The talent scout, who is saying that the current series of 'Pop Idol' will be his last, has agreed to make a fictional version of the programme for Fox TV.
The show, which will run for 14 episodes, will be set in a Los Angeles drama school. It will be Cowell's first work as part of a multimillion-dollar deal he has signed with Fox since launching his TV career in the US as a judge on 'American Idol'.
The as-yet-unnamed series will be based on a talent competition to find the stars of the future. At the end of each show, a winner will be revealed.
'Fame' was a popular TV series from the early 1980s, set in the New York High School for the Performing Arts, where students learned that "Fame costs, and right here is where you start paying -- in sweat".
Cowell's show is being made by former NBC executive Ted Harbert's production company Ted Harbert Television.
Cowell was asked to join the judging panel of 'American Idol' when the show was sold by former Spice Girls manager Simon Fuller's 19TV to Fox. The other judges are singer Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson, a record company A&R man.
Cowell is to work on a number of projects for Fox as part of his lucrative three-year deal, which could see him stay in the US for as much as nine months of the year.
The next series of 'American Idol' will begin in the new year, from which Cowell is expected to earn £91,000 an episode.
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