Last week’s “X Factor” blood bath will not extend to Antonio “LA” Reid, who Deadline confirms has been booked for season two of FOX’s fall reality competition.
Reid and Cowell are the only two judges who will return this fall; Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger were officially axed. Critically-panned host Steve Jones was also removed from the equation.
“LA” was a highlight of the early audition episodes, with producers focusing on the rivalry between the outspoken judge and veteran reality name Simon Cowell. Critics soured on Reid, whose comments throughout the live competition portion often lacked insight and showed a surprising lack of pop culture and mainstream music knowledge, but he was never ripped the way Scherzinger was.
In addition to delivering lower-than-expected ratings, season one of “The X Factor” also devolved into something of a mess as the show reached its conclusion. It did, nonetheless, deliver respectable numbers–and far better than FOX would usually expect from its timeslots in the fall–and thus still has tremendous value for the network.