American Idol American Idol logo Format Interactive reality game show Created by Simon Fuller Directed by John Pritchett (live shows) Bruce Gowers (live shows, 2002-2008) Nigel Lythgoe (audition shows) Ken Warwick (audition shows) Presented by Ryan Seacrest Brian Dunkleman (season 1) Judges Simon Cowell Paula Abdul Randy Jackson Country of origin United States No. of seasons 7 (As of May 21, 2008) No. of episodes 272 (As of May 21, 2008) (List of episodes) Production Executive producer(s) Nigel Lythgoe Ken Warwick Cecile Frot-Coutaz Location(s) Various locations (Auditions) Orpheum Theatre, Ontario, CA (Hollywood) CBS Television City (Semi-finals and finals) Nokia Theatre (Finale) Running time Varies Broadcast Original channel FOX (repeats on Fox Reality) Picture format 480i (NTSC), 720p (HDTV) Original run June 11, 2002 – Present External links Official website IMDb profile TV.com summary American Idol is an American reality-competition show airing on Fox. It debuted on June 11, 2002, and it has since become one of the top 12, dropped out of the competition on March 11, just days before the top 12's first performance, citing "personal issues", opening a spot in the final 12 for Nikko Smith (son of Baseball Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith), who had been voted off in the semi-finals the previous week. The winner was Carrie Underwood, a country singer. Carrie Underwood's first single, "Jesus, Take the Wheel" was made available for radio airplay on October 18, 2005. The single also debuted at #48 on the Billboard Top Country Albums