Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Simon Cowell must have been seething after what happened to his drama-filled judges’ mansion results show last Wednesday night.

He’s likely in a much better mood today.

FOX just sent out a press release that The X Factor has been renewed for a third season.

“Yippee,” would be my rather unenthusiastic response.

But I suppose we shouldn’t expect FOX to surrender the fall season to NBC and The Voice.

Anyway, the press release is full of rah-rah quotes, so I’ll embed it below for those of you who are interested.

The more important details are what happens next with Season 2 after that Wednesday night fiasco when U.S. viewers got to see a little more than half of the judges’ mansion finale and Canadian viewers got to see about seven-eighths of the show.

* Tuesday, 9:30 to 10:30 p.m.: Simon and company decided they really didn’t need two hours to tell us who advances to the next round, so they’ve trimmed the judges’ mansion finale down to an hour and scheduled it so it doesn’t go head to head with The Voice.

* After a hiatus made necessary by the World Series, The X Factor will air a live show from 8 to 10:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 1, where all the top 16 acts will perform.

* Then comes a special Sunday night X Factor, a two-hour show from 8 to 10 p.m. on Nov. 4 in which we’re promised more performances. But the real job that night will be whittling the field down to a handful of finalists. Last year, the judges narrowed a field of 17 to 12 on this night.

Now, the press release …

FOX has ordered a third season of THE X FACTOR, it was announced today by Mike Darnell, President of Alternative Entertainment, Fox Broadcasting Company.

“I couldn’t be happier about THE X FACTOR already being renewed for another season,” said Simon Cowell. “I am so proud of the show and the team who have made it this season. I want to thank our incredible sponsors for their support and creativity, and FOX for going out of their way to do everything they can to make this show a success. Most importantly, I have to personally thank our amazing fans for the support and enthusiasm they have given to THE X FACTOR. Our main commitment will always be to find great talent, and let’s not forget, we are now days away from our first live shows. The gloves are off! Expect fireworks!”

“This season, Simon and the producers of THE X FACTOR took an already strong show and made it absolutely fantastic. The format changes are working, the contestants are unbelievably talented, and Britney and Demi – alongside Simon and L.A – have brought an incredibly fun new chemistry to the judges’ panel that our fans really love,” said Darnell. “We feel great about the show and I’m thrilled to bring it back next year for Season Three.”

“We’re absolutely thrilled that THE X FACTOR will be returning to FOX for a third hit season,” said Trish Kinane, President of Entertainment Programming at FremantleMedia North America. “We’ve seen an incredible range of talent so far and we’re getting set for some truly blockbuster live shows this season that viewers will love. THE X FACTOR has really come into its own this year, finding its unique place and cementing its position as one of the leading talent shows in the entertainment landscape, as well as showing clear potential to build into a brand with true longevity. We’re looking forward to working with the fantastic teams at FOX and Syco, along with our sponsors, to build upon the show’s success.”

“Season to date, THE X FACTOR is averaging a 3.9 rating among Adults 18-49 and 10.6 million Total Viewers and is a Top 15 show this fall among Adults 18-49 and Adults 18-34. In addition, THE X FACTOR is a Top 5 entertainment program among Teens this season.

“THE X FACTOR continues to break social TV records with the most fan engagement of any series on television and three times the social activity of its genre competitors. Each episode consistently achieves more Twitter trending topics than the competition. The second season premiere of THE X FACTOR shattered the record for a series premiere, garnering 1.4 million social comments, according to Bluefin Labs.”