American Idol
Life is like a box of chocolates
Your rating
Best season rating
8.5
Season 22 (2024)
Worst season rating
4.4
Season 1 (2002)
First to last season
+3.1
S1 4.4 → S24 7.5
Series rating on IMDb
4.3
22.9K votes
Average episode rating per season
The best season of American Idol is season 22, with an average episode rating of 8.5 on IMDb, and the worst is season 1, at 4.4. It got better after a slower start: every season after season 1 is rated higher. Its seasons average 6.2, and the series as a whole is rated 4.3 on IMDb, from 22.9K votes. Season 25 isn't ranked, since fewer than half of its episodes have been rated yet.
Season by season
| Season | Aired | Rated episodes | Rating | Change | You | Rating bar |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Worst | 2002 | 24/24 | 4.4 | |||
| 2 | 2003 | 39/39 | 5.0 | +0.6 | ||
| 3 | 2004 | 43/43 | 5.2 | +0.1 | ||
| 4 | 2005 | 43/43 | 5.0 | −0.1 | ||
| 5 | 2006 | 41/41 | 4.9 | −0.1 | ||
| 6 | 2007 | 41/41 | 4.6 | −0.4 | ||
| 7 | 2008 | 42/42 | 4.6 | +0.1 | ||
| 8 | 2009 | 40/40 | 5.7 | +1.0 | ||
| 9 | 2010 | 43/43 | 4.8 | −0.9 | ||
| 10 | 2011 | 39/39 | 5.5 | +0.7 | ||
| 11 | 2012 | 40/40 | 5.0 | −0.5 | ||
| 12 | 2013 | 37/37 | 4.5 | −0.6 | ||
| 13 | 2014 | 39/39 | 5.0 | +0.6 | ||
| 14 | 2015 | 30/30 | 5.3 | +0.3 | ||
| 15 | 2016 | 15/21 | 6.5 | +1.2 | ||
| 16 | 2018 | 19/20 | 7.7 | +1.2 | ||
| 17 | 2019 | 19/20 | 7.9 | +0.3 | ||
| 18 | 2020 | 16/17 | 7.8 | −0.2 | ||
| 19 | 2021 | 19/20 | 8.1 | +0.3 | ||
| 20 | 2022 | 20/20 | 8.4 | +0.3 | ||
| 21 | 2023 | 20/20 | 8.2 | −0.2 | ||
| 22Best | 2024 | 18/18 | 8.5 | +0.3 | ||
| 23 | 2025 | 19/19 | 7.8 | −0.7 | ||
| 24 | 2026 | 16/16 | 7.5 | −0.3 | ||
| 25 | 2027 | 0/1 | – |
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