American Idol is quickly trying to put itself back together following the recent casting shakeup.

FremantleMedia, one of the program's production companies, announced the first official replacement on Monday when the instated Per Blankens as executive producer.

Blankens will be taking the place of the recently departed Nigel Lythgoe. Lythgoe and fellow executive producer Ken Warwick were reported to be leaving their long time roles with Fox last week. After a season of falling ratings, hiring Blankens solidifies the reality shows move towards fresh blood.

""Over the years, I believe we have changed the face of American television forever and eventually created a true global phenomenon," Lythgoe said on Monday, according to Fox. ""If the executives that are now in charge of 'American Idol' believe that the ratings will improve with my departure, I have no complaints. It has been a great ride and I've loved every moment of it."

Blankens appears to be a logical replacement for Lythgoe. After working several years as the showrunner for an Idol-esque show in his native Sweden, Blankens also served as head of programming for Meter Television while the production company oversaw several competition based reality programs, according to E!.

"He is extremely passionate about 'Idol' and I'm very excited about his ideas and vision for keeping 'Idol' creatively vibrant," Fremanal executive producer Trish Kinane said of the new hire, according to Fox.

American Idol is still in the process of revamping the lineup at the judges table.

Tags: American Idol