Heavy/NBCUniversal Maksim Chmerkovskiy.
Maksim Chmerkovskiy hinted that he misses being a cast member on “Dancing With the Stars.”
The Ukrainian-American pro dancer spoke out in a January 2024 interview to talk about his upcoming role on the reality show “The Traitors.” During the chat, he compared the Peacock reality show to his 17 seasons in the DWTS ballroom, and he seemed a little nostalgic about it.
Chmerkovskiy exited DWTS in 2018 after winning the mirrorball trophy with Meryl Davis.
Here’s what you need to know:
Maks Chmerkovskiy Said He Misses Being on a Show With a ‘Rotating Cast of Personalities’
Chmerkovskiy talked about his “Traitors” role in a January 2024 interview with Parade. The pro dancer admitted he knew “very little” about the show prior to joining it and had been “super busy” leading up to his casting.
“This was just something new, something different,” he explained. “And filming wasn’t too long a period of time. Usually projects like this are a couple of months. So that was my selling point.”
“Plus, I’m privy to 17 seasons of an amazing rotating cast of personalities. And I missed it a little bit,” he added, in reference to his time on “Dancing With the Stars.” “Everybody here is a character. The game is fun.”
“The Traitors” filmed in 2023 in a castle located in the Scottish Highlands, per NBC’s teaser for the show. The psychological reality competition features celebrities working together on a series of “exhilarating missions” to build a prize fund worth up to $250,000. But hidden among them are “the Traitors,” whose goal is to eliminate the other contestants and claim the prize for themselves.
In addition to Chmerkovskiy, “Survivor” stars Sandra Diaz-Twine and Parvati Shallow, “Big Brother” legends Dan Gheesling and Janelle Pierzina, “Bachelor” star Peter Weber), “RuPaul’s Drag Race” alum Peppermint, “The Challenge” stars Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio and Chris ‘C.T.’ Tamburello. “Real Housewives of Orange County” star Tamra Judge, “Real Housewives of Atlanta’s” Phaedra Parks and Sherri Whitfield, “Shahs of Sunset” alum Mercedes “MJ” Javid, and more are on “The Traitors” season 2 cast, per NBC.com.
After 17 years of competing as part of a duo on DWTS, Chmerkovskiy noted that “The Traitors” is a solo mission.
“The game here is about you,” he told Parade. “You are by yourself and in your own little bubble, trying to decide what alliances are you going to make. There’s zero trust. … I have no idea how I’d play if there were people here for my show because there’s too much familiarity. I wouldn’t even want to look in that direction, I would kind of overthink.”
Maks Chmerkovskiy Previously Revealed What Else He Missed About DWTS
This isn’t the first time Chmerkovskiy’s been nostalgic about DWTS. In a May 2023 interview with Heavy, he shared that he misses DWTS “for everything that it was” for him when he first came to Los Angeles in 2006. “I loved the show then and I love it still,” he told Heavy. “It survived decades of changing TV landscape, numerous ‘highest rated’ shows which came and left, tons of controversy and an ever-changing cast.” He also teased that he would consider a return if he could be a judge on the show.
In October 2023, Chmerkovskiy did return to the DWTS ballroom, not as a judge but as a dancer. But it was for a special reason. He was one of several returning pros who participated in a special tribute dance in honor of late DWTS judge Len Goodman, who died in April 2023.
Chmerkovskiy told People magazine it was an honor to return for the tribute dance. “There’s no me without Len. And that’s the reality,” he said. “So whenever there’s an opportunity to pay respect, I think I would love to be a part of that.”
READ NEXT: DWTS Alum Thanks Ex For Unexpected Press