ABC eyes postponing ‘Dancing With the Stars’ as actor drops out amid writers strike

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) – The 32nd season of “Dancing with the Stars” is set to air in just one week, but ABC has announced the network is putting plans in place to postpone the premiere after actor Matt Walsh announced he would be “taking a pause” from the show “until an agreement is made” with the Writers Guild of America (WGA), which is currently on strike.

“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,” the “Veep” actor said in a statement shared with ABC News. “This morning when I was informed by my union, the WGA, that it is considered struck work I walked out of my rehearsal. I have been and will always stand with my union members of the WGA, SAG and DGA.”

Walsh, a founding member of the Upright Citizen’s Brigade comedy group, had just been announced as a part of the upcoming season’s cast last week. He was paired with “Dancing With the Stars” pro Koko Iwasaki.

According to ABC News, Walsh said he hopes to return to “DWTS” sometime in the future.

“Beyond our union artists, I am sensitive to the many people impacted by the strike and I hope for a speedy and fair resolution, and to one day work again with all the wonderful people I met at DWTS who tolerated my dancing,” Walsh said in the statement.

The Writers Guild of America screenwriters have been on strike for nearly five months, which, alongside the SAG-AFTRA actors’ union’s three-month-long strike, have all but shut down Hollywood as writers and actors demand better pay, working conditions, AI protections and more.