27% during the second quarter compared with the same period last year. Reality-TV production has dropped nearly 63% over the past five years.
Georgia, meanwhile, offers qualifying reality productions a tax credit of up to 30%. California has expanded its own incentive program, including making large-scale competition shows eligible, as the state attempts to keep more entertainment jobs from moving elsewhere.
“American Idol” isn’t making the trip east alone. ABC’s “Shark Tank” is also relocating from its longtime Culver City home to Atlanta, while Fox’s “The Masked Singer” is leaving Los Angeles for New Jersey.
For “American Idol,” the change carries a little more cultural irony. For generations of contestants, getting to Hollywood represented surviving another major step toward stardom.
Beginning with Season 25, the dream remains — but the show’s home base is heading roughly 2,000 miles east.
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