Dancing Reality Shows Compete for 2008 Summer Ratings

After the big TV shows wrapped for the season, networks once filled the summer programming with reruns. Not any longer. Now, we can look forward to a quickie summer season filled with TV shows that grab your interest quick but don't require you to see every episode to enjoy them. One genre of such summer shows that seems to be getting a lot of airtime in 2008 is the dancing reality show. Three networks plan to roll out dancing reality shows just in time for summer.

First up is Fox bringing viewers its 4^th season of "So You Think You Can Dance." This competition show from the producers of "American Idol" is very similar in format. Each year, the first few weeks are devoted to tryouts where the best and the rest all get airtime either wowing the judges or making laughing stocks of themselves. Next come callbacks, where the promising dancers are whittled down based on talent and personality. The show is hosted by Cat Deeley and features weekly judges, Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy, along with guest judges and the best of today's choreographers. According to Lythgoe, what sets "So You Think You Can Dance" apart from other dancing shows is that they are not necessarily looking for the best dancer, but America's favorite dancer. That being said, "So You Think You Can Dance" requires its dancers to learn a gamut of dances from hip-hop to waltz and lyrical to quickstep. Winners are not only those who dance well, but dancers who dance well across a wide variety of styles. "So You Think You Can Dance" airs Wednesdays and Thursdays on Fox throughout the summer.