He called the softhearted judge an "important part of the show" whose absence will cause a "different dynamic ... but that's also exciting." He expects to replace Abdul with a fourth judge to join Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi, who was invited back last week.

For the short term, the seven weeks of taped audition rounds in which the judges participate, beginning in Denver on Friday, will feature guest judges including Katy Perry and Victoria Beckham. "Our intention is to have guest judges be female pop stars, female performers, female artists. And between now and January (when the series returns), we will come up with a permanent solution on what we will do ... and a replacement for Paula," Rice says.

Fox reality chief Mike Darnell calls Abdul's contribution to the show "immeasurable" and says she's "part of the fabric of the show" who provided "emotion, sympathy, and I think a mother-type of nurturing. She was good at making the kids feel loved at times when maybe others were a little harsher." Asked whether producers will seek a replacement with similar qualities, Darnell says, "The quality we are looking for is someone with a great persona."

Abdul, the only judge whose contract expired last season, was in negotiations all year, Rice says. "We very much wanted her to return." The network offered a "substantial raise. ... We felt it was a fair amount of money we were offering." He declined to elaborate. "Paula chose not to return." Could she change her mind? "We have no expectation she's going to do that."

Fox execs downplayed the prospects that Abdul's departure would hurt ratings. "In a sitcom or single-lead drama, when you're changing the lead, you're really changing the vast majority of the show," Rice says. "With a format like this ... it's different."

But former Fox programming chief Gail Berman, who was at the network when Idol began, called her exit "a shame."

Berman, now a producer, has been developing an unscripted project with Abdul and predicts her loss will cost Idol heading into its ninth season. "Every character in a television show is important to the success of that show, and if you think a reality show is any different, I don't necessarily share that opinion," she says.

Negotiations are going far more smoothly with Simon Cowell, the highest-paid Idol judge, whom many experts consider crucial to the show. He is under contract through next season, and Fox has rights to his X Factor talent show, a hit in the U.K., as part of that deal. But the network has chosen not to schedule it, presumably to avoid damaging Idol.

"We've had very friendly, productive conversations, and I have every confidence (a deal) will be done soon and he will stay with the show," Rice says. He wouldn't discuss how X Factor figures into the negotiations.

In non-Idol news, Fox will open next season with just a few new series, including family comedy Brothers, Family Guy spinoff The Cleveland Show and musical comedy Glee, which settles into a Wednesday time slot after a May preview.

So You Think You Can Dance, which wrapped up its summer season Thursday night, will return this fall for its first in-season run, warming up the Tuesday-Wednesday time periods for Idol's return in January. Also due early next year are 24 and Human Target, starring Mark Valley (Fringe) in an action drama based on the comics series.

Looking ahead to next season, Rice says the development of new live-action comedies is an "absolutely top priority" for the network as it seeks to balance out its roster of dramas, reality series and animation.