'America's Got Talent' Season 7: Howie Mandel Talks New Judge Howard Stern

Howard Stern has always been a polarizing figure, but love him or hate him, he'll soon have a larger media platform than ever before with his new gig on the upcoming season of NBC's "America's Got Talent."

Following the departure of Piers Morgan, the last-standing original judge, Stern will join fellow "AGT" judges Howie Mandel and Sharon Osbourne behind the big red X's when the show returns for its seventh season.

During a recent chat with The Huffington Post, Mandel had high hopes for the new judge. "I am very excited -- couldn't be more excited," he said. "There's nobody more honest, more edgy, more fun ... having Howard Stern join the show, I think, is going to take 'America's Got Talent' to another level."

Stern's presence is not the only change for Season 7: Since the radio personality hosts his SiriusXM show in New York, "AGT" will be relocating to the East Coast, and executive producer Simon Cowell told the New York Post that the show would be getting a "top-to-bottom makeover" in the process, including the addition of an as-yet-unnamed new fourth judge. Cowell said he expects Mandel and Osbourne to return, as well as host Nick Cannon. There hasn't been an official announcement about any other cast changes from NBC, but there are a few factors to consider.

With "AGT" moving, the other castmembers' current gigs could be compromised:

• Nick Cannon, who joined as host in 2009, is a regular on NBC's freshman sitcom "Up All Night." He hasn't appeared on the show very much, and it would actually be a welcome change to lessen the sitcom's at-work angle if he left. But NBC might be out the money on the remainder of his contract, if the series gets renewed.
• Sharon Osbourne, an "AGT" judge since 2007, is still technically a host on CBS' much-in-flux daytime show, "The Talk," which shoots in L.A.
• Howie Mandel has been on "AGT" for a shorter time than anyone else (he joined in January 2010), and he does have another show on Fox called "Mobbed," but it doesn't have a regular timeslot and flash mobs can really be staged anywhere.

No premiere date has been set for Season 7, but auditions begin Feb. 3 in Charlotte, N.C.

Are you looking forward to Howard Stern on "AGT"? And who do you think would make a good fourth judge?

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Comments

[Diana Kw]

12:00 AM on 04/18/2012

I dont really care if stern joins agt, as long as howie doesnt go anywhere!! I just hope stern doesnt make the show a circus, hopefully it will still have some morals!!!

[gerald kieffer]

01:43 AM on 02/18/2012

I love AGT and I also love Howard Stern... YES Howard has RAW COMEDY... Some people HATE it but i'm a guy and happen to love his RAW COMEDY.
As for the 4th judge I would love to see GUEST Internet Judges on the show like myself. Back in the early Internet 1990's days I would sign up for the Internet Radio Talent Judging where you go on this Talent Radio site & download some singer/group song that they put on the site for eventual radio airplay [generally the song was around 6 months to 1 year away from radio introduction] and many times i would just give my EL-QUICKIE recomendation AND I would be one of the few who emailed the people to tell them how to re-do their song to make it unique and get people to say "I WANT THIS NOW" feeling and then 6 months to 1 yr later they would hit top 10 on a top 40 hit list.
YES it does make you feel good that you were instrumental in someone's success story. Thus they should use as GUEST JUDGES those who were instrumental in the Internet's first RADIO web talent judges stuff like myself...

[johnnysgranny]

06:58 PM on 02/09/2012

This man treats women like were all trash. So why would a woman with any self respect watch this show now'

[jonalex99]

05:41 PM on 03/20/2012

First of you need to learn grammar. Second this is not the Howard Stern show, he is going to be a judge. You haven't even seen a minute of the show with him on it and you've already formed a definite opinion. So that opinion by definition is based on nothing! Watch the show open your mind and then you can post on what you actually saw!

