‘Dancing With the Stars’ Season 32 Could Be Postponed

Dancing With the Stars Season 32 was set to debut this month, but a new report indicates it could be postponed. Deadline reports that ABC is considering holding off on the show amid the ongoing WGA/SAG-AFTRA strikes. The move comes as celebrity contestant Matt Walsh announced he is “pausing” his involvement with the show — while Alyson Hannigan and Mira Sorvino reportedly consider doing the same — amid pressure from their striking peers. At this time, it appears no official decision has been made on the DWTS season premiere.

The current Hollywood strikes began with the Writers Guild of America strike on May 2. The organization represents more than 11,000 Hollywood TV and movie writers. The strike was the result of the WGA not reaching an acceptable agreement after six weeks of wage negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

“Though we negotiated intent on making a fair deal – and though your strike vote gave us the leverage to make some gains – the studios’ responses to our proposals have been wholly insufficient, given the existential crisis writers are facing,” the negotiating committee wrote in a letter to members, per VOX. “The companies’ behavior has created a gig economy inside a union workforce, and their immovable stance in this negotiation has betrayed a commitment to further devaluing the profession of writing.” 

The Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) also began a strike on July 4. Among their list of demands, SAG-AFTRA is asking for “minimum earnings to simply keep up with inflation,” protection of performers’ “images and performances to prevent replacement of human performances by artificial intelligence technology,” “compensation to reflect the value we bring to the streamers who profit from our labor,” and “support from our employers to keep our health and retirement funds sustainable.”

In a message to members and the public, SAG-AFTRA previously stated, “Here’s the simple truth: We’re up against a system where those in charge of multibillion-dollar media conglomerates are rewarded for exploiting workers. The companies represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) – which include Amazon/MGM, Apple, Disney/ABC/Fox, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Paramount/CBS, Sony, Warner Bros. Discovery (HBO), and others – are committed to prioritizing shareholders and Wall Street. Detailed below are some of the key issues of the negotiation and where things stand. We moved on some things, but from day one they wouldn’t meaningfully engage on the most critical issues.” At this time, the strike does not have a planned end date.