Executive producer Nigel Lythgoe has been teasing the return of the iconic dance show, So You Think You Can Dance. Now, reports say that the long delayed SYTYCD season 17 will air this summer on FOX.
And to further confirm that the series is returning to TV, a casting notice announced that auditions are about to begin. “So You Think You Can be America’s Favorite Dancer?” the notice reads. “Then submit your solo NOW because FOX is bringing back TV’s ultimate dance show!”
SYTYCD took a 2 year break
So You Think You Can Dance season 17 was about to kick off auditions in 2020 when the pandemic shut down film and TV production. While TV competitions like American Idol, The Voice and America’s Got Talent found ways to proceed with their respective seasons, FOX decided to scrap the beloved dance show for the summer, but stressed it wasn’t necessarily canceled.
When 2021 rolled around, and vaccines for COVID-19 became available, competition show production got back to normal or near-normal, including on the dance show Dancing with the Stars. Nevertheless, FOX didn’t add SYTYCD to the summer schedule, at which point it seemed as if FOX canceled the show for good.
But then recently, producer and judge Nigel Lythgoe teased the show’s return. He told Ryan Seacrest on his radio show, “Obviously, during the Covid period, it was really difficult to create a bubble because we had so many different choreographers coming in and and you are swapping partners,” Nigel told Ryan. “So it’s very difficult to do during this terrible pandemic. But hopefully we’ll come into the end of it now and [So You Think You Can Dance] will come back.”
SYTYCD has created stars
Also worth noting–SYTYCD has featured dancers who went on to become successful performers. For instance, hit making pop singer, Tate McRae came in third as a 13 year old on the ill-advised Junior version of the show in 2016. And hey, here is a fun fact you MAY not know. Ariana DeBose landed a spot in the SYTYCD season 6 Top 20 back in 2009. The triple threat has starred on Broadway, but recently she landed the role of Anita in Stephen Spielberg’s West Side Story reboot. She also hosted the Jan. 15 edition of Saturday Night Live on NBC.
Stephen “tWitch” Boss, who is essentially Ellen Degeneres’ co-host on her talk show, and actually met her when her served as an all-star on season 7. He made the Top 20 on season 4.
SYTYCD has also served as a direct pipeline to Dancing with the Stars. Ballroom dancers who competed on SYTYCD include Artem Chigvintsev (S1), Allison Holker (S2), Witney Carson (S9), Lindsay Arnold (S9), Jenna Johnson, Alan Bersten and more.
