The newest season of Dancing with the Stars marks a major milestone for the reality dance competition series which has aired on ABC since June 2005. It will celebrate its 30th season on television.
Tyra Banks, who took over from longtime host Tom Bergeron, garnered mixed reactions from fans of the series during her freshman year as host.
Many had difficulty warming up to the former supermodel and Tyra faced an uphill battle after she replaced Tom and his co-host Erin Andrews. Viewers of the series were angered over the switch and many longtime fans chose not to watch in protest. This led to a decrease in viewership by 8 percent claimed The Hollywood Reporter.
At the close of 2020 Tyra spoke to Entertainment Tonight and said her future as the host of the series remained uncertain.
“I don’t know. We shall see! I don’t know,” she said of her possible return. “I had a good time. We’ll see.”
However, since Tyra is also the series’ executive producer, it is likely she will remain at her post as she continues to revamp the series both behind-the-scenes and in front of the camera.
Who Is Tyra’s Dream Contestant?
Tyra revealed that she would love to have one professional athlete, in particular, participate in the series when asked for her contestant wish list.
She shared she would like to have pro-football star Colin Kaepernick as a celebrity contestant. Kaepernick has been a civil rights activist since first taking a knee in protest against the way Black people and people of color have been oppressed as reported by the NFL.
Tyra also revealed that she would like Season 29 judge Derek Hough to stay on as a judge on the series as a fourth panelist alongside Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli, and Len Goodman.
Len sat out Season 29 due to a coronavirus travel ban. His home base is in London.
A fourth judge would not be unheard of. The show has had four in the past, including guest judges such as Cher and Pitbull, and permanent judge Julianne Hough, who was added to the series for Seasons 20 and 21.
“Derek is so fantastic,” Tyra said to TV Insider.
“He has such compassion. He gives the most amazing critiques. He’s firm, yet warm. I think he did a really fantastic job. I do miss Len, [but] I feel like there’s a way to have them both be here. I have a little notepad in my phone on how I can make that work, but I’ve got to get that approved by the team,” she spilled.
If Tyra returns, what will she do differently from Season 29?
If Tyra returns as the host of Dancing with the Stars for Season 30, she claimed there was one thing she will change up first and foremost. She joked that she will add some comfy shoes to her fashion repertoire.
“Another thing is more comfy shoes,” Tyra said. “I had my second and third toe go numb on me for five days because those shoes were not comfy.”
She also shared to TV Line that if she returns for Season 30, she plans on honoring the logevity of the series with a special retrospect.
“There is something beautiful about doing a retrospect when you hit a milestone year. At the same time, there are so many new viewers this season, and a retrospect may not resonate with them. So, if we do one, it would have to be for those diehard fans that have been here forever, but not make it so ‘inside baseball’ where the new people don’t know what the heck is going on,” she explained.
ABC’s Dancing with the Stars is currently not on the air.