Pants-Off Dance-Off

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Pants-Off Dance-Off
Pants-Off Dance-Off Title Screen
Genre	variety
Running time	22 minutes (per episode)
Creator(s)	Tad Low
Starring
Country of origin	United States
Original channel	Fuse TV
Original run	2005–

Pants-Off Dance-Off is a dance contest airing on Fuse TV in the United States at 10:00 p.m., Tuesday Nights, which began airing in 2005.

The TV-PG rated show features ecdysiasts from all walks of life.

Five contestants compete in each episode strip teasing to a music video background as interview bites and photos superimpose on screen, helping tell his or her story and gaining viewer support. The audience selects each week’s winner by text messaging their vote for a specific “pancer.”^[1] Each episode's winning ecdysiast receives $200 and the opportunity to compete in an end of the season championship.

Season 2 added many layers of graphics and sidebars to the series’ original format. While each “pancer” danced, a window on the left edge of frame slid in to present the four other competitors in each episode, allowing them to trash talk the on-screen “pancer” and discourage audiences from voting for anyone but themselves. Throughout each contestant’s dance the host popped up from off screen to crack jokes and poke fun at the pancer’s odds of winning the show.

The show was created by Tad Low, also the creator of Pop-Up Video. The first season of the show featured many different hosts, including Tila Tequila and Krista Ayne. Former child star Jodie Sweetin (Full House) hosted the "Best of Pants-Off Dance-Off", which began in June 2006, going on to regularly host the show during its second season, which began airing September 26, 2006, in production at Sharp Entertainment ^[2], a Manhattan-based television production house known for bringing a fresh perspective to pop-culture television such as in its signature creation, VH1’s The Fabulous Life.

Viewers regularly criticize the Pants-Off Dance-Off for what they feel is false advertising.^[3] Throughout the show, they’re told to text a vote to choose the episode’s winner and then head to FUSE.TV/Pants after the show to see who won and see all the pancers buck-naked. The website reveals pixelizated nude renditions of the dances but not actual nudity.^[4] Despite frustrating some over-eager fans, and TV Guide’s declaration of Pants-Off Dance-Off as the "dumbest show on television"^[5], the show remains one of the network's most popular and tripled late-night ratings during its first season.^[6]