Was ’Dancing With The Stars’ Cancelled? Season 29 Update, Show Status

By now, “Dancing With the Stars” fans have realized that the show is once again skipping out on a Spring season and won’t return to ABC until, at the earliest, Fall of 2020. However, while a 29th season is still not 100% confirmed, there is reason to believe the show’s future is not in jeopardy.

Speaking at the Winter TCA Press Tour, ABC Entertainment President Karey Burke revealed that a final decision on the show’s renewal hasn’t officially been made, but she doesn’t see a reason why it wouldn’t be brought back for another run on the network.

“The show had a terrific season, use the word resurgent for a reason,” she said.

Season 28 of the show, which saw Hannah Brown and Alan Bersten crowned as winners who took home the Mirrorball Trophy, was one which saw a slew of changes to the format after a controversial 27th season in 2018. Among the changes were the look and feel of the show, as well as the letting go of some popular pros and the troupe. In addition, the show implemented a change to the voting system, which saw viewers picking the Bottom Two each week and the judges then saving one of the teams.

However, the changes with voting were still considered controversial throughout the season, since former Press Secretary Sean Spicer made it to the quarterfinals before he was eliminated, despite low scores. In addition, fans felt it was unfair that despite being in the Bottom Two multiple times, Ally Brooke was sent to the finals over James Van der Beek, who was a more popular dancer throughout the season.

Still, while Burke called the season one that saw a resurgence with all the changes, the future of the series still may not be as certain as it seems. While ratings are still dependable and solid for the ABC Monday night lineup, they are still significantly lower than they used to be during the show’s prime. In 10 seasons, the show has lost millions of viewers, with an average of more than 8 million overall when weekly viewing numbers of factored in.

Though it may still be a reliable performer, bringing in roughly 6 million viewers on most nights, the show’s days where it has a certain place in ABC’s lineup could be numbered if things do not start to improve.