Dancing with the Stars Shocker: It’s Moving Back to ABC!

DANCING WITH THE STARS - “Elvis Night” – The 15 remaining couples “Can’t Help Falling in Love” with Elvis this week as they take on all-new dance styles to music by The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll. Week two of the mirorrball competition will stream live MONDAY, SEPT. 26 (8:00pm ET / 5:00pm PT), on Disney+. (ABC/Christopher Willard) CHARLI D’AMELIO, MARK BALLAS
(ABC/Christopher Willard) CHARLI D’AMELIO, MARK BALLAS

Dancing with the Stars moves BACK to ABC after airing exclusively on Disney+ for only one season

Here’s a shocker. According to sources across many entertainment outlets, Dancing with the Stars is returning to ABC after airing exclusively on Disney+ last season.

It was equally surprising when Disney made the decision last year to move their popular show to the digital platform. At the same time, DWTS received a two year renewal. It became the first live series to debut on the service and the first live streaming reality show in the United States.

Disney+ didn’t release viewership levels for season 31 of DWTS on the platform. The show finished the season with social media star Charli D’Amelio and her pro partner Mark Ballas winning the mirror ball trophy. Both Mark and Cheryl Burke announced they would not be returning to the show.

It’s odd that Disney pulled the show from the ABC schedule, as they were still garnering decent ratings. The speculation was that making DWTS a Disney+ exclusive would goose subscriptions to the fairly new platform. Whether it helped subs or not, who knows.

It’s also worth noting that the Writers Guild of America went on strike yesterday morning at midnight. If it’s a long strike, the impact on scripted shows will be immense. Networks and streamers will be starving for content. Reality shows, which don’t employ union writers, can fill the bill. Disney may be preemptively covering themselves for what could possibly be a long strike.

Cast shakeup

The cast has undergone a big shakeup for season 32. Controversial host Tyra Banks departs after three seasons. Former pro and judge Julianne Hough will join Alfonso Ribeiro as co-host. He moves down onto the floor to face the judges with the contestants, while Julianne will conduct contestant interviews in the Sky Box. Longtime head judge Len Goodman retired at the end of last year. Sadly, he died of bone cancer last month at age 78. Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli will return as judges.

Meanwhile, Val Chmerkovskiy has confirmed that he will return to Dancing with the Stars as a pro. “Yes, I am coming back next season. I’m very excited,” Val shared with US magazine. “I had an amazing season 31, so hopefully I could ride the momentum into season 32.”

His wife, Jenna Johnson sat out season 31 after having a baby. His sister-in-law, Peta Murgatroyd and brother Maks Chmerkovskiy are expecting their second child in June, but he teases that she and his wife will probably return to the ballroom. “I think both of them are gonna be on next season. I know both of ’em are excited.” Maks doesn’t plan to return.

About mj santilli 34832 Articles
Founder and editor of mjsbigblog.com, home of the awesomest fan community on the net. I love cheesy singing shows of all kinds, whether reality or scripted. I adore American Idol, but also love The Voice, Glee, X Factor and more!