During a recent interview KISS co-founder Gene Simmons shared that the band has talked with Survivor producer Mark Burnett about the idea of creating a tv competition show similar to American Idol to discover a new member to carry on the group after the current member call it quits.
Simmons said this on the Let There Be Talk podcast while discussing the group’s ongoing the End of the Road Farewell Tour and Gene informed the host Dean Delray that the final KISS show would be the last one to have the current KISS members.
Simmons explained, “KISS, the touring band, will stop. But the touring band, KISS will continue in other ways. I have no problems with four deserving 20-year-olds sticking the makeup back on and hiding their identity.
“Mark Burnett and I shopped KISS: The Next Generation, which was going to be a competition show to find out who’s worthy to wear the crown kind of thing.”
Simmons also shared, “we did not sell it. Timing is everything.” Simmons then explained that he did a full season of a show for Burnett for CBS that was never aired, and he also said that he was offered ‘Shark Tank’ by Burnett.
Simmons also expanded on the idea of the group living on after he, Paul Stanley, Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer retire, “So, KISS will continue in ways that even I haven’t thought of. But I can conceive of, you know the Blue Man Group and Phantom of the Opera, tours around the world, with different personnel.
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