American Idol will film auditions for Season 4 around California, instead of the country, with judges sitting at separate tables

Deadline

The ABC reality competition, which managed to finish Season 3 amid the pandemic, has headed back into production with "its usual scale, albeit safely," reports Deadline. According to Deadline's Nellie Andreeva, "filming begins today with the judge’s auditions episodes, filmed at a number of locations across California. While in previous seasons, the show would be filmed across the country – last year for instance, it filmed in locations including in Georgia and Wisconsin – this year it is staying slightly closer to home as a result of the pandemic. Judges Lionel Richie, Luke Bryan and Katy Perry, who gave birth in August, are back with host Ryan Seacrest. However, instead of all sitting at the same table, the trio will have separate tables and there will be zoning in place for interacting with others. Contestants will be traveling to each of the auditions from all over the country, but the team, led by showrunner and FremantleMedia North America’s President of Entertainment Programming Trish Kinane, have put in place rigorous health and safety protocols to ensure that the set is as safe as possible."