Tom Bergeron Lands New Hosting Gig 5 Years After ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Firing
Dancing With the Stars fans who are missing Tom Bergeron as host of the show are in luck because he has a new gig lined up. The new show he’ll be leading happens to have a similar title, too.
The Emmy winner will be the host of Dancing With Sharks (working title), a new special coming to Discovery. The news was confirmed ahead of Warner Bros. Discovery’s Upfront presentation on Tuesday, May 13. Bergeron also teased his involvement by posting a photo from the Upfronts on his Instagram Story with the caption, “Standby…” After the news was announced, he posted to his Instagram, “See you this summer. It’ll be fintastic.”
Dancing With Sharks will air on Discovery during Shark Week and is described as an “unprecedented underwater dance competition between expert divers and their shark partners,” according to a press release. “Blending skill, grace, and the daring pursuit of the ultimate underwater thrill, fiver diversall trained by a world-class underwater choreographer—will compete to show off their skills during epic underwater dances.”
The special hopes to “redefine dancing with danger” and will include moves like the “Hammerhead Hoedown” and “Tiger Trot.” Per a post on Bergeron’s Threads account, Dancing With Sharks was filmed in the Bahamas earlier this year.
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Bergeron served as host of Dancing With the Stars for the first 28 seasons, but was unexpectedly fired alongside cohost Erin Andrews in 2020. Tyra Banks took over for the next three seasons, while Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough were cohosts during Seasons 32 and 33, and are expected to return this year for Season 34.
“Just informed @DancingABC will be continuing without me,” Bergeron wrote on X after he was informed of the shakeup. “It’s been an incredible 15 year run and the most unexpected gift of my career. I’m grateful for that and for the lifelong friendships made. That said, now what am I supposed to do with all of these glitter masks?”
Bergeron later revealed that his firing took place after he disagreed with showrunners about what type of people to cast on the show. Specifically, he fought back against Sean Spicer‘s Season 28 casting.
“I didn’t think a political person was an appropriate booking for the show,” Bergeron said on the Here for You podcast. “I don’t think that sat well with the producers or the network.” He said he was able to “compartmentalize” for Spicer’s season, but knew the writing was on the wall.
“The end of the (2019) season that turned out to be my last season, I kind of knew,” he admitted. “So I took everything out of my dressing room that I really wanted. It was kind of obvious that we were kind of butting heads.”
Dancing With Sharks, Summer 2025, Discovery
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