What is Happening to So You Think You Can Dance??

While I'm chuffed to bits that my all time favourite reality show, So You Think You Can Dance, was renewed for its 12th season despite its low ratings (I wonder why as the sheer level of talent significantly improves each year), the new season will bring forth some RADICAL changes!

Season 11 winner Ricky Ubeda who I consider to be THE BEST dancer this show has had OF ALL TIME, completely walked away with the competition last year.

Most important of them all, SYTYCD permanent judge Mary Murphy is being replaced. The reasons behind the decision are a bit shady but we know that her contract wasn't renewed. One can easily speculate that her relationship with Nigel Lythgoe, executive producer and also a permanent judge to the show, wasn't as colourful as they seem to display on the show. This whole thing reeks of betrayal to me.

"I'm saddened of course to be released from my contract. I'm very grateful and proud to have been part of such an extraordinary television show, So You Think You Can Dance, for 11 seasons. I'm sure there wasn't a person watching that didn't know I loved what I did!!" said Murphy in a statement confirming rumours circulating that web about the departure of the Hot Tamale Train.

Mary Murphy exits So You Think You Can Dance judging panel.

Now, I do agree that Mary Murphy is a little on the annoying side. But the last sentence of her statement pretty much sums up her entire goofy and loud persona on the show. She loved what she did and she was just extremely happy and excited to do it...

The once staple, Mary Murphy will be replaced not with 1 name but 2! Paula Abdul and Jason Derulo, who both were guest judges, will be replacing Murphy as permanent judges in Season 12. I find this troubling... While Murphy could be a bit irritating, she always gave good pointers to dancers to improve them. However when Jason Derulo, who has tap background, was a guest judge; he had nothing substantial to say to the dancers. As for Paula Abdul, well... Her mumblings are a bit difficult to understand but she at least has much more experience in dance so I hope she will prove to be useful with her criticisms unlike Derulo. I wish they came up with different names to replace Murphy, though...

Paula Abdul and Jason Derulo will replace Mary Murphy.

Change of judging panel will also bring a change in format. Season 12 will have a completely different format, separating the dancers into 2 groups. Stage Dancers vs Street Dancers: Stage dancers will include classically trained dancers from Contemporary, Jazz, Tap, Ballet while Street dancers will be comprised of Hip-hop, Animation, Breaking. So in the top 20, we will have 10 stage and 10 street dancers battling out for the title: "America's Favourite Dancer". 

On a last note, whatever article I read on this new format had nothing to say about gender. Will each group have 5 female and 5 male dancers or will they try to balance out the genders as a whole rather than in individual groups? Like 7 females in stage and 3 females in street? I don't know...

I am not too happy with this news but only time will show if these changes will increase the ratings or keep the entertainment going. I do admit that I will miss the chemistry of Lythgoe and Murphy, though. If the fun factor significantly drops, I'm sure they will have Jesse Tyler Ferguson to fall back on. Now that's a man I'd love to see as a permanent judge!