Fox president jokes ‘Dance’ finalists put his back out

A look at some of the highlights as the TV industry unveils its upcoming shows to the entertainment press at the Ritz-Carlton Huntington Hotel & Spa in Pasadena:

To celebrate the summer’s No. 1 show, four of Fox’s “So You Think You Can Dance” finalists danced for the nation’s television critics Tuesday.

Allison and Travis performed a sexy contemporary number they choreographed themselves around 2 a.m. at the hotel; cousins Heidi and Benji composed a show-stopping West Coast swing that left Fox Entertainment President Peter Liguori joking that “my back went out just watching those guys.”

Produced by “American Idol” show-runner Nigel Lythgoe, “So You Think You Can Dance” features dancers skilled in everything from hip-hop, krumping and popping to salsa, quickstep and jive. The two-part finale will air Aug. 9 and Aug. 16, and the winner will receive $100,000, a new car and a year’s contract to appear in Celine Dion’s “A New Day” at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas.

Critics seemed pleased by the breakup in the blah-blah-blah of the schedule on the last day of the summer press tour for the broadcast networks (PBS is up next for two days).

Or maybe it was just the mimosas and Bloody Marys that Fox served in honor of its new comedy “Happy Hour” an hour after breakfast that made them cheery.