‘America’s Got Talent’: Jason Raff Out as Showrunner After 19 Seasons Due to Budget Cuts

Selome Hailu
·1-min read

After 19 seasons of working on “America’s Got Talent,” Jason Raff is exiting as showrunner due to budget cuts. Moving forward, the unscripted competition series will be helmed by Sam Donnelly, who previously shared showrunning duties with Raff.

“America’s Got Talent” completed its 19th season on NBC in September, after which Raff was notified that he was being cut. He has been with the series since its 2006 debut, while Donnelly joined in 2014 with Season 9.

More from Variety

Along with the flagship series, Raff had developed and served as showrunner on each of its spinoffs, including “America’s Got Talent: The Champions,” which ran for two seasons from 2019 to 2020; “AGT: Extreme,” which ran for one season in 2022; “America’s Got Talent: All-Stars,” which premiered in 2023 and has aired one season; and “America’s Got Talent: Fantasy League,” which premiered earlier this year and has aired one season.

Simon Cowell created “America’s Got Talent” and remains on the panel of celebrity judges alongside Heidi Klum, Howie Mandel and Sofia Vergara, while Terry Crews serves as host. Previous judges include Brandy, Mel B, David Hasselhoff, Julianne Hough, Piers Morgan, Sharon Osbourne, Howard Stern and Gabrielle Union, while previous hosts include Regis Philbin, Jerry Springer, Nick Cannon and Tyra Banks.

Cowell and Donnelly executive produce “America’s Got Talent,” and Fremantle and Syco Entertainment co-produce the series. Season 19 of “America’s Got Talent” premiered in May, with singer Richard Goodall being crowned as the winner in September.

Deadline was first to report the news of Raff’s departure.

Best of Variety

Sign up for Variety's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Latest stories