Getty "Dancing With the Stars"
The “Dancing With the Stars” cast is in for a bit of a shakeup ahead of the season 31 premiere.
Disney+ announced on Twitter on April 8, 2022, that the show is now going to be the first live show the streaming service is introducing.
“Get the Mirrorball ready,” the tweet reads. “Dancing With the Stars” is moving to a new home when it returns this fall as the first LIVE series on #DisneyPlus #DWTS.”
The show will no longer be airing live on ABC and will instead live only on the parent network’s streaming service. Fans and followers of the account replied with their reactions to the news, with some saying that it is a good move for the network.
The Source Says the Budget Has Been Reduced
According to a report by OK! Magazine, the show has a lower budget than it did in previous seasons.
“With the show moving from the network to streaming, the budget has been vastly reduced,” an insider told OK! Magazine. “Sure, they would love to see as many familiar professional dancers return as possible but that isn’t likely to happen when the cast sees how big the pay cut is going to be. After all these years, the fans of the show know the dancers better than the ‘stars,’ but the new economics of the show makes it impossible to pay them what they have earned in the past.”
The source told the outlet that the new offer for the professional dancers will be $1,600 per episode rather than the $5,200 per episode they earned before.
It’s important to note that that cash is likely on top of what they already make for the first few episodes of the season, however. While the exact salaries of the dancers have never been released, there have been reports about the earnings of celebrities on the show. Previously, The Reel Rundown reported the professional dancer salary of $5,200 a week, though the number varied for each dancer.
According to The Cinemaholic, however, professional dancers were making up to $100,000 per season in 2019, with Sharna Burgess being the highest-paid female professional dancer during season 27 of the show.
If the rumors of the pay cuts turn out to be accurate, then it’s possible fans will see fewer familiar faces in the ballroom for the upcoming season.
Gleb Savchenko Previously Made Up to $400,000 a Year
According to papers originally obtained by Us Weekly, professional dancer Gleb Savchenko’s wife claimed that Savchenko made around $400,000 from the show.
The documents, which were filed to ask for child support and spousal support, he “earns an approximate annual salary of $406,614” from Dancing With the Stars.
It’s important to note that the salary would also include the amount Savchenko made from being part of the live tour, not strictly from the amount of time he spent on the show itself. He has been on the show for some time, so it’s likely that his salary is in the high range of professional dancers.
According to Variety, contestants on the show get paid $125,000 for the rehearsal period as well as for the first two weeks that they’re on the show. This means that any contestant announced makes at least that before getting bonuses as they continue on the show.
According to the same sources, Variety reported that the maximum a contestant will be able to earn on the show is $295,000 for their time on the show. Prior to the report, though, it was reported that contestants could make nearly $350,000 on the season.
“Dancing With the Stars” season 31 is set to premiere on Disney+ on Monday, September 19, 2022.
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