Jelly Roll is one of three new judges joining Netflix’s new reboot of Star Search, which premieres later this month.
The country superstar, 41, will be joined by Sarah Michelle Gellar and Chrissy Teigen at the judges’ table, while Anthony Anderson will serve as host. The series premieres Tuesday, January 20, and will air live on Netflix Tuesdays and Wednesdays for the following five weeks.
“The new and reimagined series draws on the rich legacy of Star Search, which helped launch the careers of global icons like Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, Dave Chappelle, Adam Sandler and many others,” Netflix said in a press release on Tuesday, January 6. “Off the air for 20 years, the show returns as a nostalgic yet fresh entry in the talent competition space — ready to captivate both longtime fans and a whole new generation.”
The show will feature contestants showing off their talents in the realms of music, dance, variety, comedy and magic, with “juniors” competing in their own category. Viewers watching at home will be able to vote for their favorite competitors by using their remote or tapping the screen if watching via Netflix’s mobile app.
“Star Search is back! The talent is bigger, the stakes are higher, and the format is more interactive than ever,” the press release continued. “With an arced competition structure and weekly eliminations with real-time global voting, the series builds dramatic momentum, making every live episode an unmissable event.”
Star Search originally aired from 1983 to 1995 and was hosted by the late Ed McMahon. A new version, hosted by Arsenio Hall, later aired on CBS from 2003 to 2004.
As the press release notes, Beyoncé, 44, is one of the most famous artists to have competed on Star Search. She appeared with Destiny’s Child — then called Girls Tyme — in 1993, but the group famously lost to a band called Skeleton Crew.
Beyoncé included an audio snippet of the episode on the song “***Flawless” from her 2013 self-titled album. The accompanying music video features footage from the episode as well, and the video ends with the clip of Skeleton Crew being crowned the winners over Beyoncé and her bandmates.
“When I was in the studio, I was threading the songs together, and I thought of this performance, which was a really defining moment in my life as a child,” Beyoncé said in a 2013 video accompanying the album. “In my mind, we would perform on Star Search, we would win, we would get a record deal, and that was my dream at the time.”
She added, “There’s no way in the world I would have ever imagined losing as a possibility. I was only 9 years old. At that time, you don’t realize that you could work super hard and give everything you have and lose. It was the best message for me.”
The members of Skeleton Crew, meanwhile, remain confused about why they were competing against Beyoncé in the first place.
“That Star Search pitted five grown men against six cute little 12-year-old girls remains baffling to this day,” vocalist William Pilipchuk quipped to People in 2013.
Star Search premieres on Netflix Tuesday, January 20, at 9 p.m. ET.
