The Big Four reality competition series -- ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars,” NBC’s “The Voice,” Fox’s American Idol” and CBS’ “Survivor” – no longer make any of the major year-end lists, even though they continue to entertain millions of people whenever they are on, and they continue to do so by making whatever changes are necessary to keep them fresh. This is even true of “Idol,” a show that truly changed modern television and is set to end its historic run in 2016. It won’t surprise me at all if a smart basic cable network opts to pick up “Idol” in some fashion (preferably stripped down to its irresistible early self when the contestants rather than the judges were the “stars” of the show). But that’s another column for another time.
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