It seems fans aren’t the only ones who want to see ABC bring back the two-seasons-a-year format for Dancing with the Stars.
As fans will recall, for most of its run, Dancing with the Stars aired two seasons annually, with one season in the fall and a second in the spring. Sadly, ABC opted to eliminate the spring season of the show in 2019 with the show’s final spring season airing in 2018.
This change was met with understandable disappointment from fans who have long hoped to see ABC finally revisit the two-seasons-a-year approach, not only because of their love for the show but because of the fact that the spring season would often allow the show to attract talent unable to compete in the fall. This includes active NFL players who are unable to compete on the show due to the fact that the fall season films during the same time as the NFL season, making it impossible for the NFL’s biggest names to compete on Dancing with the Stars.
Fans have been calling upon ABC to bring back the spring season for years, but it seems they’re not the only ones fighting this fight. In fact, one of the show’s longest tenured pros has entered the chat to beg ABC to consider giving fans a spring season once again.
“Bring back a spring season,” three-time Dancing with the Stars winner Val Chmerkovskiy wrote in the comments of ABC’s Instagram post used to announce the show’s return this fall. It was a simple plea, but one that quickly gained the support of fans who made Chmerkovskiy’s comment one of the most-liked replies on the promotional Instagram post.
“LITERALLY I SAY THIS EVERY YEAR!!!!! Give the people what they want ABC!!!” exclaimed one fan, who best summed up the reactions of the Dancing with the Stars fandom.
While we understand that ABC cut the show down to one season a year due to scheduling and budgeting reasons, now seems like the perfect time to return to the twice-a-year format for the show.
Dancing with the Stars is coming off one of its most successful seasons in recent years, and it’s clear that fans are more invested in the franchise than ever before. Not only is the show enjoying a resurgence among viewers, but ABC could truly use two seasons of Dancing with the Stars now more than ever before, as the state of another ABC franchise hangs in limbo.
We’re referring to The Bachelor franchise, which for the first time is not currently a part of ABC’s planned schedule, with no new season of The Bachelor or The Bachelorette actively in development. Unless something changes, this means that there will be no new season of The Bachelor coming in the spring. This could leave ABC with a hole in the schedule to fill, and we can’t think of a better way to fill the hole than with a spring season of Dancing with the Stars!
Bringing Dancing with the Stars back in the spring could allow ABC to bring in stars from areas we haven’t gotten to see compete on the show in some time. This would allow not only for current NFL players to compete again, but it could also open the door for other talent pools, such as casting someone from The Golden Bachelor, which will be airing in the fall.
The move could also allow ABC the chance to try to steal a bit of thunder away from its competitors in the spring. For example, Survivor 50 will be airing on CBS in the spring, so a spring season could allow ABC to cast a Survivor icon in the spring season at a time when the fan interest will be higher than ever. Or they could go for a former member of The Voice family, such as a former coach, to compete as part of the cast opposite the spring cycle of The Voice.
Whatever way you approach it, there is no denying that there is no better time to bring Dancing with the Stars back for a spring season, and we can only hope ABC will see the opportunity they have and finally give us a spring season of the show again!