‘America’s Got Talent” will undergo an extreme makeover — and will add a fourth judge to join Howard Stern, Sharon Osbourne and Howie Mandel.
“I always like four-person panels because it leaves less room for error,” show creator Simon Cowell told The Post. “It also means you can have different skill-sets on there.”
With Stern joining the show last week, Cowell says he and NBC are looking to balance the judges’ table out with “somebody younger. A girl. Someone who will not be afraid of Sharon [Osbourne] and Howard and fight for a different type of act than they would.”
Cowell says he already has a short list of names and hopes to have the entire panel in place in the next four weeks.
Host Nick Cannon and judges Mandel and Osbourne have not all officially signed on for Season 7 yet, but Cowell says he is “99 percent certain they will all be back.”
“AGT,” which is moving to New York to accommodate Stern, begins filming live audition episodes in LA in February.
Despite solid ratings, Cowell concedes “AGT” is in serious need of an overhaul. “It has to become younger,” he says. “It has to be more relevant.”
For Season 7, viewers will notice new graphics, new theme music and a larger, louder studio audience.
Producers have not yet secured a broadcast location, but Cowell says he is searching for a venue that can hold “1,000, 2,000 or 3,000 people.”
The move to New York was the “No. 1 priority” for NBC, Cowell says.
“It gives the show a different edge. New York has a different feeling than LA. And I do believe the show needs more of an edge now.
“It has all got a bit fuzzy, and it’s in danger of attracting only one type of contestant.”
While “AGT” has enjoyed the distinction of discovering Las Vegas headliner Terry Fator and child opera star Jackie Evancho, Cowell says the show’s biggest problem is its failure to produce more bona fide stars.
“A show of this size should deliver every year a [winner] who could become a global star,” he says. “My gut feeling is that over the years, it hasn’t delivered on its promise enough.”