Here’s When ‘Dancing With The Stars’ Will Finally Return To ABC After One-Year Hiatus

After a year hiatus, Dancing with the Stars will return for Season 28 in the fall of 2019, thrilling fans of the beloved reality dance competition series who were worried the show was on the chopping block after a season where fan outrage regarding the show’s voting system came into question.

During Season 27 of the series, radio personality Bobby Bones was crowned the winner of the season alongside his pro, Sharna Burgess. Fan outrage was at its highest point ever after Bones was named the winner as many viewers felt that Milo Manheim, who came in second with pro Witney Carson, was the better competitor.

The show then failed to appear on the spring roster of reality series in 2019, leading fans to wonder if it would return for the fall or quietly disappear. However, ABC announced on Friday, April 10, per TV Guide, that the show was officially renewed.

TV Guide also reported the show has dealt with some strange scheduling circumstances over the past couple of years. In the spring of 2018, it reported that Dancing with the Stars: All Athletes would air, but over the course of four weeks instead of the show’s regular 10-week cycle of performances.

The show then aborted a full spring season of the series entirely and aired Season 27 in the fall of 2018 programming it alongside a short season of Dancing with the Stars Juniors, where young celebrities competed in the ballroom alongside DWTS pro-mentors.

While it was never discussed why the show chose to skip an entire year of programming, many fans feel that the series is attempting to revamp its voting procedures so fans feel the most deserving couples win the competition. Fans opined that many of the series’ most talented frontrunners were voted off while others who may have had personality but no real skill were allowed to linger longer than they likely should have in the competition.

TV By the Numbers reported that during Season 27, Dancing with the Stars picked up an average of 7 million viewers per episode, so it was an obvious choice to renew the competition series.

As for which pros will be returning, this will likely be announced when the show begins revealing which celebrities will compete in early September, weeks before the formal competition begins to air. The show regularly ties in with Good Morning America, where the latter program reveals both the competing celebrities and their partner pros in succession.

Dancing with the Stars will air in the fall of 2019.