Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Names and faces
▪ The dance has ended for “Dancing With the Stars” hosts Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews. ABC said in a statement that the show is looking to “embark on a new creative direction” and host Bergeron “departs the show with our sincerest thanks and gratitude for his trademark wit and charm that helped make this show a success.” No replacements were named. Bergeron has hosted “Dancing With the Stars” since its premiere in 2005. He took to Twitter to announce his departure. “It’s been an incredible 15-year run and the most unexpected gift of my career,” he wrote. “I’m grateful for that and for the lifelong friendships made.” The network also said farewell to Andrews, who originally competed as a contestant back in 2010 and returned as co-host in 2014. “Her signature sense of humor has become a hallmark of the show,” the statement read. Last year, Bergeron made waves when he expressed his unhappiness that former White House press secretary Sean Spicer was among the contestants for the fall season. Bergeron tweeted that he earlier told producers he hoped the new season would be a “joyful respite from our exhausting political climate” and urged them not have any “divisive bookings.” Former contestants tweeted their goodbyes, with Bindi Irwin saying that spending time with Bergeron “was one of my favorite parts” of the show and Lea Thompson saying there’s no show without Bergeron. “They might as well cancel it.” The finale that season — No. 28 — ended with Hannah Brown and Alan Bersten taking the trophy but scored a new low in total viewers among the show’s previous finales. Still, the final show was the most watched program on broadcast television that week with 7.7 million total viewers.
▪ The studio is largely empty, but Jimmy Fallon is out of his home and back to the “Tonight” show stage. The NBC late-night host returned to NBC’s Rockefeller Center headquarters Monday, saying he hoped he could provide his audience with a little more “normal” during the coronavirus pandemic. “I’m here to show you that there is a light at the end of the tunnel if we keep each other safe,” Fallon said. Fallon, along with other late-night hosts, have been working remotely the past few months of months. The coronavirus pandemic shutdown TV and film production in March for safety reasons. Fallon began his show with a filmed piece showing him “walking” to work, pulling down his mask so a Rockefeller Center security guard knew he was indeed an employee. His backup band, the Roots, were in place. Studio crew members wore face shields and masks. Everyone there had tested negative for covid-19, he said. There was no audience and guests, including New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Charlize Theron, weren’t in the studio as the celebrity interviews continued remotely.