ABC has decided to premiere “Dancing With the Stars” Season 32 as originally scheduled on Tuesday, the network announced.
The debut of the show, which will air at 8 p.m. ET and simulcast live on Disney+ and be available next day on Hulu, was put in doubt after “Veep” actor Matt Walsh rethought his involvement after learning it was being picketed by WGA.
“I am taking a pause from ‘Dancing with the Stars’ until an agreement is made with the WGA,” Walsh said in a statement last week. “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.”
Walsh added that he supports “union members of the WGA, SAG and DGA.” On Sunday, the WGA reached a tentative deal with the AMPTP, which has yet to be ratified by guild members.
While SAG-AFTRA remains on strike, they have reassured the other actors on the series, including Jamie Lynn Spears, Alyson Hannigan and Mira Sorvino, that they were not crossing the picket line by participating in the show.
“The majority of our members on ‘Dancing With the Stars’ had contractual obligations to the show prior to the strike. Many are under option agreements that require them to return to the show if the producer exercises their option, which the producer has done,” the guild’s statement read.
“Our members are also subject to a ‘No Strike Clause’ in the Network Code Collective Bargaining Agreement,” the statement continued. “This means our performers agree not to strike during the term of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and to show up to work during this term (the Network Code runs through June 30, 2024.) By not showing up to work, our performers can be held in breach of contract and the Union is prohibited from advising them not to work.”
