Overview
- Howie Mandel told E! News on Thursday that Cowell was “just hours out of surgery” and that he had heard the operation was “a success.”
- Cowell has stepped away from the live judges’ table while he recovers and Kenan Thompson has already filled in with Heidi Klum slated to return for upcoming live episodes.
- NBC and AGT producers have adjusted voting and production arrangements so the quarterfinals, semifinals and the planned September finale dates can proceed without Cowell.
- Mandel said Season 21 is unusually close and that choosing a winner will be difficult, raising scrutiny about continuity and fairness as the show moves toward its finales.
- Cowell’s long recovery history traces to a 2020 e‑bike crash that required major spinal surgery, a connection reporters note for context though the link to this specific procedure has not been definitively confirmed.