Getty Kelly Monaco, Gilles Marini, Drew Lachey, Pamela Anderson, Conrad Green, Tom Bergeron, Brooke Burke-Charvet, Helio Castroneves, Bristol Palin, Melissa Rycroft
A key “Dancing With the Stars” figure is reportedly in advanced talks to return to the show — according to Deadline, former executive producer Conrad Green is talking to executives about returning to his executive producer role.
Here is what we know so far:
Green Won 9 Emmys During His First Stint on the Show
Green started as an executive producer on “Dancing With the Stars” in the first season back in 2005. It was his first major executive producer position in the United States, a position he held for over 200 episodes through the finale of the 18th season in May 2014. He earned nine Emmy nominations during his time with the show.
Now Deadline is reporting that Green is in advanced talks to replace executive producer Andrew Llinares, who stepped down from his position in March 2022. Llinares was hired on the show ahead of season 26 in 2018 and was at the helm for both the switch to “Dancing With the Stars” only airing in the fall — season 26 was the final season to air in the spring — and the firing of longtime host Tom Bergeron and his co-host Erin Andrews and the hiring of host Tyra Banks, a move that rankled many longtime fans of the show.
An April 2022 report from The Sun said that Banks is also on her way out alongside Llinares departing the show, with a source saying that production is fairly chaotic during this offseason between season 30 and season 31.
“Production has been a mess, with no clear direction of where [the show] was going, which is why certain producers have been axed in recent months,” the source told The Sun.
The Pros & Judges Are Elated About Green’s Return
According to Deadline, the professional dancers and the judges have been told about Green possibly returning and they are “elated” about the news. Green held a great affection for “Dancing With the Stars” during his time on the show, telling The Hollywood Reporter in an interview when he left in 2014 that it was wonderful to watch the show grow “from nothing to this great big thing now.”
“It’s brilliant when you meet people in the audience and you see the joy and delight — they’ve come from all over the country and you’ve made their year because they’ve got to come watch it. When you realize how much people enjoy it — and it’s such a positive show, ultimately — it’s heart-wrenching,” said Green, adding, “[S]eeing some of the more negative comments about it can be a bit soul-destroying. You’re trying to make something that’s genuinely joyous and fun and positive and exciting.”
This possible change comes among other big changes at “Dancing With the Stars,” including the possible hosting change and the move to Disney Plus. In March, Disney announced that “Dancing With the Stars” was renewed for two seasons but the show will now be airing on Disney Plus, the company’s stand-alone streaming service. The move will mean “Dancing With the Stars” is the first competition show to air live on a streaming service.
It will be interesting to see what happens with the hosting job. When Bergeron was asked about returning to “Dancing With the Stars” now that it is moving to Disney Plus, he gave a semi-cryptic answer referencing the works of author Thomas Wolfe, but reading between the lines, he basically said no, you can’t go home again and he has moved on.
In a funny coincidence, professional dancer Cheryl Burke was just talking about Green when she appeared on judge Carrie Ann Inaba’s podcast “Journey to Wellness” in March 2022. On the show, Burke shared a funny anecdote about Green, talking about how she and former pro dancer Edyta Sliwinska had to sneak around to spray tan and Green would chase them around the studio lot telling them they started looking like Oompa Loompas.
“I used to sneak tan and we would get in trouble. Conrad Green, our old executive, would chase me and Edyta [Sliwinska], one of the older pro dancers, the OGs, literally through the lot because he was like, ‘No more tan, you guys look like Oompa Loompas!’” Chery revealed with a laugh.
She added, “But tan, as you know, is like a layer of skin, it’s like clothing for me, so we hid it and we locked the trailer on [Green] and then we started tanning each other.”
“Dancing With the Stars” returns for its 31st season in the fall of 2022 on Disney Plus.
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