‘Dancing With The Stars’ Judge Lineup Is Clearing With Two More Decisions

Sure, ‘Dancing With the Stars’ will not be on ABC this year — yeah, if you missed it, it will be on Disney+ — but it will be returning with some familiar faces as multiple judges made it clear that they will be back.

Both Carrie Ann Inaba as well as Bruno Tonioli have confirmed they will be back for Season 31. Inaba made her decision public on Monday while Tonioli recently quit DWTS‘ U.K. counterpart, Strictly Come Dancing, so that he could ease his travel burden and return for Season 31.

“I will be definitely there next season at the judges’ table where I normally sit. I’m very excited about it,” Inaba let E! News break the news on Monday. “I think (moving to Disney+ is) going to be a really good change. After 30 seasons, some shows don’t make it that far. The fact that we’re still evolving and trying new things, it says a lot about our brand.”

She said that the move to streaming adds a ‘real-time’ element that will allow more fans to participate in the voting since there will not be a delay in airtime.

“Maybe there’s gonna be some things that will come along with the scripts that I think people are gonna love. People don’t always like change, but I think they’ll adapt,” she said.

Tonioli was ahead of the pack on this one, saying that he made his intentions clear weeks ago.

He told Deadline that the choice was made easier with the new rules for crossing the Atlantic.

“(It was) impossible because the rules changed,” he said. “Getting through the airport was not like it used to be, it created a situation that was unsustainable.”

The future still remains unclear for Len Goodman as well as Tyra Banks.

There is still a chance that DWTS makes an appearance on ABC at some point in the fall — with a possible finale tie-in.

“What I can say is I think you’ll see it be a key priority across all of the Disney ecosystems,” ABC president Craig Erwich said at corporate ‘Up Fronts’ last month. “In the same way we focused the messaging on Abbott Elementary or the synergistic opportunities for the Oscars, I’m sure you’ll see the same thing on Dancing With the Stars.”