‘Dancing on Ice’ Set for Season 14 While U.S.-Based ‘Skating with the Stars’ Totally Bombed
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Dancing on Ice will return to ITV in early 2022 for its 14th season. This show has a format similar to Dancing With the Stars in which celebrities are paired with professional partners, but this time on ice. The show first aired in 2006 and returned to massive success in 2018. So why is Dancing on Ice so successful when the U.S.-based Skating With Celebrities decidedly flopped? What’s the difference between these shows?
A Brief History of Ice Skating Shows in the United States
Following the success of Dancing With the Stars, FOX wanted to a create a show that held the same format. This show was originally called Skating With Celebrities in the U.S. and aired in January 2006. It was not as popular as the British equivalent, Dancing on Ice, and ended after just one season in a rush of controversy.
In 2010, ABC tried to bring this series on air once again. This time it was named Skating With the Stars. ABC was probably hoping to sway DWTS fans considering they’re on the same network. This show ran for one season from November 22 to December 21, 2010. It followed the exact same formatting and live show days as DWTS, but still fell flat in America. The popularity behind the series exponentially diminished as they got closer to the finale.
Why Couldn’t Producers Get Notable Celebrities?
The idea of pairing celebrities with professionals has clearly worked in the past. But the ice skating shows recieved criticism for featuring D-list celebrities. I could see it being very difficult for producers to find celebrities who were willing to learn to ice skate for the show. When you think about it, there’s more risk in ice skating than dancing.
Dance is something that everyone can do with a little practice. Although I’m sure ice skating can be mastered with practice too, I’d think that more people would be weary. Unless you know how to skate really well before this show, you probably won’t do too well.
Learning to ice skate is hard. But that’s not even mentioning that celebrities definitely don’t have the time to master this skill. I’d also like to think that these shows had a hard time finding A or B list celebrities because the possibility of injury.
The Success of Ice Skating in the United Kingdom
Dancing on Ice began on January 14, 2006 and ended on March 9, 2014. This show then got re-renewed in 2018 and has been a hit ever since. While some would think that Dancing on Ice has such a large success in the U.K. because they don’t have DWTS, think again. The UK has their own version of the American hit called Strictly Come Dancing.
Strictly Come Dancing began in 2004 had at least 7 million average viewers for their series premieres and finales until 2006. This differed from the American version of the show considering the U.S. had at least 17 million average viewers. Although it seems like both countries were trying to pull viewers from the other shows. This method seriously worked for the U.K. considering Dancing on Ice ended up with similar viewership as Strictly Come Dancing.
It seems like DWTS fans were disappointed with its ice skating sister because of the celebrity performers. People typically watch Dancing With the Stars when their favorite stars are competing on the show. So it’s not a surprise that the celebrity choice would disappoint people.
When looking at the upcoming season of Dancing on Ice‘s cast list, it’s evident that this show has become large enough to get some popular celebrities like Pussycat Dolls star Ashley Roberts and Connor Ball from The Vamps. The new season is set to premiere in early 2022, no official air date has been announced.
