Fox tried something new with its reality singing competition series The Four: Battle For Stardom, and it looks like the experiment paid off. The show, which chose four talented singers at the beginning and pitted them against challengers week after week to determine a winner, will officially return for Season 2, or as judge DJ Khaled would say, "another one." Fans of the singing reality series won't have long to wait for more episodes, as Fox plans to bring the series back for Season 2 this summer.
Beyond the release date, few details are available about what Season 2 of The Four will look like. Fox's announcement reveals that most judges and host Fergie are present and accounted for Season 2, but left out is judge and music mogul Charlie Walk, although that's not altogether surprising. Walk, who was accused of sexual misconduct by former coworkers and excused himself from The Four's season finale, is absent from the press release that announced the show's return. That likely means Walk is not returning. None of the other current judges are confirmed as returning at this point either.
Charlie Walk's absence from The Four might shape the show in other ways, as Walk was the president of Republic Records, and the grand prize for the singing competition includes a record deal with Republic Records. Of course, Republic Records could continue its offer to The Four in Season 2, although one may imagine that depends on whether or not Walk is still with the record label. Beyond that, the winner of The Four also gets the title of IHeartRadio's "On The Verge Artist" as well as the judges joining the winner's team to help on the road to stardom. That's certainly a better deal than most reality singing shows, who often leave it to the show's standouts to make a name for themselves.
The Four was a decent ratings success for the network, as it was announced the series was Fox's highest-rated new unscripted series in nearly four years. That statistic holds true for the coveted 18-49 demo, as well as total viewership. Airing in the summer might push those ratings higher as the series will have less competition during those months than in the midseason premiere period. Only time will tell, however, as ratings could depend on who the series can get for judges in Season 2, and summer ratings are generally lower than ratings in the regular TV season. Current word around the web is that Meghan Trainor, DJ Khaled, and Sean Combs are expected to return for Season 2 and a replacement is being sought for Charlie Walk, although no official deals have been inked out yet.
The Four will return to Fox for Season 2 sometime this summer. For a list of other upcoming shows set to premiere in 2018, be sure to head on over and bookmark our midseason premiere guide.
