Could ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ replace Mary Murphy with Paula Abdul?

While we know for certain that “So You Think You Can Dance” is returning for a twelfth season, that does not necessarily mean that the show will have the same exact judging panel of Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy.

According to a new report from Deadline, Murphy could be replaced on the panel for this upcoming season by none other than Paula Abdul. Paula and Nigel have a lengthy history; he was executive producer of “American Idol” for the majority of the time that she was on the show, and she has also been a guest judge on the show in the past. She has also guest-judged “Dancing with the Stars,” and even at one point fronted her own competition entitled “Live to Dance.”

With that being said, this isn’t necessarily what we think is the big change that the show really needs. More so than trying to figure out if they want to or really need to replace someone on the panel, we would just focus more on finding great dancers, and producing organic moments from that. We honestly feel like this is the rare reality show that doesn’t need twists or any new ideas to keep it going; just having great dancing, judges who know their stuff, and also compelling choreography is all they really need.

We’ll have to see what happens here, since talks with Paula have not even really begun yet. Right now, the show is still exploring possibilities.

Regardless, expect it to return once again to Fox this summer. Cat Deeley is almost surely set to return as host again (thank goodness).

What do you think: Does “So You Think You Can Dance” really need a shake-up at the judge position? Let us know what you think today with a comment, and head over here to get some more TV news worth dancing about via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: Fox.)