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Nigel Lythgoe really is in talks with Paula Abdul about her joining SYTYCD
by Jason Hughes, posted Aug 6th 2009 12:45PM
Nigel Lythgoe really was serious about wanting to work with Paula Abdul again. Lythgoe used to be executive producer on American Idol, before he left to devote his full attention to So YouThink You Can Dance. This upcoming week, they'll be filming "Vegas Week" for the upcoming fall season six of the hit summer series.But before that starts, Lythgoe has invited Paula Abdul to fly down to Vegas this weekend so they can talk about her possibly becoming a part of the show. He'd love to have her, of course, "If I can afford her," he says. The question becomes: was it the money over at Idol, or the fact that she felt disrespected?
As to what capacity Abdul could be involved in the show as it takes Idol's time slots in the fall, she could be very involved. Hell, if they agree to things quickly, she could be a part of the judging panel for "Vegas Week," meaning she'd only have missed the initial auditions, and she could certainly join the choreographer pool immediately.
If Lythgoe can get her, it would be a pretty big move for the show, FOX and Abdul. With Dance trying to prove it can hack it with the big boys in the fall season this year, having such a high profile personality who's been on the number one show on television join your roster of judges doesn't hurt. I imagine a ton of Idol and Abdul fans would tune in at least once to see how she's doing in her new digs.
It's a win for FOX because it keeps her on the same network, in essentially the same time slot, so the network can at least somewhat appear as if they were loyal to her. And it's a win for Abdul, because it's a perfect fit for her talents, and there's no better time to join the hit reality show than when it's making a high profile move of its own. Now it could be new season, new judge, new choreographer.
I'd imagine they'd have to offer her a permanent seat on the panel next to Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy. And, to be able to properly market her addition to the show for the greatest impact, that would be the right move. I have mixed feelings about whether I would still want the rotating chair for other choreographers to comment, because about half of them offer good criticism while the other half are just crap. Of course, that also sums up Paula's track record.
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