Dancing with the Stars reportedly may be changing up its judging panel and losing some of its pros for the reality dancing competition's upcoming seventeenth season.
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"I think Bruno [Tonioli] will be back, but Carrie Ann [Inaba] and Len [Goodman] are probably gone. The network has been very evasive about it."
Tonioli, Inaba and Goodman have been serving as Dancing with the Stars' judges since its first season debuted back in 2005.
Several professional dancers, who are fan favorites, may also be absent from the show's lineup next season.
According to Post sources, Cheryl Burke is unlikely to return and four-time Dancing with the Stars champion Derek Hough will also be skipping the season to work on a new scripted series he and his sister, fellow former Dancing with the Stars pro Julianne Hough, are developing for the Starz cable network. According to prior reports, the series, dubbed Blackpool, will focus on the "darker" side of the world of competitive ballroom dancing.
In addition, fellow pro Mark Ballas is also in negotiations to star in his own reality series, according to the Post.
"[The producers] will use this time to figure out how to restructure the show and trim fat off the budget," the source added. "The show has become too expensive."
ABC has declined comment on whether Dancing with the Stars' pros or contestants will be asked to take pay cuts going forward, The Post reported.
A change that has been confirmed for next season, however, is the show's format. ABC announced earlier this month that this fall's seventeenth edition of Dancing with the Stars will not feature a results show and each week's elimination results will be folded into the ballroom dancing competition's two-hour Monday night broadcasts.
Dancing with the Stars' eighteenth season is also expected to feature the same once-a-week broadcast format when it airs in early 2014.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
