Rob Wade Headshot - P 2014
Getty ImagesIn anticipation of an official pickup for the 19th season of Dancing With the Stars, ABC and BBC Worldwide Productions have tapped veteran reality TV producer Rob Wade to take over showrunning duties from Conrad Green.
An alum of the reality competition, Wade worked as a producer on DWTS during the first four seasons and co-executive producer under Green between seasons five and 11. The former head of TV at Syco Entertainment North America most recently executive produced Fox’s The X Factor and NBC’s America’s Got Talent.
“I am delighted to be rejoining the show and one of the strongest teams on network television,” said Wade. “Dancing With the Stars is in great shape and I look forward to getting back in the ballroom and working with [executive producers] Joe [Sungkur] and Ashley [Edens-Shaffer] to take it to the next level.”
Current boss Green — who has helmed the mirrorball mothership from the series’ start in 2005 — will waltz out of the ballroom at the end of the current run to join Fox’s upcoming Utopia as an executive producer. The last few seasons of DWTS have seen Green try to skew the series younger, infusing the broadcast with more contemporary music, tapping former contestant Erin Andrews as co-host and implementing new ways to encourage viewer interaction.
“Rob was a part of the Dancing With the Stars family from the very beginning and in our mind, there was no one who made more sense to come aboard and take the show into its next era than him,” added BBC Worldwide Productions head Jane Tranter. “His immense experience and creativity across live television only further demonstrates that he has what it takes to keep DWTS at the top.”
DWTS has not yet been renewed for the 2014-15 season, but a return to the ABC schedule seems like a foregone conclusion. The series still occupies two hours of each Monday during fall and spring cycles, after the network trimmed the Tuesday results show last year.
Twitter: @AnnieBarrett
