CBS is in advanced discussions with Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Simon Cowell to produce the next big music competition series, Variety has confirmed.
The show will be called “50 States to Stardom” and will mix a music competition with a unique documentary format in order to discover America’s next greatest talent. The docuseries will profile all 50 states in the U.S. and narrow down one talented musician from each one. The process will culminate in a showcase competition ending in the determination of the most talented musician in the country.
There will be a panel of carefully selected judges, but America will also have the chance to vote for who they think should be America’s next star. The docuseries will capture each contestant’s journey — both in the competition and outside of it — for a show that is both cinematic and realistic.
Grazer and Howard’s Imagine Entertainment and Cowell’s SyCo Entertainment will be the show’s main production companies. Grazer, Howard, Samie Kim Falvey and Justin Wilkes are set to executive produce for Imagine, and Cowell will executive produce alongside Richard Wallace for SyCo. Imagine currently has a first-look deal with CBS.
This marks Imagine’s largest venture into reality television, though its scripted series like “Empire,” “Wu Tang: An American Saga” and the upcoming “Genius: Aretha” have all incorporated music in monumental ways. Imagine has also produced several music documentaries, including “The Beatles: Eight Days A Week – The Touring Years.”
Cowell is a veteran of the music competition genre, having been a star judge on Fox’s “American Idol” and going on to create, judge and executive produce “America’s Got Talent.” He is also behind the “X-Factor” franchise.