The Geek Girl's Guide to 'Dancing with the Stars' Season 29 (Part 1)

First, I need to pick up where I left off...

I have to admit...I felt disillusioned with last season. After James and Emma were eliminated in the semi-finals, I didn't even care to finish out the season's blogs. Albeit, that was bias getting in the way of my objective aim in writing those recaps.

Granted, looking back now, James/Emma, Hannah/Alan, Kel/Witney, and Ally/Sasha were all neck-and-neck scorewise for the majority of the season, cycling through the top three spots and constantly tying with each other. The best justifications I can think of for my bias are these:

James and Ally were most consistently within the top three, (Lauren was not there as much, but she was often toe-to-toe with the other three couples mentioned), and

Kel was the hardworking underdog, if not more of the fan-favorite. He went from bottom-two to top two at one point!

My bigger beef with last season is that the show's "tweaks" to voting and/or the elimination process was fixing something that wasn't broken, or the fixing could have been approached differently. In any case, my case in point is that Sean Spicer outlasted some of the truly better contestants because he wasn't in a position for the judges' save to go against him before the boy band/girl group night.

On to Season 29

No word as of August 31st as to how voting and/or elimination will operate this time around but many (warranted) “tweaks” are to be expected this season between safeguarding against the coronavirus and even in the wake of this summer’s social issues. Those have been the focus of the media and headlines surrounding season 29. Dance Dish, my favorite DWTS blog, has been on top of many of the anticipated changes.

Pandemic Precautions

Social distancing will definitely be practiced on- and off-set. Here's a bit about what that will look like:

The pros competing will live in separate homes (even if they're married).

Cast and crew will be tested daily.

Couples on the show will be in a "bubble". Socialization will be restricted, meaning they will watch each other's segments from a distance and no"celeb aquarium" will be seen this season. (The "celeb aquarium" is the space off from the dance floor where you've seen the cast between dances, preparing, being interviewed, goofing around for the cameras, etc.) I wonder if all this will extend to events like group dances?

Cameras are set up in multiple locations to eliminate the need for additional staff. The cameras are remote-operated with operators and field producers in a separate room communicating via intercom.

No live, in-house audience, though that may change with California and SAG/AFTRA guidelines.

Furthermore, the pandemic is said to be driving the story and timetable for the season. Even the live format of the show is subject to change if it doesn't work with the protocols.

And at the time of this writing, the requirements for masks is unclear. Will they be seen during rehearsals or during the show? If any consolation though, viewers could see wardrobe get creative if they have to design costumes with the mask mandated.

Cast-Call for Diversity

Dance Dish actually makes some good points about the show needing to take more efforts towards diversity too. The Bachelor and Bachelorette series have both seen their first Black stars. Keo Motsepe and Brandon Armstrong have been DWTS' black male pros in seasons past. Both of whom were announced for this season along with a newcomer from the troupe named Britt Stewart. (The linked article was written before the August 18th pro cast announcement that included Stewart.)

Huge buzz peaked back in July with the announcements of Tyra Banks replacing longtime hosts Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews. In her spirit of breaking barriers, she'll be the first, Black, female solo host of the show. In addition, Tyra Banks is also an executive producer this season, with hopes of facilitating more diversity on the show, and taking it to "the next level" while "still keeping the stuff that America loves". Whether it be her touch on the show or the pandemic precautions, she warns fans to "get ready because it's going to be different."

I'm all for the diversity push and revamps, but was Tom's and Erin's exeunt from their host positions another one of those fixes to something that wasn't broken? I don't know much about Tyra Banks right now to grasp what kind of difference she could make to the show. Will she recalibrate the show to more fairly reward the talented and hard-working contestants? Will she reinstate the former voting procedures or reuse the jacked-up system from last season? Will she make the show any more or less political? What kind of cast will she enlist for the show? I suppose my answers will come between the official cast announcement and the September 14th premiere.

I first intended just to set up this article for the September 2nd celebrity cast reveal, but after getting this far, I felt that a two-part guide ahead of the premiere would be better. Stick around!

Sources:

https://www.dancedishwithkb.com/post/dancing-with-the-stars-season-29-updates

https://www.dancedishwithkb.com/post/cheryl-burke-dancing-with-the-stars-season-29-details

https://www.dancedishwithkb.com/post/dancing-with-the-stars-black-pro-season-29