TWO HOUR PREMIERE EPISODE - MARCH 16TH

AMERICAN INVENTOR, THE GREATEST SEARCH FOR AMERICA'S NEXT BIG INVENTION, PREMIERES WITH A TWO-HOUR SPECIAL, THURSDAY, MARCH 16 AT 8 PM ET

From the Producers of American Idol

American Inventor, an exciting series from Simon Cowell and the producers of American Idol about the biggest search ever for America's best new invention, will premiere with a two-hour special, THURSDAY, MARCH 16, from 8:00-10:00 p.m., ET, and then move to 9:00 p.m., ET on Thursdays thereafter.

American Inventor, the embodiment of the ultimate American dream, will uncover the hottest new product and make one struggling inventor's dream come true. With one million dollars at stake, American Inventor will celebrate the best in homespun American ingenuity.

In "Episode 101," the series kicks off with coverage of open casting calls in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York. Viewers will see inventors all of all ages present their most prized inventions, featuring everything from the wacky to the heart warming.

National casting calls were held in seven major cities across the country. In addition to the cities already mentioned, producers visited Denver, Chicago, Washington DC and Atlanta, all of which will be featured in upcoming episodes. Thousands of inventors, tinkerers and entrepreneurs of all ages applied.

American Inventor is the biggest search for the next great invention with wide consumer appeal… Envision the Cabbage Patch Kids®, George Foreman Grill®, Post-It® or Rubik's Cube®. A panel of expert judges will narrow down the initial entries to a group of finalists, who will each be given $50,000 to develop their product, refine it and take it to the next level. This is a show that's going to make the American dream come true for one person -- taking his/her idea, vision and creativity and helping to turn it into a mass produced product that will be in every American home -- but in the end it will be up to America to call in and vote on which invention is worthy of the one million dollar prize.

American Inventor's panel of expert judges include Doug Hall, an inventor, bestselling author and radio host, and also the founder and CEO of Eureka! Ranch, an inventing, training and research firm; Ed Evangelista, an executive creative director at the New York headquarters of JWT; Mary Lou Quinlan, founder and CEO of Just Ask a Woman, one of the premiere women's marketing companies in the U.S.; and Peter Jones, one of the UK's brightest young entrepreneurs and venture capitalists.

Hosted by Matt Gallant, American Inventor is produced by Simon Cowell's Syco Television LLC and FremantleMedia North America, Inc. The executive producers are Simon Cowell, Liz Bronstein, Siobhan Greene, Nigel Hall, Cecile Frot-Coutaz and Peter Jones. Co-executive producer is Daniel Soiseth.

source: ABC.com