Andy DehnartAfter the weak performance of Dancing with the Stars‘ all-star season this fall, all options seem to be on the table, according to a report, including moving to one season a year, in spring.
While an ABC spokesperson said, “We haven’t made a decision about fall yet, but we have no indication that it won’t be on the schedule,” The New York Post reports that the show is considering “airing just once each year, in the spring.”
An anonymous “production source” also tells the paper that producers “have to figure something out. Maybe change the judges. The show needs a total makeover.” Heck, why not just change its name to American Idol and see if more people watch?
Seriously, this kind of thinly sourced report sounds like throwing things against the wall to see what will stick in the wake of not-exactly-warranted freaking out. Dancing with the Stars has always skewed old, and airing it against The Voice didn’t help retain young viewers. And perhaps the problem was just having an all-star format, which didn’t work for this particular series, a show that is more about entertainment than competent dancing. People can complain all they want about the show being a popularity contest, but that’s what it is, and that’s what people want to watch.
That said, one season a year is a terrific idea, especially for studio competition series, which seem so familiar. American Idol‘s reign as the country’s television’s number-one series was due in no small part to Fox’s wise decision to make it an annual event, although between auditions and the tour, it really is a year-round attention whore.