‘Dancing With the Stars’ premiere on track amid WGA’s tentative deal
The latest season of “Dancing With the Stars” will debut as originally planned, following months of tension and uncertainty amid the months-long writers’ strike.
ABC confirmed to The Times on Monday that the star-studded dance competition will premiere Tuesday at 8 p.m. Pacific, just days after the Writers Guild of America and major Hollywood studios struck a tentative deal that would end the strike.
Just last week, the production faced backlash and a number of celebrity competitors were accused by striking writers of crossing picket lines.
Writers from ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,’ ‘Primo’ and ‘Abbott Elementary’ react to the tentative deal to end their bitter strike.
Writers picketed at the “DWTS” rehearsal studio, 3rd Street Dance, in West Hollywood, Deadline reported. A number of union members specifically called out “Veep” star Matt Walsh, Oscar winner Mira Sorvino and “How I Met Your Mother” actor Alyson Hannigan.
Amid the pressure, Walsh announced Thursday that he was “taking a pause” from the competition series until the WGA reached a deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which handles labor negotiations for the Hollywood studios.
“I was excited to join the show and did so under the impression that it was not a WGA show and fell under a different agreement. This morning when I was informed by my union, the WGA, that it is considered struck work I walked out of my rehearsal,” Walsh wrote in a statement shared on Instagram.
Crew members are expressing frustration at the length of the writers’ and actors’ strikes as Hollywood workers struggle to pay for rent, food and healthcare.
Walsh is a member of both WGA and SAG-AFTRA. He expressed support for fellow union members and said he hopes for a “speedy and fair resolution.”
With the tentative WGA deal in place, Walsh will return to “DWTS,” where he will dance with pro Koko Iwasaki.
The Season 32 cast of “Dancing With the Stars” includes Jamie Lynn Spears, Ariana Madix, Tyson Beckford, Xochitl Gomez, Harry Jowsey, Jason Mraz, Adrian Peterson, Lele Pons, Charity Lawson, Mauricio Umansky and Barry Williams.
Key questions about next steps are answered after the Writers Guild of America strikes a deal with the studios.
SAG-AFTRA actors are still on strike, but the union voiced support for its members participating in “Dancing With the Stars.” In a statement shared with The Times on Thursday, the union said the actors are “working under the Network Code agreement, which is a non-struck contract.”
“They are required to go to work, are not in violation of SAG-AFTRA strike rules, and we support them in fulfilling their contractual obligations,” the statement continued. “The program is a SAG-AFTRA non-dramatic production under a separate agreement that is not subject to the union’s strike order.”
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