The ABC series won’t be back until 2026—but we know at least three celebrities who will return to judge.

American Idol season 24 is expected to premiere in the spring of 2026.
The ABC series announced Luke Bryan, Carrie Underwood, and Lionel Richie will all be back as judges for season 24.

Fans reacted to seeing the news of who would be judging American Idol season 24.

American Idol fans, we just got word about a major update you’re going to want to know about.

As viewers of the ABC series wait for season 24 to premiere sometime in the spring of 2026, many had questions about who would be set to judge the upcoming competition. While Luke Bryan, Carrie Underwood, and Lionel Richie were judges for season 23 in 2025, nothing was guaranteed about if they would come back for another installment.

Well, the wait seems to be over on that side of American Idol, thanks to a new announcement uploaded on Instagram on August 25. As it turns out, Luke, Carrie, and Lionel are all slated to return to American Idol for season 24—and the show’s social team seems to be thrilled by this exciting piece of information.

“This announcement? It’s getting a gold star,” the caption read alongside an image of the trio. “Luke, Carrie, and Lionel are BACK and Idol Across America auditions start this week! What are you waiting for?? Register now!”

American Idol/Instagram

As soon as viewers learned of Luke, Carrie, and Lionel’s current statuses on American Idol, they immediately were thrilled about them returning as judges.

“Awesome can’t wait! 🔥,” one person wrote in the comments. “Yessss, I started watching again cause of Carrie, can’t wait to tune in this season,” another declared. “Love all 3 together!! 💙💙,” a different follower added.

This is definitely the exciting TV news we were looking for today! And for those who don’t know, Luke and Lionel have been part of American Idol ever since it was rebooted and came back on the air for season 16 back in 2018. As for Carrie’s tenure on the show, she previously won season 4 in 2005 before joining as a judge for season 23 in 2025.

Now, what does this mean for the rest of American Idol season 24? While we don’t know which rising star will win the show next year, we can certainly expect Luke, Carrie, and Lionel to be on their A-game throughout the next season.

We can’t wait!