So You Think You Can Dance Season 17 – Is it happening or not? Updates and more!

So You Think You Can Dance is a reality television dance competition on Fox. It is the flagship series of the international So You Think You Can Dance television franchise. Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe, producers of American Idol, are the creators of So You Think You Can Dance. They also serve as executive producers on the series, alongside Barry Adelman and Allen Shapiro. The series first premiered in July, 2005. Since then, sixteen seasons of So You Think You Can Dance have aired on Fox.

The premise of So You Think You Can Dance is this –

“Contestants compete in various dance styles to secure their place in the “So You Think You Can Dance” studio and to become America’s best dancer. Each week, contestants compete for America’s votes and are eliminated until a winner is named on the season finale.”

Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy, Laurieann Gibson and Dominic “D-Trix” Sandoval were the judges on season 16 of So You Think You Can Dance. Cat Deeley was the host on season 16. She has hosted every episode since season 2 of So You Think You Can Dance.

So You Think You Can Dance Season 17- Will it happen?

Season 16 of So You Think You Can Dance saw an average demo rating of 0.47 in 18-49 category. It had an average of 2.06 million viewers across its 19 episode run. These two metrics are down by a figure of roughly 23%, as compared to season 15. However, the reality show is still loved by millions across the USA. So You Think You Can Dance was renewed for season 17 on February 20, 2020.

Season 17 was set to premiere in the summer of 2020. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the shooting was postponed to August. This was done keeping in view that the circumstances would allow for the shooting to happen. This, however, could not be achieved as well. Finally, in June 2020, Fox indefinitely scrapped season 17 of So You Think You Can Dance. Fox released a statement, saying this-

“So You Think You Can Dance will not be moving forward due to health and governmental restrictions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 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 series might make a return at a later date sometime in the future, when the pandemic subsides. As of right now, season 17 of So You Think You Can Dance remains scrapped.