So You Think You Can Dance (American TV series)

For the more recent season, see So You Think You Can Dance (American TV series) season 18.

So You Think You Can Dance
Created by
Developed bySimon Fuller
Directed by
Presented by
Judges
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons18
No. of episodes319
Production
Executive producers
Production companies
Original release
NetworkFox
ReleaseJuly 20, 2005 (2005-07-20) –
present
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD) is an American reality television dance competition show that currently airs on Fox in the United States and is the flagship series of the international So You Think You Can Dance television franchise. It was created by American Idol producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe and is produced by 19 Entertainment and Dick Clark Productions The series premiered on July 20, 2005, with over ten million viewers and ended the summer season as the top-rated show on television. The first season was hosted by American news personality Lauren Sánchez. Since the second season, it has been hosted by English former children's television personality and game show emcee Cat Deeley.

The show features a format where dancers trained in a variety of dance genres enter open auditions held in several major U.S. cities to showcase their talents and move forward through successive additional rounds of auditions to test their ability to adapt to different styles. At the end of this process, a small number of dancers are chosen as finalists. These dancers move on to the competition's main phase, where they perform solo, duet, and group dance numbers on live television, attempting to master a diverse selection of dance styles, including classical, contemporary, ballroom, hip-hop, street, club, jazz and musical theatre styles, among others. They compete for the votes of the broadcast viewing audience which, combined with the input of a panel of judges, determines which dancers advance to the next stage from week to week, until a winner is crowned as "America's favorite dancer".

So You Think You Can Dance has won seven Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Choreography and a total of nine Emmy Awards altogether. Licensed variations of the show, produced for broadcast markets in other nations, began airing in August 2005 and dozens of localized adaptations of the show have been produced since, airing in 41 countries to date. The sixteenth season premiered June 3, 2019.[1] On February 20, 2020, the show was renewed for a seventeenth season, that was set to air in the summer of 2020,[2] but, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, the season was indefinitely postponed on June 18, 2020,[3] and eventually premiered on May 18, 2022.[4] In December 2023, it was revealed that an eighteenth season would start filming in Atlanta from December 4, 2023, to January 29, 2024.[5] The eighteenth season would premiere on March 4, 2024.[6][7] Lythgoe departed from the show in January 2024 following a sex abuse lawsuit from one of the show's judges Paula Abdul.[8][9] Jojo Siwa would join the judging panel to replace Lythgoe.[10]

  1. ^ "SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE Returns For 16th Season on FOX 6/3". BroadwayWorld. May 17, 2019. Archived from the original on April 9, 2023. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  2. ^ "Emmy Award-Winning "So You Think You Can Dance" Returns For 17th Season on FOX". The Futon Critic. February 20, 2020.
  3. ^ "Fox Not Moving Forward With Production On 'So You Think You Can Dance' Due To COVID-19". Deadline Hollywood. June 18, 2020. Archived from the original on June 19, 2020. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
  4. ^ Rosario, Alexandra Del (April 5, 2022). "Fox Sets Summer Premiere Dates For 'So You Think You Can Dance', 'MasterChef', 'Lego Masters', 'Fantasy Island' & More". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on April 14, 2022. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  5. ^ Ho, Rodney. "EXCLUSIVE: Fox's 'So You Think You Can Dance' season 18 shooting in Atlanta". Georgia Entertainment Scene Blog (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution). Retrieved December 2, 2023.
  6. ^ Gawley, Paige (March 4, 2024). "Nigel Lythgoe Will Not Appear on 'So You Think You Can Dance' Season 18 Amid Sexual Assault Lawsuits". Entertainment Tonight. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
  7. ^ Mitovich, Matt Webb (December 5, 2023). "So You Think You Can Dance Renewed for Season 18 With a New Judging Panel — Including Nigel Lythgoe (Exclusive)". TVLine. Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  8. ^ Maddus, Gene (January 5, 2024). "Nigel Lythgoe Steps Down From 'So You Think You Can Dance' Amid Sex Abuse Lawsuits". Variety. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  9. ^ Jacobs, Julia (January 5, 2024). "'So You Think You Can Dance' Judge Exits After Paula Abdul Lawsuit". The New York Times. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  10. ^ White, Peter (January 26, 2024). "JoJo Siwa Returns To 'So You Think You Can Dance' To Replace Nigel Lythgoe Following Sexual Assault Accusations". Deadline. Retrieved January 26, 2024.