Top 3 Reasons Why This Could Be the Last Season of 'ABDC'
By Chrissy Le Nguyen | Thursday, February 26, 2009, 4:29 PM
Beat Freaks perform while making a silver ball levitate.
MTV/ Chris Polk
We're only an episode away from the season finale of "America's Best Dance Crew" and MTV has yet to announce if they'll be picking up the show for a fourth season. That worries me.
"ABDC" became an instant hit for MTV when it first debuted in early 2008 and the reality competition show's third season has played a huge part in boosting weeknight ratings for the cable network. Plus, a trend started to emerge: Support of viewers didn't stop after the show aired on TV. People started to consume "ABDC" content online in droves. But the question of whether or not this success is enough to get the series another season still looms.
As a die-hard fan of the show I can honestly say that if "ABDC" doesn't get picked up for Season 4 I will probably go into an immediate state of depression. Although my heart is 95% positive that America will be treated to another roster of dance crews, I can't fight the nagging feeling at the pit of my stomach that keeps telling me that "ABDC's" time could very well be numbered.
Here are the top three reasons why I think a fourth season of "ABDC" may not happen (but let's hope I'm totally wrong!):
1. Production Costs
I imagine the budget to produce a show like "ABDC" is through the roof and that could be especially difficult for a cable network to handle season after season. In today's economy, cost is a big factor and can make or break a show's future. On top of maintaining a large crew and an elaborate set, MTV has to house and feed over 40 contestants, who require transportation to and from the hotel and the dance studio for practice, rehearsals and weekly costume fittings. But of all the show's expenses, music clearances burn the biggest hole in MTV's wallet.
I chatted with "ABDC" creator and executive producer Howard Schwartz at this past Tuesday's taping where he revealed that getting today's most popular music cleared for use on the show is indeed very costly, but using the hottest and hippest songs being played on the radio and downloaded on iTunes is absolutely essential for a show like "ABDC." Howard mentioned that Boys vs. Girls week was originally supposed to be Chris Brown & Rihanna week à la the Britney challenge, but because of the recent disturbing news surrounding the two popular recording artists, the show's producers thought it would be in bad taste to go with their initial plan. They scrambled to secure new music clearances and luckily the composition of the final four teams -- Quest Crew, Beat Freaks, Strikers All-Stars, and Fly Khicks -- allowed for an easy theme change.
2. Lack of Dance Crews
"ABDC" usually starts off with over 10 crews competing against other crews within their geographical region for a spot on the show, but Season 3 was the first season that kicked off without a live auditions special. Is the talent pool getting so small that producers couldn't find enough crews for an auditions episode? If that's the case, then there definitely won't be enough crews for another go-round.
3. Fans are Losing Interest
A bunch of ridiculously talented and creative dance crews have showed off their amazing skills on the show, but many people would agree that there isn't a dance crew that can or ever will top the JabbaWockeeZ. Because of that ingrained belief, viewers expect the crews to amaze them right off the bat. (Remember when JabbaWockeeZ made us swoon with their "Apologize" performance or when Super Cr3w dressed up like ninjas? I knew I was already in love with those two champion teams early on with those breakout routines!) Even though the talent of Season 3 has collectively been better than the previous two seasons' crews, I wasn't blown away until Beat Freaks played with a magical floating ball, which was already five episodes into an eight-episode season. Nowadays, the fans' attention needs to be captured within the show's first two episodes, any later and people will lose interest and stop watching. It seems like fervor for "ABDC" has dialed down significantly. Hype has definitely increased this season, thanks to the outstanding head-spinning of the Beat Freaks, but it has yet to match the glory days when everyone and their babies (Have you seen Jabba Baby?) were crazy gaga over the crews. If a fourth season is ordered, the crews should take note to wow us as quickly as possible!
Talk About It: Why should MTV pick up "ABDC" for another season?