ABC/Adam TaylorThe shimmies, shakes and sequins are coming back!
Another season of Dancing With the Stars will be twirling to a TV screen near you in just a few months. ABC's president of entertainment Paul Lee revealed that the smash reality competition will return to the ballroom on March 17 with their 18th season.
Last season, Glee star Amber Riley, along with her professional partner Derek Hough, quickstepped her way into being crowned season 17's dancing queen. Now the series is already on the hunt for the newest celebrities who are hoping to dance their way to a mirror-ball victory.
Despite some shocking eliminations throughout DWTS' 17th season, Lee revealed that the network is pleased with the new one-night format and it helped with the series' ratings. "It actually grew. We didn't quite end the season as high, but the season itself was higher."
The ABC president explained that season 18 will also follow the one-night trend. "We want to find ways to turn that up just a little bit. We were pleased with how it worked for us," he said.
Fans were thrilled to see a mini shake-up on the judges' panel when former professional dancer Maks Chmerkovskiy filled in for head judge Len Goodman for an episode. Lee agreed that he loved Maks' creative input and there's a possibility that we could be seeing the hunky Ukranian back with a paddle in his hand. "He did a really good job [as a judge]. I mean, we were really please with a lot of those guest judges. He did a really good job and we look forward to working with him," he said.
So are Maks' days as a professional dancer behind him? Not so fast! Lee teases, "We're not quite ready to say... We thought Maks did a fabulous job and we're going to continue working with him in the future. Nothing to announce now, but we will keep working with him."
Dancing With the Stars' 18th season premieres Monday, March 17, on ABC.