Heidi Klum will sit in Simon Cowell’s chair for a special three-hour “America’s Got Talent” broadcast on September 8, filling in for the second week running as Cowell recuperates from back surgery. Host Terry Crews broke the news at the end of Wednesday’s live results show, telling the audience the episode would combine performances and results into a single event and feature the season’s final Golden Buzzer.
Cowell has missed AGT tapings since August 25, when Crews told viewers the operation “cannot be postponed” but assured fans it was not an emergency. Comedian and “Saturday Night Live” star Kenan Thompson, who previously sat in for Cowell during Season 15 in 2020, took the seat for the most recent live shows before handing duties to Klum.
Klum’s relationship with the competition series runs back more than a decade. She joined the judging panel in Season 8 in 2013 and stayed through Season 13 in 2018, then returned in 2020 for a run that lasted through Season 19 in 2024, a stretch that included a Golden Buzzer pick, singing janitor Richard Goodall, who went on to win the season. She stepped away from AGT last year after accepting an offer to return as host of “Project Runway” on Freeform and Disney+, a move that also coincided with Mel B rejoining the panel in her seat.
The September 8 episode carries added stakes for competitors, since NBC has scheduled it as a combined voting and results night rather than splitting the rounds across two evenings, meaning viewers must cast votes during the first two hours. By the broadcast’s end, the show will reveal its full Top 16 heading into the semifinals. Acts still fighting for a spot include a robotics dance troupe, a parkour athlete, and several singers and comedians who advanced through recent rounds.
Cowell created “America’s Got Talent” and remains an executive producer alongside his judging role, a dual position that has made his seat difficult to leave vacant even temporarily. NBC has not announced when he will return to the panel, though the network has signaled his absence is expected to last several weeks rather than the remainder of the season.
