A few weeks ago, Nigel Lythgoe announced that he was not asked back to be a judge on So You Think You Can Dance. Today, Fox revealed who will be replacing him at the judge’s table.
They are Twitch, who competed on season 4 of SYTYCD, Glee’s Matthew Morrison, and Jojo Siwa, who just competed on Dancing with the Stars.
It is an interesting group of judges. I think Twitch will do well because he has been on the other side of the desk. However, when it comes to the other two, I am not sure how they will do. What does Morrison really know about dancing? He was a Broadway star, but I don’t know his training. And Jojo will be younger than most of the contestants. But then again, she is like a younger version of Mary Murphy. I am going to miss the Hot Tamale train.
What do you think of the new judges? Are you going to watch when SYTYCD is finally back after a 2-year hiatus on May 18th?
And I am sure you want to know will Cat Deeley be back? The answer is yes!
Earlier this week, Fox sent a press release confirming that So You Think You Can Dance will be back this summer after a two-year COVID-19 break. However, they did not mention who would be judging or who would be hosting.
Today, we got an update from Nigel Lythgoe, who appeared on every season of the show. “I am so thrilled that America’s young aspiring dance talent will get to work with some of our greatest creative choreographers,” he wrote with a but. “On a personally sad note, I have not been asked to be on the judging panel this season. I don’t know who will be saying ‘Cue Music’ but I wish them well.”
While he is the staple of the series, it is time for a change. Now, it is the perfect time for a restart after the break.
With his departure, you have to wonder if they will be bringing back Cat Deeley, who is the heart of the show.
So You Think You Can Dance has been off for the last two summers because of COVID-19. Since it is February and we haven’t heard anything, I thought it was going to take another summer off.
Today, the dancer revealed the dancing competition’s fate in a tweet. “Great news #SYTYCD is coming back this Summer to @DANCEonFOX. Good luck to all the dancers trying out this year. Let!s bring some sunshine back into our lives. CUE MUSIC,” he wrote.
He didn’t reveal who will be sitting beside him, but Mary Murphy’s butt better be in one of those seats. Especially because I heard her screaming when I read his tweet!
Due to COVID-19, So You Think You Can Dance has sat out two seasons on Fox. Therefore, you have to wonder if the dancing competition will grace us with another season this summer.
Yesterday, when Nigel Lythgoe was on On-Air with Ryan Seacrest, the Idol host asked him that very question. Lythgoe told him, “I think it is going to come back this year. No one has really contacted me yet. But there are rumors it is going to come back.”
Lythgoe then explained that it is hard for SYTYCD to live in a COVID-19 bubble because they are switching out choreographers every week, and the contestants swap partners. So with that in mind, it is hard to keep everyone as safe as a show like Dancing with the Stars. And that show couldn’t even protect its people from getting it.
Therefore, Lythgoe is hoping the pandemic will be closer to the end with vaccines so that his show can come back.
“Production on season 17 of So You Think You Can Dance will not be moving forward due to health and governmental restrictions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.” Then the statement continued with, “As a result, while we were looking forward to its return this summer, we cannot meet the standards we’ve set for viewers and contestants in light of the show’s unique format, intricate production schedule and limited time.”
The news is not a surprise, but it is still sad to read. It will be interesting to see how other reality competition shows, that require the acts to perform in front of judges, will go on. America’s Got Talent will most likely be the guinea pig for Dancing with the Stars and The Masked Singer (although the contestants are already wearing masks.)
I wonder when CBS is going to announce that Big Brother will also be taking the summer off. Although, they could easily keep the contestants and crew quarentined on the CBS Radford lot.
