Happy news for fans of Paula Abdul AND the classic 80s talent TV show Star Search (the show, you might remember, which gave stars like Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Destiny’s Child and more their first exposure on TV when they were children) … according to Entertainment Weekly, ABC is revamping the show for its return to air and the network is very close to sealing the deal that would have Paula host and/or judge the show! I don’t know about you but this sounds like it could be a really sweet gig for our dear Paula:

This just in: Paula Abdul is straight up headed back to TV! Sources confirm to me exclusively that the ex-American Idol judge is finalizing a deal to headline an updated version of Star Search, the great-granddaddy of all televised singing competitions, for ABC. Abdul’s role is still being defined, but I hear it will likely include some combination of hosting and judging. An ABC rep refused to comment. The Alphabet network had been wooing Abdul since last summer when she officially announced her departure from Idol. There was talk of her joining Dancing With the Stars in some capacity, but a deal never came to fruition. It’s not clear if Abdul’s Star Search gig would preclude her from joining former colleague Simon Cowell as a judge on the forthcoming US version of his UK monster hit, The X Factor, which is slated to debut on Fox in the fall of 2011. (Star Search is being targeted for this summer.) This isn’t the first time that Star Search, which premiered in 1983 with host Ed McMahon, has been resurrected from the TV bone pile. In 2003, CBS brought the show back with Arsenio Hall in an attempt to capitalize on the massive popularity of the then-new American Idol. The revival was axed in 2004.

Man … Star Search was such a great show in the 80s! They used to have all sorts of competition segments beyond just singing and dancing. Contestants also had the chance to compete in Comedy and Spokesmodel (which was always my fave!). As the show got more popular, the Spokesmodel category got axed … but I hope they bring it back for this new version! I vaguely remember the Arsenio Hall version of the show but I never watched it … I would hope that Paula‘s Star Search would be more popular. This sounds like a great opportunity for Paula … but it would be fabulous if she could do this AND get a hosting gig on Cowell‘s US version of X-Factor. I want my homegirl to make money! What do y’all think about this? Any Star Search fans in the hiz? Is this great news or what?

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