Ryan Seacrest Cleans Out His Garage To Unearth Memorabilia For ‘American Idol’ Remote Episodes At His Home


Ryan Seacrest cleaned out his garage ahead of Sunday’s episode of American Idol.

As the ABC singing competition switches from taped episodes shot months ago to live episodes amid a worldwide health pandemic, the longtime TV host is giving fans a sneak peek at the makeshift set that will be used during the remote episodes shot from his home.

In a post shared to his Instagram page, Seacrest gave his followers a peek at the sleek original American Idol judges desk that Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson used when the show first debuted on Fox way back in 2001. In the video, the Live With Kelly and Ryan star revealed he had the historic piece of memorabilia hidden away in his garage for years and never thought he’d have a reason to use it.

But with this season’s first real-time episodes now being streamed from the homes of the Top 20 contestants — as well as the residences of current judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie, and in-house mentor Bobby Bones — Seacrest’s California place will be the show’s home base, so the iconic desk and accompanying lit-up American Idol sign are being used as emergency set pieces.

In comments to the post, longtime fans raved over his piece of memorabilia from the original American Idol days. Others noted how lucky it was that the set piece was easily accessible in his garage and had not been kept in storage at an off-limits studio lot somewhere.

In a recent interview with Billboard, American Idol showrunner and executive producer Trish Kinane explained how Seacrest ended up with the original judges’ desk. She also teased that she thinks the American Idol host is “rather enjoying” his unexpected work-from-home gig, especially the fact that his house will be the high-profile show’s hub as it broadcasts from 25 different locations for the first time ever.

“I was talking to Ryan on the phone and saying we sort of need a home base because it’s going to be people all over the country and different shots, because the contestants have all got different backgrounds,” the American Idol showrunner said. “Ryan is home for this show and he’s the center for bringing it all back and talking to the judges. And in the conversation, I suddenly remembered that after season 15 we sent Ryan, because he wanted it, an American Idol desk and logo and he’d had it in his garage for four years, so it’s coming out of his garage.”

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