America’s Got Talent will be back for season 15 this summer, and a new face is joining the judging panel. Sofia Vergara, from Modern Family, will join Heidi Klum, Simon Cowell, and Howie Mandel this summer.
NBC revealed more about the new addition and the return of the series in a press release. Check that out below.
“Acclaimed actress and international superstar Sofia Vergara joins NBC’s summer hit America’s Got Talent as a new judge this season, alongside returning judge and global fashion icon Heidi Klum. Executive producer Simon Cowell returns to the star-studded judging panel with fan-favorite comedian Howie Mandel. Dynamic star of NBC’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine Terry Crews returns as host of America’s #1 summer show.
“I’m so happy to join my new family on AGT,” Vergara said. “This is a new and exciting next chapter for me and I’m extremely proud to be the first Latin judge on the show. I can’t wait to watch all the talent and have fun with all you guys!”
“I’m so excited to be back at AGT with Simon, Howie and Terry. The fact that Sofia Vergara is joining us is the icing on an already delicious cake,” Klum said.
“Sofia’s infectious energy and sharp wit will blend perfectly with returning favorites Heidi, Simon, Howie, and Terry. As both a respected actress and successful entrepreneur, she embodies the American dream that is synonymous with AGT’s transformative stage,” said Meredith Ahr, President, Alternative & Reality Group, NBC Entertainment.
“As we head into our milestone 15th season, we are excited to welcome Sofia to the AGT family,” said Trish Kinane, President of Entertainment Programming, Fremantle. “We are also delighted at the return of the amazing Heidi Klum and look forward to a lot of fun as these dynamic, accomplished women join Simon, Howie and host Terry Crews to inspire contestants in a fun-filled and unpredictable series.”
Vergara is coming off a historic 11-season run as Gloria Delgado-Pritchett on ABC’s hit comedy Modern Family where she was nominated for four Emmy Awards and four Golden Globe Awards. In addition, she was nominated four times for a SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.
On the film side, Vergara has starred in many films, including “Hot Pursuit,” “Fading Gigolo,” “Chef,” “Wild Card,” “Happy Feet 2” and Tyler Perry’s “Meet the Browns” and “Madea Goes to Jail.”
A native of Colombia, Vergara has been named by the Hollywood Reporter and Billboard as one of the most talented and powerful women in entertainment.
Klum, who’s currently a judge on NBC’s midseason hit series America’s Got Talent: The Champions, returns to the AGT stage after serving as a judge on seasons eight through 13 (2013-18).
Supermodel, producer, entrepreneur, television personality, actress, author and fashion designer, Klum has made a great impact for numerous clients in the fashion, beauty and tech industries. She has appeared on the covers of pop culture mainstays and many influential fashion magazines.
Klum was host, co-creator and executive producer of Project Runway for 16 seasons. Under her tenure, the show received 14 consecutive Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Reality Competition program – the second-most nominations in the category’s history – and in 2013, she won an Emmy as Outstanding Television Host. She also hosts and executive produces Germany’s Next Top Model, a runaway hit in its country for 13 seasons. Her most recent endeavors include executive producing and hosting Queen of Drags, a German drag competition series and co-creator, host and executive producer of Amazon Prime Video’s new fashion competition series, Making the Cut.
Last summer, America’s Got Talent averaged a 2.1 rating in adults 18-49 and 11.9 million viewers overall in “live plus seven day” Nielsens. The 14th cycle of AGT once again dominated the summer television landscape, scoring as the #1 most-watched entertainment program every week it aired. Talent easily ranked as the summer’s #1 most-watched entertainment series, towering by 4.4 million viewers over the next most-watched entertainment program (excluding the Wednesday AGT), with 11.9 million. Over the summer, AGT reached a total of more than 86 million viewers.
AGT is also a digital/social phenomenon, amassing 3.2 billion views across all digital video platforms in 2019. AGT was also the #1 most-social broadcast series of 2019 (42.8 million total interactions to date in linear metrics, Source: Nielsen Social SCR, 1/1/19-12/31/19. Linear Metrics. Broadcast Series only. All dayparts. Excludes News & Sports).
The Got Talent format has had more than a billion global viewers since it began airing in 2006 in America and has aired in 194 territories worldwide. Got Talent holds the Guinness World Records title as the Most Successful Reality Television Format in history, with more than 70 local versions produced across Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas.
Auditions for the upcoming season of America’s Got Talent are still underway. Interested acts can submit an online audition at AGTauditions.com.
America’s Got Talent was created by Simon Cowell and is co-produced by Fremantle and Syco Entertainment. Simon Cowell, Sam Donnelly, Jason Raff, Trish Kinane and Richard Wallace are the executive producers.”
What do you think? Are you excited to see Sofia Vergara on America’s Got Talent?
Keep Heidi Klum! There are better choices than Sofia!
I don’t care much for Heidi Klum (although there could be worse) but I certainly do not like Sofia at all and may not watch the show with her on it. There are some really great choices out there in the entertainment world, so I don’t know why they’ve gone back to Heidi and why they’re adding Sofia.