‘Dancing With the Stars’ Premiere to Air as Scheduled, With Matt Walsh Competing

Meredith Jacobs September 25, 2023, 3:28 pm

Matt Walsh for 'Dancing With the Stars' — ABC/Andrew Eccles

UPDATE (9/25/2023):

Though there was a question of whether or not Dancing With the Stars would premiere as planned on September 26, with the ongoing writers’ strike (one of its writers is a member of the WGA), things have changed with the WGA and AMPTP reaching a tentative deal on September 24.

The dance competition will move ahead as scheduled, with Season 32 kicking off on September 26 on ABC and Disney+, according to Variety. Furthermore, that will include star Matt Walsh, who had said he was “taking a pause” due to the strike. “With the hopeful resolution and vote with the WGA, ‘Dancing with the Stars’ would no longer be a struck show therefore all cast would be able to return. This includes WGA member Matt Walsh,” a spokesperson for the actor said in a statement to the outlet.

Original Story (9/21/2023):

Dancing With the Stars is set to return for its 32nd season on Tuesday, September 26, on ABC (and streaming on Disney+) but that may very well change, as a result of the writers’ strike, which started in May. (WGA and AMPTP did meet on September 20 and are set to do so again on September 21.)

According to Variety, ABC is working on plans to postpone the premiere. This comes after some talk shows did return to work in recent weeks (such as The Drew Barrymore Show), only to then hit the pause button following picketing from the WGA. One of the Season 32 stars, Matt Walsh, who is part of the WGA, SAG-AFTRA (also on strike, since July), and DGA, has announced that he is “taking a pause” after learning that the show “is considered struck work.”

“I am taking a pause from Dancing with the Stars until an agreement is made with the WGA,” Walsh said in a statement. “I was excited to join the show and did so under the impression that it was not a WGA show and fell under a different agreement. This morning when I was informed by my union, the WGA, that it is considered struck work I walked out of my rehearsal. I have been and will always stand with my union members of the WGA, SAG and DGA. Beyond our union artists, I am sensitive to the many people impacted by the strike and I hope for a speedy and fair resolution, and to one day work again with all the wonderful people I met at DWTS who tolerated my dancing.”

Dancing With the Stars is considered struck work because it does have a writer on staff who is part of the WGA, with the work of the stars, hosts, judges, and pros covered under the Network Code agreement for SAG-AFTRA.