So You Think You Can Dance has announced its host, panel of judges, and Summer 2022 premiere date for the show's upcoming seventeenth season on Fox.

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Fox has announced Emmy Award-nominated Cat Deeley will reprise her role as host and Season 17 of So You Think You Can Dance will feature a brand new lineup of judges.

The new So You Think You Can Dance judges are former SYTYCD judge and All-Star Stephen "tWitch" Boss, Broadway star and former Glee actor Matthew Morrison, and singer and social-media sensation JoJo Siwa.

The new So You Think You Can Dance season is set to premiere with a one-hour episode on Wednesday, May 18 at 9PM ET/PT on Fox, immediately following the season finale of The Masked Singer.

Fox dubbed the new judges "dynamic" given Matthew has been nominated for Emmy, Tony and Golden Globe awards.

JoJo finished as the runner-up on Dancing with the Stars' latest 30th season in the reality dancing competition's first-ever, same-sex partnership with pro dancer Jenna Johnson, and tWitch recently hosted The Real Dirty Dancing competition on Fox.

Fox announced in early March it's bringing So You Think You Can Dance back after a three-year hiatus, and fans naturally assumed the series' co-creator and executive producer Nigel Lythgoe -- who has served as a judge since Season 1 -- would return and serve as a judge.

However, Nigel announced last month he won't be sitting on the judging panel when the series returns this summer.

Nigel took to Twitter on March 4 and wrote, "I am so thrilled that America's young aspiring dance talent will get to work with some of our greatest creative choreographers."

"On a personally sad note," he continued, "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."

The following day, Nigel also tweeted, "Yes, 'Freshen up' is basically what @DANCEonFOX hopes to do. RT @Lucky14Films: @dizzyfeet I get it that many networks want to 'freshen up' a show, because they think it will keep it relevant, but that doesn't apply here!"

Nigel clearly seems upset about the direction casting has chosen to take, and it appears to be a departure from what Fox had decided in 2020 when Season 17 was initially supposed to air.

Fox had originally announced in February 2020 that So You Think You Can Dance's seventeenth season -- which was supposed to premiere in Summer 2020 until it was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic -- would feature Nigel, Mary Murphy and Laurieann Gibson as judges.

The show also revealed at the time Cat Deeley would once again host the show.

The show's sixteenth season premiered in June 2019, with the winner, Bailey Munoz, being crowned champion in September of that year. Nigel, Mary, Laurieann, and Dominic Sandoval had served as the judges.

So You Think You Can Dance's upcoming edition will once again feature "highly skilled dancers between the ages of 18 and 30" showcasing their abilities in various dance styles -- including contemporary, tap, hip-hop, ballroom, animation, breaking and more.

The selected dancers will move on to the So You Think You Can Dance studio, where they will work with world-renowned choreographers and compete each week in a variety of styles.

Fox also teased there will be "brand-new twists and turns introduced into the competition" on Season 17.

Over the course of its 16 seasons, So You Think You Can Dance has received 71 Emmy Award nominations and garnered 17 Emmy Award wins -- including Outstanding Choreography, Outstanding Costumes, as well as awards in Outstanding Lighting Design.

So You Think You Can Dance is produced by Industrial Media's 19 Entertainment and MRC with Nigel, Jeff Thacker, Rosie Seitchik, Eli Holzman, and Aaron Saidman serving as executive producers.


About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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