[The Kinders]

04:31 PM on 01/23/2012

I have watched America's Got Talent and loved it from the very start, but I and a lot of other folks I know will not watch it with Howard stern on it, He represents an element that I would not expose myself or my family to. and I believe America's Got talent producers and sponcers are making a huge mistake. Once again it is more dificult to find family programing on network TV.

[Tiago Simoes]

07:34 AM on 01/26/2012

"He represents an element that I would not expose myself or my family to."
You have no idea what you are talking about, and that is pure hypocrisy what you say about "not expose myself or my family". I bet my right arm you expose them to things far worse then to a broadcaster and comedian.
You even know the difference between the rules of a payed service and a public one in your country?

[mistergirling]

12:40 AM on 01/23/2012

I always liked America's Got Talent, but I won't watch it as long as Howard stern is on it, because i believe he is a very sick and disgraceful man, and I believe the promoters of America's Got talent should be ashamed to have a sick pervert like Howard Stern on their show. (Period!) The level he'll take the show to is the gutter, because In my opinion Howard Stern is low life pig.

[DevRock]

10:11 AM on 01/20/2012

Can't wait. This will be a breath of fresh honesty on this show. Howard won't stand for any fluff.

And 99% of you bad-mouthing the guy have never heard his show for more than a minute, so get off your high horses.

[Conk]

09:43 AM on 01/20/2012

Stern, really? And I used to like this show. It will be very hard to watch this creep.

[Jazz88105]

07:28 AM on 01/20/2012

down a level maybe

[Tony Tsiligian]

12:59 AM on 01/20/2012

I can count the number of episodes that I have watched of this show on one hand. Already set the DVR for the upcoming season. I just hope "they" allow Howard to be raw and not a pussified version of himself. TA TA TOOTHY!!

[DixieMelody]

12:48 AM on 01/20/2012

Why watch at all?

The winner is always the poor, white, southern boy who can warble a ballad and has a pitiful back-story.

The outcome is never based on the most talented contestant.

[Eric Whitman]

06:51 AM on 01/20/2012

psst. Landau Eugene Murphy, Jr is african american but you got the rest right.

[DixieMelody]

12:27 PM on 01/20/2012

He is genuinely talented and did deserve the win.

How could I have forgotten about him?

[Carol Martin235]

09:58 PM on 01/19/2012

Because of Howard Stern, America's Got Talent has lost it's appeal.

[roninblue]

08:58 PM on 01/19/2012

I have never posted a comment before, but I feel compelled to now. Howard Stern was a personality that I enjoyed before he crossed a line. I am from Colorado, and directly after the Columbine shootings he questioned why the killers did not rape some of the young women that were seen running out of the school. His rational was that because they were attractive, the shooters should have "at least tried to" rape some of these young women before continuing on their rampage. This is a fact, and the transcript can be heard by anyone. Anybody that makes such a disgusting suggestion as he did, is, in my opinion, worthy of nobody's esteem.

[Doc Wattson]

11:58 PM on 01/19/2012

I doubt he was serious and it was a joke. Not saying it was a good joke, but still a big difference.

[DixieMelody]

12:17 AM on 01/20/2012

Same guy who joked on his radio show about his wife's miscarriage. . .

Then acted mystified on the next day's show about why on earth she would have been hurt by his public airing of something so personal between them.

[hiker326]

07:03 PM on 01/19/2012

Love him or hate him, you can't deny the success he has had in life. I love him. I used to listen to him all the time when he was on regular radio and I was working at a job that you could listen to him (without disturbing others). My last statement should say a lot. He's not everyone's cup of tea. He can be very callous. But he is real... something very refreshing as opposed to the fakeness (yeah, it's my word) of other judges that plague the competition shows. He's basically the American Simon Cowell.

[leftcoastindy]

07:01 PM on 01/19/2012

I liked Piers a lot, but I'll give Howard a fair chance

[GeneralDisarray]

03:54 PM on 01/19/2012

You don't need to be a fan of him, but anyone who is against him is ignorant...