Similar Sophomore: American Idol

 Lesson Learned: Idol didn't change much between seasons 1 and 2 — which turned out to be the right call, since the singing competition saw a monstrous 71 percent viewership increase during its sophomore outing — but this strategy would be all wrong for X Factor, a program with plenty of room for improvement. Thankfully, Simon Cowell and Co. have already proved that they plan to take a leaf out of Top Chef's cookbook by doing a mini-retool for season 2, ditching the talent that doesn't work (for the Bravo series, it was Katie Lee Joel; for X, it's Paula Abdul, Nicole Scherzinger, and Steve Jones) and keeping the elements that do: the competition's general format, knowledgeable judges like Cowell and L.A. Reid, and overall slickness. Plus the high-profile addition of Britney Spears won't hurt (just as Padma Lakshmi's purring second-year entrée made Chef all the sweeter.) —Hillary Busis