So You Think You Can Dance is going to look pretty different when the lights come up on Season 18. The dance competition has revamped its format to see how the contestants’ skills translate to real-world jobs like music videos or Broadway. We’ll also see some new faces behind the judges’ table, as Dancing with the Stars pros Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Allison Holker make their debuts alongside JoJo Siwa. It appears Chmerkovskiy’s reputation as the “Bad Boy of Ballroom” has followed him, and the dancer had some strong feelings about that nickname and the implication that he will fill the role of “tough judge.”
Judges on competition shows do generally fall into specific categories, be that more of a cheerleader type or one who tends to critique more harshly. However, Maks Chmerkovskiy seemed to reject the notion that his perceived “bad boy” persona from DWTS would be an indication of the type of judge he is on SYTYCD. He told Variety:
You’re going to have to evaluate me and the job that I’m doing. I never go in thinking I’m the tough judge, so now I’m going to be tough. I think I’m a soft-ass bunny sweetheart, white and fluffy. I think you all got confused. You all misinterpret me. Everybody misunderstands me. I lead with rainbows and unicorns and butterflies. And so somehow I’m the ‘bad boy of ballroom.’ I didn’t even know what that meant most of the time. I tried to be me and then you guys would be like, ‘Maks was an asshole.’
The 17-season Dancing with the Stars pro clearly takes issue with the nickname bestowed on him, claiming to be misunderstood when he was just trying to be himself. Maksim Chmerkovskiy gained that reputation in part for his sharp tongue and challenging the DWTS judges when he thought he and his partners received undue criticism. So how will he handle similar situations now that he’s on the other side of the table? Bring it on, he says! Chmerkovskiy continued:
Challenge me, please! One thing I’m not is a hypocrite. I learned early in life that if you want to dish it out, you’ve got to be able to take it. This has to be a professional exchange. Come at me with facts and knowledge and I’ll come back at you with how it really is in the real world, from my personal experience. I’m not going to say, ‘This is what my opinion is.’ No, this is how it happened to me. This is how you fail an audition, this is how you under-prepare, this is how you overthink. I’ve done all the negatives as well. I want to be the mentor to the young adult who is at the beginning of the 20 years that I’m at the end of.
I do love a judge who’s willing to tell it like it is, and it sounds like we might be in for some passionate exchanges this season.
The Season 18 Mirror Ball trophy recipient will join Allison Holker, who competed on So You Think You Can Dance before she herself became a DWTS pro, as a first-time judge. Holker, in effect, replaces her husband tWitch, who served as a SYTYCD judge in Season 17 months before he died by suicide at age 40. Holker said joining the show where her and Stephen Boss’ careers started is another step in moving forward from his death.
JoJo Siwa was a late addition to Season 18. After serving as a judge last season, she was not initially set to return but ended up replacing Nigel Lythgoe after his controversial exit. The series co-creator stepped down after Paula Abdul filed a lawsuit against him in December alleging sexual assault.
It will be interesting to see how the judges relate to one another and if Maks Chmerkovskiy will be the tough judge or if he is, in fact, a “soft-ass bunny sweetheart.” So You Think You Can Dance Season 18 premieres at 9 p.m. ET Monday, March 4, on Fox. Keep up with all of the upcoming premieres by checking out our 2024 TV schedule.
