Viewers of ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars” have had an overall mixed reaction to Tyra Banks since she took over for long-time hosts Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews ahead of season 29.
Now, according to a report by The Sun, executives may be looking to replace Banks as the host of the show.
The show is also set to only air once in 2022, as has been the pattern since Banks took over as host in 2020. The show airs in the fall season on Monday nights.
DWTS Is Looking for ‘A-List Stars’
According to a source speaking with The Sun, Banks has a meeting coming up with ABC executives in early 2022 to “map out 2022” and talk about the show. The source told the outlet that they may not be replacing Banks as host and may instead look for A-List stars to be part of the competition.
The bosses, the source told The Sun, are looking to sign “at least one major star” to get people back into “Dancing With the Stars.”
The hope is that the show will be able to sign “at least one or ideally two major household names that fascinate fans” and to “think big” so that they can get a star who has won “an Oscar, Emmy or Grammy” and make headlines while on the show.
The show is looking for a ratings boost after hitting multiple new lows during season 30, which was set to be a monumental season.
Ratings Hit a New Low
While the season finale did see a huge boost in viewership from the previous episode, according to the recorded ratings on TVSeriesFinale, the show still hit a record low when it comes to number of viewers who tuned in for the finale of a season.
The finale of “Dancing With the Stars” season 30 drew in 5.64 million viewers, which was up nearly 18% from the week before. The show also had a high rating in the 18-49 demographic, which is coveted by networks.
There are many reasons that viewers may not have tuned in to the season. Some vowed to boycott the show when they realized that Tyra Banks would be returning for her second season as host. Others were upset when it was revealed that pop star JoJo Siwa would be dancing with a female partner in the first female partnership in the show’s history.
The season has been down in viewership as a whole when compared to the previous seasons.
For context, the second episode of season 29 pulled in 6.09 million viewers. The premiere of season 29, however, brought in 8.21 million, according to TVSeriesFinale. The drop in numbers is huge when compared to the current season.
A previous report by The Sun has an insider saying that the executives are not blaming host Tyra Banks for the low ratings and are instead concentrating on the talent pool for the show.
“There is a sense that they do not want to make any comments, because they were the ones to bring in Tyra,” the source told the outlet. “And no one wants to lose face saying out loud there are problems. It doesn’t reflect well on their decision. So far the only discussion point about the struggles has been that it is the talent pool this year, which has not appealed to audiences – and nothing to do with Tyra.”
“Dancing With the Stars” has not yet been renewed for season 31. If it does get renewed, the show will return sometime in mid-September of 2022.
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Bank5 is se)f centered,egotistical and not very personal. We are some of the millions who have stopped watching. Also her fashions are awful. Do something quickly before you lose more viewers.
“personable “ and how would you expect her to be “centered”? She was a trailblazer in the modeling industry
People keep commenting on how bad Tyra is. The producers should listen. If that is what is broken and it is then fix it. You can add all the other people they want it won’t fix it. She needs to leave then you won’t have to look for other people. The show was wonderful before she showed up. Her comments are awful and her costumes are ridiculous.
Don’t like Tyra or her over-the-top ridiculous costuming like it’s the point of the whole show. Bring in revolving guest hosts from past seasons and bring in Carson Kressley or RuPaul as a backstage & costume commentator. It’s not the “stars”. We don’t care about bigger names.
Tyra Banks is not the only problem with the show. The fact that West Coast viewers are shut out of the voting is a bigger problem. When I emailed ABC about it. They said I could vote while the show was airing on East Coast time. But you can’t. Part of the fun of the show is voting. Until they redo the voting like it was before, I’m out.
But we all know as cheesy as he was Tom Bergeron was a better fit for the show. He just made sense with DWTS. This article says to me DWTS can’t admit to their own mistakes so that’s nice whatever. The article also has a had a misleading title.
Please please please replace Tyra Banks. Love the show but cant stand her so quit watching
I have stopped watching, it seems that Tyra is the most important person. Her outfit changes are ridicules, and with all the flashing lights, you can’t really see the dancers. I have watched every season, but since Tyra came on, NOT!!!!
That’s great new and about time! I did not watch this season but will start watching again as long as Tyra is gone!
Jamie Bousquet
I support Tyra! And I trust ABC will keep her on! She brings fun and excitement to the show! Not that old maid BS or conservative look the snobs want. I can just imagine the audience that wants Tyra gone… Sad…just sad! This is 2021-22 not the 1930’s!!
I don’t like Tyra, so when she talks, I just mute it. And I don’t care that about JoJo and her female partner. It’s 2021 folks, get over it. In MY opinion, there’s too many unknown people dancing. I don’t consider people that were bachelors or bachelorettes a star. I don’t know where they came up with this! Also, in MY opinion, fans are given too many votes. They don’t know what to look for, they just call in 10 times and vote for who they want. If a person has a big fan base, they stay on. The judges know the dances and what to look for and Len, the head judge tells them about it, whether it is the star or the professional! I think the judges should have at least 50% of the votes. 10 votes for a fan is about 7 too many!
As a nearly twenty year viewer and fan of DWTS there are several reasons for the show’s drop in viewership in my opinion: First, Tyra Banks. She is out of place as a Ballroom dance hostess. She is totally ignorant of Ballroom dance. She is obnoxious, gabbing incessantly about nonsense. Her blathering on an on about Jo Jo Siwa “coming out” was disgusting. No one cares about Siwa’s “coming out”! Bank’s costumes and her so called “walk” are obnoxious also. SHE IS NOT THE SHOW! Secondly, the choreography has deteriorated to nothing more than a variety show type shlock. Any resemblance to real Ballroom dance is purely coincidental. Just watch international Ballroom competitions. There is no comparison. Thirdly, the so called “music” is terrible. None of the instrumentals are correct for classic dance styles. You don’t do a Viennese Waltz, Tango or Paso Doble to bad rock and Pop! Lastly, the only true strict dance judge witlh Ballroom know how is Len and maybe Derek to a lesser degree. Carrie Ann and Bruno go off on tangents too often. My suggestion fro a terrific Banks replacement, the first DWTS winner, John O’Herley. He is suave, handsome, classy, a great speaker and a true star.
I love the show, but I never watched it live. I would always watch it the next day so that I could fast forward the commercials and when Tyra came on. The show was NOT the Tyra Banks show. I don’t remember Tom or Erin coming out in ridiculous looking outfits, trying to show-out and take over the show. It was NOT about HER, it was a show about DWTS. I will go back to watching it live when they get someone to host that doesn’t want to make it about them.