‘So You Think You Can Dance’ Judges: Who Left and Why

When So You Think You Can Dance debuted on FOX in 2005, a panel of dance experts were tapped to discover the best up-and-coming performers.

Nigel Lythgoe, who cocreated the competition series alongside Simon Fuller, served as one of the longtime judges since the season 1 premiere. However, after cueing the audition music and marveling over the Top 12’s talents for 16 seasons, he announced his exit in March 2022.

Both Lythgoe and Mary Murphy — the conductor of the self-proclaimed “Hot Tamale Train” — were replaced ahead of 2022’s season 17. Former contestant and All-Star mentor Stephen “tWitch” Boss joined forces with JoJo Siwa and Matthew Morrison to find the country’s next top dancer.

Morrison left in the middle of the choreography round after a “minor infraction” on set when he was accused of sending “inappropriate” texts to a female contestant. The Glee alum denied the claims before “dance enthusiast” Leah Remini took his place.

SYTYCD planned to clean house for 2024’s season 18, enlisting SYTYCD alum Allison Holker (Boss’ widow) and Dancing With the Stars vet Maksim Chmerkovskiy as judges.

Scroll below for all the SYTYCD judges through the years and why they left the show: