Netflix‘s upcoming revival of the live talent competition series Star Search will be led by judges Sarah Michelle Gellar, Chrissy Teigen, and Jelly Roll. The panel has its bases covered across film and TV, entertainment, and music, providing a necessary edge for the series that once launched the careers of stars like Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Adam Sandler, and more.
Premiering live on Jan. 20, Star Search returns after two decades to hunt for a new generation of talent. The show spans multiple categories, including music, dance, variety, comedy, magic, and juniors.
The methods used to discover a star have changed almost completely over the past 20 years as social media became an essential home for content consumption. Still, the series is hoping to succeed by emphasizing a more immediate mode of engagement: real-time voting.
Airing live Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET, Star Search will use votes from viewers at home — submitted directly in the Netflix mobile app or with their TV remote — to determine which contestants move forward. “Knowing that fans from all over the world can cast their votes in real time adds a whole new layer of excitement and participation to the mix,” host Anthony Anderson told Netflix Tudum. “It’s like we’re all part of the show and get to be one of the judges.” The show will feature weekly eliminations.
Netflix has recently increased its interest in the live programming space as well as in competition series. It attempted to revamp the format of series like American Idol or The X Factor with Building the Band, which premiered in July 2025. The prior year, it followed a set of young hopefuls through an intensive training program at Pop Star Academy, which launched the global girl group Katseye.
From Rolling Stone US
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