--- title: 'American Idol' Canceled: Fox Show Will End After Season 15 description: American Idol is entering its 15th and final season with Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban and Harry Connick, Jr. as judges canonical: https://time.com/3853548/american-idol-canceled/ author: Sam Frizell article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-05-11T12:59:18.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T07:05:13.370Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: 'American Idol' Will End After Next Season og:description: It's the end of a television era og:url: https://time.com/3853548/american-idol-canceled/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0d6fee3c4e5c4017/6987ef28e20a879d41a894ee/american-idol-jennifer-lopez.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Keith Urban, Jennifer Lopez and Harry Connick, Jr, on American Idol XIV airing Wednesday, April 8, 2015. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'American Idol' Will End After Next Season twitter:description: It's the end of a television era twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0d6fee3c4e5c4017/6987ef28e20a879d41a894ee/american-idol-jennifer-lopez.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # _American Idol_ Will End After the Next Season by [Sam Frizell](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell May 11, 2015 12:59 PM CUT  Keith Urban, Jennifer Lopez and Harry Connick, Jr, on American Idol XIV airing Wednesday, April 8, 2015. Keith Urban, Jennifer Lopez and Harry Connick, Jr, on American Idol XIV airing Wednesday, April 8, 2015.Michael Becker—FOX by [Sam Frizell](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell May 11, 2015 12:59 PM CUT The fat lady is preparing to sing for _American Idol._ Fox announced Monday the show would end after its next, 15th season, with the current judges roster of Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban and Harry Connick, Jr., as well as host Ryan Seacrest, staying on for one last round. The show, once a behemoth in American entertainment and a cultural touchstone, no longer occupies the same position in the television firmament. Its ratings have dropped and it is watched by 10.7 million viewers on Wednesday nights, according to the [Hollywood _Reporter_](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/american-idol-ending-season-15-793685?utm%5Fsource=Sailthru&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fterm=hollywoodreporter%5Fbreakingnews&utm%5Fcampaign=THR%20Breaking%20News%5F2015-05-11%2005%3A00%3A00%5Fmoconnell "undefined"). _American Idol_ has served as something of a drive-thru restaurant for executive producers, judges and celebrities, including Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson, Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj, Paula Abdul and Ellen DeGeneres, who have joined the show for several high-profile seasons at a time before leaving. And the show boosted many of its early contestants to stardom, including Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken, Chris Daughtry and Carrie Underwood. \[[_THR_](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/american-idol-ending-season-15-793685?utm%5Fsource=Sailthru&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fterm=hollywoodreporter%5Fbreakingnews&utm%5Fcampaign=THR%20Breaking%20News%5F2015-05-11%2005%3A00%3A00%5Fmoconnell "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3853548/american-idol-canceled/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3853548/american-idol-canceled/"},"headline":"American Idol Will End After the Next Season","datePublished":"2015-05-11T12:59:18.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T07:05:13.370Z","description":"The 15th season of the Fox talent show will be its last","url":"https://time.com/3853548/american-idol-canceled/","keywords":["Television","American Idol","Jennifer Lopez"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0d6fee3c4e5c4017/6987ef28e20a879d41a894ee/american-idol-jennifer-lopez.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sam Frizell","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0d6fee3c4e5c4017/6987ef28e20a879d41a894ee/american-idol-jennifer-lopez.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Keith Urban, Jennifer Lopez and Harry Connick, Jr, on American Idol XIV airing Wednesday, April 8, 2015.","caption":"Keith Urban, Jennifer Lopez and Harry Connick, Jr, on American Idol XIV airing Wednesday, April 8, 2015.","creditText":"Michael Becker—FOX","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3853548/american-idol-canceled/","name":"American Idol Will End After the Next Season"}}]}] ```