'Dancing With the Stars' 2015 Cast: Will Maks Chmerkovskiy Take Over For Len Goodman At Judging Panel Next Year? [VIDEO]
With head judge Len Goodman set to leave ABC's Dancing With the Stars after this spring's 20th season, there is a big hole that will be left on the judging panel that could be filled by a former pro.
Goodman announced this week that he was retiring from his role as judge on Dancing With the Stars after season 20 next year. This would leave Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and new judge Julianne Hough as the remaining judges. Will DWTS producers decide they want to continue their four-judge pattern?
If they indeed want another judge, some publications are speculating that they could bring on Maks Chmerkovskiy, the fan favorite pro who finally managed to win the show with his celebrity partner Meryl Davis back in May. He retired from the reality series after his big win, but could he be making a return as a judge? It seems entirely possible.
After all, while Hough has some haters in the DWTS fanbase, she has been confident in her opinions through and through, and Chmerkovskiy would likely be the same way. He has also guest judged on multiple occasions in the past and while he has been overly nice during those stints, he would likely be more critical if he became a permanent judge.
It remains to be seen if Dancing With the Stars will bring on another judge, use a rotating panel of guest judges like they did this year or if they go back to the three-judge format with Inaba, Hough and Tonioli.
Dancing With the Stars returns for its landmark 20th season in March on ABC, though the network has not yet announced a specific premiere date.
