The So You Think You Can Dance Season 18 news is proof that, sometimes, the TV gods actually do think we can have nice things. Not only is the season, you know, actually happening — which was anything but a sure thing before now — but it sounds like this dance show is making a return to proper technique. Basically, next time Cat Deeley welcomes us and introduces our jedges judges, expect that table to be SYTCYD Family Central. That’s at least partially because someone, somewhere, worked on one of last season’s major corrections. Remember the utterly terrible decision to remove Nigel Lythgoe from the seat that had, rightfully, been his from the very beginning? Anyone remember how that worked out? Uh, not great.
(Google “Matthew Morrison texts” if you don’t remember. After that, here’s a reminder of how much knowledge his replacement…didn’t have.)
And so, Season’ 18’s got Lythgoe. Joining “Nasty Nigel” at the jedges’ judges’ table will be a trio of dancers who know plenty about competitions. First, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, is (among many other things) a former Dancing with the Stars pro and occasional guest judge. But here’s where it starts to just feel like dance family hours. Check this out: SYTYCD alumna and DWTS pro Jenna Johnson is married to his brother, Val. (Spoiler alert: Val literally just won the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy with partner Xochitl Gomez) But, wait! There’s more! Jenna was also former “jedge” JoJo Siwa’s pro partner on DWTS. All of this, without even name-dropping any of his students who’ve wound up here…
With all of that in mind, we’re even more excited for the other two new jedges judges. First and foremost, we know that All Stars Comfort Fedoke and Allison Holker know what it is to be a contestant on this show. As we learned from the late, great Stephen “tWitch” Boss (may his memory be a blessing), previous competitive experience on SYTYCD makes for truly special feedback. Which, let’s be real: tWitch was truly special in general. And while we didn’t want to turn his death into clicks at the time (unlike some people…), as long as we’re talking about Season 18 here, we just need to point out that it’s going to be incredibly strange watching and knowing he won’t be there ever again. Strange isn’t even the right descriptor, but there really aren’t any words right now. And no, we didn’t have any when it happened either.
So…just saying the show’s comeback is bittersweet. And it’s fascinating to see how easily we can connect every single Season 18 judge to him. Maksim’s sister-in-law’s partner sat at the table with tWitch. Comfort competed in the same season as him, and they were easily two of the best hip hop dancers ever on this show. Nigel…well. Nigel connects everyone who’s ever been a part of SYTYCD. And last, but never, ever least, there’s Allison. Although no one will ever fill tWitch’s shoes or replace him, it’s fitting that she’ll be in what we suppose we’ll think of as his chair.
Now, full disclosure: We’re always happy to see Allison Holker anyway. She was one of our favorites in Season 2, and her All Star performances have utterly crushed us — but, like, in a good way — over the years. So, like Comfort, she’s been a huge part of the series’ legacy in her own right. But in the presence of tWitch’s profound absence, knowing Allison, his wife who was was frequently seen dancing beside him, will be a part of So You Think You Can Dance Season 18…it just works.
What we’re saying here is those dance gods made sure someone took great care with these choices. Now, was this all on purpose? Or did our minds do some conspiracy board, Kevin Bacon Game nonsense to us to force us into feeling a lot of feelings? And does it matter? Most likely, it’s just a matter of fate. You can’t be so involved in, and important to, a community without having all these connections and many, many more. Regardless, it just feels like the universe got it right this time.
So You Think You Can Dance Season 18 premieres on FOX on Monday, March 4.
