And for those of us that still watch shows because we enjoy them

*checks ratings* What, all twenty-eight of you? Gee, hope they all register soon or this is going to be one lonely subthread.

am still a little foggy on the way the competition will work.

It has some Voice elements (and is not a ripoff in doing so, as the original version of this predates the first airing of that). If Wikipedia's schedule combined with past experience is to be believed, the system sort of works as follows:

The rest of September: Auditions.

Early October: 'Boot camp', which translates to the first series of cutdowns. At some point during or at the end of this process, the survivors are divided into four categories: males under thirty, females under thirty, 31-up (both genders), and groups. Each category is assigned to a judge, who is then responsible for further eliminations within it. The four sections then head for four separate generic reality mansions for their next dose of pain.

Mid-October: 'Judges' house' footage. All the drama of the gah-roups! Half the talent! None of the sincerity!

(approximately) October 25th: Finalists revealed. A guest mentor should pair up with each judge to help make the final selection. Two are rumored: Rhianna for Reid and Mariah Carey with Simon.

(approx.) November 2nd: Live shows begin. The voting process is still a mystery. Should they echo the U.K. edition, we'll get a Bottom Two each week with the judges deciding which party goes home. (Which works out to 'Worsters grab a life vest' -- this makes their job harder.) This could be a B2 from each category or a pair between all sections. Or we could start out with the first and eventually have a tribal merge to the second.

(approx.) December 21st & 22nd: Finals.

There will be professional performances during some of the live shows. Mentors have been threatened. Quality is not necessarily coming.