"Dancing with the Stars" is back and it brought a lot of drastic changes for its latest season. For one, there is no stage audience because of COVID-19 protocols in place.
Additionally, Tyra Banks comes in as a new host to replace recurring host Tom Bergeron. Derek Hough fills in for Len Goodman, who appeared for a brief of time to explain that he cannot go to London due to pandemic travel restrictions.
Aside from that, the set received an overhaul as the judges are seated far apart to observe social distancing. Above an elevated platform, viewers and judges can find the contestants. In order to compensate for the lack of a live audience, crowd noise is inserted every now and then.
Perhaps the most notable among the contestants is animal enthusiast Carole Baskin, infamous thanks to the Netflix documentary "Tiger King." Coincidentally, she danced to Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger" but got the lowest score from the judges. Nevertheless, her appearance was more than enough to be the highlight of the episode.
This kicks off the fall season for "Dancing with the Stars" but will officially start next week. Programs such as this one made their way on air faster than dramas and sitcoms. That is because production for these unscripted programs are easier to get back into. This is true especially now that they are allowed to return after productions were halted for several months due to the pandemic.
The show is a dancing competition where a celebrity is paired with a professional dancer. They perform a predetermined dance number in front of judges and audiences while competing against other celebrities. The pair who receives the lowest score will be eliminated each week until the victor remains. "Dancing with the Stars" is the American version of popular UK series "Strictly Come Dancing."
