The latest "America's Got Talent" ("AGT") spinoff, "AGT: Fantasy League" brings back 40 acts from across the globe to compete for a $250,000 grand prize. For the first time in "AGT" history, each judge will draft a team of 10 competitors, "The Voice"-style, and guide their charges in the fan-voted competition.
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Terry Crews returns as host, as do the judges Simon Cowell, Heidi Klum and Howie Mandel. Mel B of Spice Girls fame completes the four-judge panel, replacing Sofia Vergara, who's been part of the regular "AGT" series every year since Season 15 in 2020.
During the most recent "AGT" season finale back in September, Vergara confirmed on air when asked by Crews that she'll be back when the original series returns in the summer of 2024.
However, upon teasing new series "AGT: Fantasy League" on the same episode, Crews shared that Vergara would "not be able to join" her fellow judges.
"I know! I had other things to do!," Vergara exclaimed. "But I'm going to leave you in good hands, I've found the perfect replacement."
Crews then revealed that Mel B would join the judges panel for the new spinoff series.
Mel B previously judged "AGT" for seasons 8 through 13 as well as the spinoff "AGT: Champions."
"I think I just had been knocking on the door for way too long, they were like, 'Okay, we will let her in, we will let her back,'" Mel B told "Extra". "I got asked. I thought, 'Yes, who wouldn't want to join this show?'"
Sofia Vergara's Previous 'AGT' Absence
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"Fantasy League" will be the second consecutive "AGT" spin-off show to not feature Vergara. In early 2023, a different reunion competition titled "AGT: All-Stars" featured just Cowell, Mandel and Klum as a three-person panel.
Vergara's absence from social media promotion for the series led to some fan outrage, with one commenter writing that she's "the gem of your show. If she's not there then your show is nothing."
Vergara had no issue working with executive producer Cowell and the rest of the crew after that absence, and she's slated to return to the main "AGT" series in 2024. So, there's likely no juicy drama behind any of this. Instead, she may simply have it in her contract that she only works the main show, which airs in the summer and fall. This'd free her up for other projects during the rest of the year.
Sofia Vergara's Plans for 2024
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In a November 2023 interview with People, Vergara confessed that she's had a trying year.
"I've had a very interesting year," she said. "I don't want to say 'bad' or anything like that, but it's been very interesting and very difficult... I went through a divorce this year, the SAG strike that went on for so long. I've seen my friends struggle— some had to take their kids out of their schools or had problems with their mortgages, so it's been a weird, weird year."
However, she has high hopes for 2024, which begins with the premiere of her Netflix series "Griselda."
"I don't know if I'm fresh anymore, but I'm just excited," Vergara said. "I'm excited for the TV show that is coming. I'm excited for [the beauty line] Toty, which has been doing really well since we started and people are loving it because it's such a good quality product."
