"America's Got Talent" has more changes in store for the coming season -- ones that don't involve newly hired judge Howard Stern.
Series creator Simon Cowell wants to add another judge to the panel, which also includes Sharon Osbourne and Howie Mandel, in hopes that the show will be able to keep its place as the top summer series on TV.
"I always like four-person panels because it leaves less room for error," Cowell tells the New York Post. "It also means you can have different skill sets on there. I am adamant that we need one."
Cowell says he's hoping to hire a younger woman to join the panel, and that he hopes to make the announcement in the next several weeks. Audition episodes begin taping in February; the show will likely return in late May or early June.
The addition of Stern to the show last week also precipitated a change in coasts: "AGT" will now be based in New York. The show will also feature new graphics and new theme music for Season 7, and Cowell hopes it also delivers "more of an edge."
"It has all got a bit fuzzy and it's in danger of attracting only one type of contestant," Cowell tells the Post. "A show of this size should deliver every year a [winner] who could become a global star. My gut feeling is that over the years, it hasn't delivered on its promise enough."
