windom

As rumored, Sofia Vergara will be a new judge this summer. Heidi Klum will be returning also. Hopefully, they'll be better than what we got last year.

https://tvline.com/2020/02/27/agt-se...lum-returning/

whotony

Oh.

I guess this is fine.
She does bug me somewhat as I feel like she embellishes her accent.

whotony

Vergara is on Kimmel tonight and said they are currently filming this season.
She said like this, meaning using a Zoom like picture in picture thing with no audience.

whotony

I guess no one lose is watching.

Klum has been off the show since the middle of ep 4.
They said she is sick. Eric Stonestreet has been filling in.
Tonight is the first ep filmed after COVID became apparent.
No audience.

Im surprised Howie is there.

Rob V

I’m watching...it’s a nice summer show but Sofia doesn’t bring much and the singing acts, while impressive at times, belong on other singing-centric shows, IMO.

GoldenJCJ

I don’t watch religiously but I’ll occasionally put it on while playing with my phone.

Sounds like Heidi thought she might have COVID and has been in quarantine for the last couple of weeks. Turns out she tested negative.

So far this year no acts have really impressed me much.

whotony

Kinda weird they cancelled the audience but everyone on the show is still right on top of each other.

DWilson

From TVLine:

The NBC reality competition series has resumed production on its 15th season, our sister site Deadline reports, having only completed six audition episodes before temporarily shutting down over the threat of coronavirus in March.

The first thing viewers will notice is the dramatic change of venue. Whereas AGT is traditionally filmed in a lavish Hollywood auditorium, the show is now relocating to an outdoor setup in Simi Valley that’s designed to resemble a drive-in movie theater. The judges — Simon Cowell, Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum and newcomer Sofia Vergara — will also sit an appropriate distance from one another. (“Wait until you see the vehicles the judges arrive in,” the show’s executive producers tell Deadline.)

Another major change is that there will only be one Judge Cuts episode this season (July 28), as opposed to the usual four. NBC is also peppering its schedule with a best-of special (July 21) and an anniversary celebration (Aug. 4) to accommodate the shift in production.

This season’s live shows — which will find 44 acts performing across four weeks — are scheduled to begin on Aug. 11. And while producers are hoping to return to the Dolby Theatre, nothing has been nailed down just yet. It’s also being discussed how to potentially include a physical or virtual audience in the mix.

Rob V

Totally agree with this... caught about 10 minutes last night and that kid on the unicycle (3 story tall) was pretty awesome. Vegas awesome? No... but definitely had my attention.

DWilson

It's been a weak season, -though we seem to say this every year.
I was seriously underwhelmed by the "Spoken Word" performance. Not at all bad, but not "Golden Buzzer" worthy and certainly not a Vegas act. Maybe it's just me...

Josh-da-man

I wonder if the golden buzzers are pre-determined by the producers. It seems like they've been giving them out to sob stories the last couple of seasons.

GoldenJCJ

Agreed. That was strange. I mean, the guy was good. I suppose I would listen to him at a coffee shop or a college auditorium but on stage in Vegas? What the hell?

He was emotional and sounded like he put a lot of his heart into the poem but he wasn’t golden buzzer worthy. The unicycle kid was far more worthy but I feel like his performance was really hampered by the lack of audience. The spoken word guy probably came off better with no audience.

Josh-da-man

The comedians performing without an audience are really awkward.

GoldenJCJ

I feel the worst for those comedians. I assume Howie would have some empathy for them since he understands stand-up.

JeffTheAlpaca

If they can't do the live shows in the theater I can't see how those acts with a lot of people could do their acts on zoom

whotony

About the last 15-20 minutes of this weeks show was in a FaceTime or zoom interaction.

It was awkward and the acts performing doesn’t work that way.

One act was just a guy catching an arrow shot towards him but the arrow goes low and out of frame and the guy brings his hand up into frame with an arrow. Could be easily faked.

Anither was just an old guy dancing in his living room without shoes on, just socks.
They put all the video acts through.

The show has been better without Klum but Sofia is pointless on this show as she basically puts every stupid act through. Howie has been doing the same this season.

Josh-da-man

Yeah, I have no idea how this show is going to work without being in a theater. Judges lying in bed at home; the performers doing shit in their living rooms and yards?

It looks like fucking youtube.

DWilson

Upcoming episodes will be in a setting similar to a drive-in.

windom

Will choirs and the large dance groups be allowed to continue?

DWilson

Simon Cowell broke his back in an accident at his home involving an electric bike. He's been hospitalized and was due for surgery Saturday evening. A rep fpr Cowell says he's "doing fine". Live shows were going to begin Tuesday, -no news from the show or NBC on what happens now.

Rob V

I think I'm done with this show... it is kind of a shit-show with how it's being handled due to Covid (and I can excuse them for that)... but letting the kid go home (Feng E?) and letting those two girls go thru was preposterous. If anybody but a Latina host had said "I have a soft spot for (name your ethnicity)", there'd be outrage. So we're voting for home-cooking instead of talent. Ok.

spoon81

Considering everything: workplace investigations, no live audiences, Simon's in the hospital, and that awful canned applause and laughter- maybe it's time to pull the plug for good.

windom

It seems like a lot of those people were getting far closer than 6 apart, especially when they were doing some of those magic acts. They seem a lot more lax than on Big Brother where Julie Chen-Moonves had to interview the evicted houseguest while they were wearing a mask with Julie (no mask) sitting about 10 feet away.

Neil M.

I feel like they let worse acts go through every season. I'm always scratching my head at least a couple times a season.

mphtrilogy

Brutal season...