When SYTCD season 17 debuted, fans realized that Nigel Lythgoe had been replaced as a judge. However, he is saying that he wants to return.
So You Think You Can Dance was one of many regular series that had to be postponed due to COVID-19, and former judge Nigel Lythgoe is interested in returning to the show. Fans of the series were happy when the show returned this spring, after a two-year hiatus. However, one popular face that was missing from the season premiere was co-creator and executive producer, Nigel Lythgoe, who had been a judge on the series since its debut. For 16 seasons, Nigel served as a SYTYCD judge, and, during that time, he became a fan favorite.
His exclusion from season 17 was very hard for So You Think You Can Dance fans to accept, especially since producers never explained why he wasn’t there. Still, according to Cinemablend, Nigel remained faithful to the series. He continued supporting performers, and the three new judges that replaced him: tWitch, JoJo Siwa, and Leah Remini. However, during his 73rd birthday, Nigel seemed to imply that he wanted to come back to SYTYCD. He added a post on his Twitter page, where he thanked his followers for their birthday messages. In the Twitter post, Nigel wrote: “Thank you to all my family, friends and #SYTYCD fans for my Happy Birthday wishes. I’ll have to wait until next year when hopefully my birthday wish will come true. I wonder if you can guess what it is?” Most people already knew what he was talking about, and when a follower asked if it was to be back on the show, Nigel replied with a smiley face emoji, which appeared to confirm the statement.
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Will Nigel Be Back on SYTYCD?
Nigel’s desire to be back on SYTCD is perfectly understandable, since he was initially scheduled to return as a judge for season 17. The celeb spent most of 2021 updating fans about when the show would return, and the production timeline. Also, with all the excitement and build-up that led to the new season, his sudden removal would have been a hard pill to swallow. Even though the producers fired Glee alum Matthew Morrison for not following production protocols, Nigel was still not invited back on the show.
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Although the producers gave no official reason for his absence, Nigel’s removal might be on the list of changes they wanted to make for the new season. They also altered the elimination process, as dancers who progressed to the next stage were chosen by the in-studio SYTYCD audience and judges, rather than the home viewing audience, like it used to be. It is only fitting that Nigel is given a chance to say goodbye to the viewers who have grown accustomed to seeing his face on So You Think You Can Dance. However, it is difficult to predict if fans will ever get to see Nigel back on the show.
