‘Dance’ Fever Hits CBS

Network takes Shine to new Murdoch format, which seems like a blend of numerous other dance shows

That boogie fever is goin’ around: CBS has greenlit production of "Got to Dance," a happy feet competition series based on an existing UK property.

The format of "Dance" sounds like a hodgepodge of every existing dance show out there: Would-be hoofers will compete against each other either by themselves or in groups, with all styles of dance allowed. Celebs will be involved, too, since the show is promising to hire "world-class dancers" as judges.

Call it "So You Think America’s Got Randy Jackson’s Dance Crew With the Stars."

No word yet on an episode count or airdate. Summer would be logical, given the extraordinarily crowded CBS schedule. But the network could always carve out an eight-week window to air a reality show midseason, particularly now that its crime dramas aren’t repeating as well as they once did and it might make sense to increase the percentage of in-season original programming as a result.

"Got to Dance" is a "ratings sensation" on UK pay network Sky 1, CBS said. ABC’s "Dancing with the Stars" remains a ratings sensation on US free network ABC, which recently generated the biggest-yet premiere numbers for that show.

Elisabeth Murdoch’s Shine Group is behind the project, according to the exceedingly tortured credit sentence offered by CBS. According to the network, "Got to Dance" is "a Shine Group format, created by Princess Productions and Shine TV and is produced by Reveille."

Interestingly, Reveille is one of the companies behind "The Biggest Loser." The other "Loser" producer, 3 Ball Productions, is producing a big dance show for NBC with Kenny Ortega (definitely) and Paula Abdul (maybe).

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