Dancing with the Stars leaves ABC for Disney+

[TMC]

https://deadline.com/2022/04/dancing...31-1234996886/

The long-running ABC reality show has been renewed for Seasons 31 and 32 on Disney+, "becoming the first live series to debut on the service," reports Deadline's Lynette Rice. "It is also believed to be the first live streaming reality show in the U.S., marking another milestone for direct-to-consumer platforms." ABC has advised its affiliates that, starting this fall, it will simulcast some of ESPN's Monday Night Football games on Mondays instead of Dancing with the Stars. ABC won't show repeats of Dancing. “After over 30 seasons of the program on ABC, including two spin-offs, Dancing with the Stars will move off of ABC this fall in order for the Network to showcase several Monday Night Football games as well as develop and invest in new and future programming,” ABC said in a statement. Dancing premiered in summer 2005 and helped fill the Monday void left by Monday Night Football moving to ESPN after the 2005 NFL season, with the premiere NFL games moving to NBC's Sunday Night Football. According to Rice, "as part of ESPN’s MNF contract, beginning in 2022, ABC will air exclusively an additional Monday Night Football game, which will expand to three in 2023." ABC will also have an exclusive Monday Night Football contest at some point in the NFL season.

[Zoneboy]

The first link was all I needed to see.

[TMC]

Will Dancing with the Stars' move to Disney+ result in even more Disney synergy?

On the streaming platform, Dancing could become "Dancing to Disney Music with Disney Stars."

[Sgt. Saunders]

First, the sad news that the beloved “Maury” is ending after many years of socially-redeeming television viewing. And, now the awful news that “Dancing With The Stars” is being banished to Disney TV. Has anyone told Marie Osmond the terrible news yet?

How will America possibly cope with the apparent loss of “Dancing With The Stars,” a veritable National institution? Thank God we still have the winsome Kardashian family to provide us all with a much-needed vicarious thrill!

[stevea]

Originally Posted by Sgt. Saunders

First, the sad news that the beloved “Maury” is ending after many years of socially-redeeming television viewing. And, now the awful news that “Dancing With The Stars” is being banished to Disney TV. Has anyone told Marie Osmond the terrible news yet?

How will America possibly cope with the apparent loss of “Dancing With The Stars,” a veritable National institution? Thank God we still have the winsome Kardashian family to provide us all with a much-needed vicarious thrill!

I'm not sure i can cope.

If someone was to report The View going, that'd be three strikes.

[Sgt. Saunders]

Speaking of “The View,” I enjoyed it when Joy Behar lamented that the war in the Ukraine was interfering with her post-COVID plans to visit Italy.

Gee, I’m very sorry that Ms. Behar’s vacation plans were unexpectedly ruined by that extremely ill-timed war in Europe.

Heck, “Joy” Behar might as well have griped, “Let them eat cake.”

[TMC]

Dancing with the Stars' move to Disney+ makes sense when considering that the show's average age is 63

The Disney+ streaming service has been a hit with kids and young adults, but older adults have stayed away. Dancing may be able to deliver those older viewers. Also, since Disney+ will have a tier with ads, Dancing could attract the advertisers it had when it was on ABC.

[TMC]

This article also states that DWTS will be the first "live" show to be moved to one of the subscription based streaming platforms:
How ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Long Ratings Dip Led to Disney+ Streaming Move​

“DWTS” has plummeted from Season 1 heights — with a 5.1 rating in the key 18-49 demographic that advertisers covet, and 16.79 million average total viewers — to a 0.74 rating and 4.89 million total viewers for Season 30, according to live + same day Nielsen numbers. At its peak viewership, the series averaged nearly 21 million total viewers for Seasons 11 and 12 back in 2010-11.

The latest seasons’ numbers are actually still quite good, all things considered. The show’s fall from grace isn’t anything that any other long-running primetime series hasn’t seen. For context, ABC’s other stalwart, “American Idol” — which has long been one of the most popular shows on broadcast television — has been averaging around a 0.8 rating and 5.46 million total viewers.

That’s likely why the show is a draw for Disney+, which has been trying to attract a more general audience (indicated by updated parental controls and the introduction of mature content, like Netflix’s old Marvel shows).

In return, ABC gets the opportunity to pull in a younger demographic (and just a lot more people in general) by airing pro football. That’s something the network has been seeking for a while, with Tyra Banks replacing longtime host Tom Bergeron.

[TMC]

Don't expect The Bachelor franchise to jump to streaming like Dancing with the Stars

ABC and Disney reality boss Robert Mills and Warner Bros. Unscripted Television president Mike Darnell reflected with Variety on The Bachelor and The Bachelorette's enduring appeal after two decades on air. "The brand is so strong, it could probably live anywhere,” says Darnell. “But it’s one of the few things that works well on broadcast.” Mills, who noticed the power of The Bachelor when Jimmy Kimmel guest-hosted in 2015, adds: “There is definitely a fluctuation season to season and you know when it’s working, but really, I pay more attention to the social buzz than the actual ratings. Jimmy told me, ‘I know those ratings are wrong because I got more feedback on that episode that I hosted than anything else I’ve ever done in my career.’”

[TMC]

Disney+ will air Season 31 of Dancing with the Stars commercial-free.

Yes, the long-running competition show will air undisrupted by commercials in its new home, according to TV Line. Season 31 of the reality show will look a little different as the entire run will be free of ad breaks.

