'American Idol' Is Down, but Is It Out?

Aug. 3, 2010— -- Is "American Idol," going down in flames?

Fox made no announcement Monday about its biggest show, allowing wild speculation about the future of "Idol" to continue: Is Ellen Degeneres? Will the show's original producer come back to save it?

"Right now, it sounds very chaotic," M.J. Santilli, who writes MJs Big Blog about the show, told ABCNews.com. "You wonder about what's going on behind the scenes. Whether they can right the ship by the end of the month remains to be seen."

At the beginning of September, the judges are expected to take their places at the nationwide auditions. But we may not know who the judges are until the end of this month.

"No one has signed a deal on either side of the camera for anyone to come on to 'American Idol' who wasn't on it last year," Fox Entertainment chief Peter Rice told the media at a Television Critics Association executive session in Beverly Hills Monday.

Rice presumably is referring also to Nigel Lythgoe, the show's original producer, who left to create "So You Think You Can Dance." It's been rumored that he will return.

But other than Degeneres announcing last Thursday that she was quitting the show, nothing has been confirmed. That includes whether