The eleventh season of American talent show competition series America's Got Talent was broadcast on NBC from May 31 to September 11, 2016. Following the previous season, Howard Stern left the program and was replaced as a judge by the Got Talent creator, Simon Cowell. Stern's departure removed the contractual condition he had imposed for his involvement, leading to moving live round productions to the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. While open auditions were held in multiple cities, the judges' auditions were filmed within the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California, an arrangement that would persist in future seasons. Along with these change, the "Golden Buzzer" format was adjusted, and a planned break was made in the season's broadcast schedule between August 2–23 to avoid clashing with the network's live coverage of the 2016 Summer Olympics. The guest judges for this season's Judge Cuts stage included George Lopez, Reba McEntire, Ne-Yo and Louis Tomlinson.The eleventh season was won by singer and ukuleleist Grace VanderWaal, with mentalist duo The Clairvoyants finishing second, and magician Jon Dorenbos placing third. During its broadcast, the season averaged around 11.44 million viewers. The eleventh season became prominent in the program's history for broadcasting a stunt on live television that went wrong, and almost resulted in the death of its performer.