[JamesG]

[MA]

https://www.usatoday.com/story/enter...ry/8006274001/

'DWTS' Season 31 cast revealed: Shangela makes history; Selma Blair, Cheryl Ladd cast

The new cast for "Dancing With the Stars" season 31 has been revealed, as drag performer Shangela makes history.
The new cast also includes Cheryl Ladd, Selma Blair, singer Jordin Sparks, "Bachelorette" Gabby Windy.
"Real Housewives of New Jersey" star Teresa Giudice, "Jersey Shore" star Vinny Guadagnino are cast.
Halleloo! Shangela is making "Dancing With the Stars" history.

D.J. "Shangela" Pierce, 40, the singer and performer featured on three seasons of VH1's "RuPaul's Drag Race," will be the first male celebrity contestant to be paired with a male professional dancer when the ballroom dance reality competition kicks off its 31st season Sept. 19, its first to stream live on Disney+ (8 EDT/5 PDT).

The "A Star Is Born" stand-out, who met pro dancer partner Gleb Savchenko last week while filming the Season 3 finale of HBO's "We're Here" in New Jersey, was thrilled to find out about the groundbreaking pairing.

"It was jaw on the floor," Shangela tells USA Today. "I feel so grateful and have not missed out on how momentous this is. And I want to rise to the occasion, baby."

Shangela, who identifies as male in day-to-day life, wants to make it clear that this casting represents bigger history than "two guys dancing" in the rule-filled ballroom dance world.

"This is something totally different because I'm a drag entertainer who will be standing up there," says Shangela. "On the dancing nights, I'm going to be dressed as the doll, honey. That's my fiercest form as an entertainer. When I'm in drag, my pronouns are she/her. So seeing a drag queen with a male dancer is going to be something powerful. This is going to be a great space and an amazing platform to showcase that kind of representation."

The new cast, heavy on reality-TV stars, also includes "CODA" star and deaf actor Daniel Durant, 32, (following in co-star Marlee Matlin's footsteps); "Charlie's Angels" star Cheryl Ladd, 71; "Cruel Intentions" star Selma Blair, 50; comedian and game-show host Wayne Brady, 50; "Real Housewives of New Jersey" star Teresa Giudice, 50; "Jersey Shore" star Vinny Guadagnino, 34; "Bachelorette" Gabby Windy, 31; "American Idol" alum Jordin Sparks, 32; and a mother-daughter super-influencer match-up between Heidi and Charli D'Amelio, who stars in a reality show on Disney-owned Hulu.

Last season, YouTube star JoJo Siwa made "DWTS" history with her same-sex pro partner Jenna Johnson Chmerkovskiy, a power duo that went all the way to the show's finals where they took second place in the competition, which has aired on ABC since its debut in 2005.

Many international versions of "Dancing With the Stars" have featured paired male dancers, and fellow "RuPaul's Drag Race" alum Courtney Act danced in drag on Australia's "DWTS" in 2019.

Executive producer Conrad Black, who returns to the ballroom show as it moves to the streaming platform, calls the casting breakthrough "a step for the show" that is also "reflecting the world of entertainment and the modern world."

Most importantly, Shangela is a "fantastically engaging personality. It's a performance show, and no one gets performance quite like Shangela," says Black. "She's going to be pretty fierce as a performer. "

Shangela has been watching "DWTS," since growing up in Paris, Texas, and has been preparing for this moment ever since "I started dancing with a towel on my head in my grandmother's bathroom."

The prospect of competing in the eye-catching "DWTS" costumes is particularly appealing.

"As a drag entertainer, this is probably the most exciting thing," says Shangela. "The fact that this legendary costume department makes custom outfits for each person each week is thrilling."

While he lacks ballroom dancing technical specifics, Shangela has natural moves, talent, star power and 1.5 million Instagram followers.

"I've always been in my heart, a dancer. I've traveled the world not just as a dancer, but as an entertainer. So my dancing skills will just have to catch up."

Much of this technical instruction will come from Savchenko. But even the instructor is going to learn as well.

"Coming from the drag world, I'm a performer. I'm going to be teaching him a couple of things," says Shangela, who won't predict a winner, but promises show-stopping performances.

"I've never been ballroom dancing before, and this is going be all very new to me," says Shangela. "But let me tell you something: When Shangela shows up, it's going to be a show. I can guarantee that."

[MA]

The partnerships:

Selma Blair and Sasha Farber

Teresa Giudice and Pasha Pashkov

Gabby Windey and Val Chmerkovskiy

Vinny Guadagnino and Koko Iwasaki

Jordin Sparks and Brandon Armstrong

Jessie James Decker and Alan Bersten

Shangela and Gleb Savchenko

Cheryl Ladd and Louis van Amstel

Jason Lewis and Peta Murgatroyd

Joseph Baena and Daniella Karagach

Trevor Donovan and Emma Slater

Daniel Durant and Britt Stewart

Wayne Brady and Witney Carson

Sam Champion and Cheryl Burke

Charli D’Amelio and Mark Ballas

Heidi D’Amelio and Artem Chigvintsev

[ponytail]

My mom loves watching DWTS, mainly watching the professional's dance. We don't have Disney Plus, I told her the news and she like whatever. She doesn't care.

[MA]

Selma Blair Exits 'Dancing With the Stars' Due to MRI Results, Delivers One Last Beautiful Dance

https://www.etonline.com/selma-blair...eautiful-dance