The summer TV lineup isn't complete without a new season of America's Got Talent, and Season 19 in the 2024 TV schedule ended with a champion who warmed hearts as well as wowed the judges with his vocals. Now, almost exactly a month after singer Richard Goodall became the latest AGT winner with his Journey covers, a big change has been announced for the hit show due to budget cuts. Longtime showrunner Jeff Raff is exiting after 19 seasons.
When it comes to America's Got Talent, that equates to nearly 500 episodes and almost 150 hours of live television. According to Deadline, Jeff Raff learned that he was being cut from AGT just one day after the Season 19 finale, with budget cited as the reason. Reflecting on the day that he was handed a DVD with a presentation of what would eventually become AGT, Raff told the outlet:
Ever since they handed me that DVD… I never thought I’d get 19 years. It’s definitely bittersweet because I love the show and all of the crew that work on it. It came as a surprise to me [when they asked me to leave], they’d have to explain it but I was told it was the budget.
While fans may not notice a showrunner change quite as much as judge changes – like when returning judge Mel B took Sofia Vergara's chair temporarily for the Fantasy League spinoff – or host changes in front of the camera, Raff's departure is a pretty big deal. He started on AGT way back in 2006 as a co-executive producer, then became the executive producer following the original showrunner's departure.
Raff also had a hand in all of the AGT spinoffs to date, including working as showrunner. Spinoffs thus far include America's Got Talent: The Champions, AGT: Extreme, America's Got Talent: All-Stars, and Fantasy League. The original show isn't completely changing the team behind the scenes, though, with Sam Donnelly – who has been Raff's co-showrunner – is returning as the sole showrunner for Season 25, expected in May of the 2025 TV schedule.
While it's definitely a big deal that AGT has cut its showrunner of nearly two decades, this certainly isn't the only NBC series to face budget cuts. Prior to the WGA writers strike and SAG-AFTRA actors strike that began in 2023, news broke that the three One Chicago and three Law & Order shows would be cutting the episode counts for series regulars. (This was prior to the development that Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 5 would release on Peacock.)
On the unscripted front, NBC is cutting The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon from airing new episodes five nights a week to four nights a week, with reruns slated for Fridays, although Fallon himself signed a deal to remain at NBCUniversal through 2028. Seth Meyers' Late Night also faced budget cuts, with the loss of its house band on top of already only airing four nights per week.
All in all, it seems that no production is entirely safe from changes due to budget cuts, and I really am curious to see if there will be apparent changes to AGT when the series returns next year. The franchise found a formula that works without major changes each year, although I wouldn't mind a reduction in the filler in the season finale each year. If you want to revisit the most recent season as the wait continues for Season 20, you can find Season 19 streaming with a Peacock subscription now. The full run of AGT: Fantasy League is available on the streamer as well.