As Dancing With The Stars prepares to make the move from ABC to Disney+ for its upcoming 31st season, professional dancer and current judge Derek Hough revealed some details about what this change means for the show. In 2020, Dancing With The Stars experienced some behind-the-scenes shake-ups, including Tyra Banks replacing Tom Bergeron who hosted the show for 28 seasons, and Erin Andrews, who co-hosted seasons 18-28. Fans were outraged by the change, and their fury intensified because of their distaste for Tyra's hosting abilities. Fans speculated about whether the long-running show was nearing its end, and they were surprised to hear that it would instead move to the ABC-owned subscription streaming service Disney+ in fall 2022.
Dancing With The Stars will stream in both the United States and Canada. It will be the first live-streaming reality show in the United States. The show has been picked up for two seasons, both of which will stream on Disney+. No announcement has been made about who will host the show, although fans have speculated that Tyra might be replaced. On ABC, Monday Night Football will take the usual time slot of Dancing With The Stars.
Although very few details about the new season of Dancing With The Stars have been announced, in an interview with ET, Derek revealed that he is returning to the show for season 31. Derek began his tenure with Dancing With The Stars as a professional dance partner in 2007 for season 5 and remained in that role until season 23 in 2016, only missing season 12 in order to film the movie Make Your Move. In 2020, Derek filled in for judge Len Goodman during season 29 when Len was unable to travel from England to the United States due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He remained on the judging panel even after Len returned for season 30. Derek shared that although he does not know "exactly" who will return to Dancing With The Stars for season 31 with him, he is sure "a lot of familiar faces will be there, of course."
Derek said that his initial reaction to the move was, "'Wha? What does that mean?!' But within 10 seconds, I was very, very excited about it." He explained that he thinks that a lot of things are moving toward streaming services and that Dancing With The Stars "has always been a trailblazer, they've always been the first to do things." He said that the show moving into this new area is "very bold, very brave, and I'm very excited about it, to be a part of that new phase in television!" One of the perks of Dancing With The Stars moving into the uncharted territory of a streaming service is the lack of commercial breaks and other aspects of traditional broadcast television. Derek explained, "It's more opportunity for more performances, more dances, more creativity... so I'm excited about that too."
As Dancing With The Stars charts a new course, Derek appears to be very excited about its future. His enthusiasm for the new season is infectious. His return as a judge will bring a familiarity to the show that audiences need during such a huge change. Derek has danced his way into the hearts of Dancing With The Stars fans and his return for season 31 as a judge will make them kick up their heels.
Source: ET