TELEVISION

‘Dancing’ keeps things interesting

ABC’s dancing competition has more than 300 episodes

Olympic gold medalist ice dancers Meryl Davis and Charlie White, left, at the Empire State Building in New York. They’ll compete against, instead of with, each other on Dancing With The Stars.

When Dancing with the Stars premiered in 2005, Facebook was barely a year old, and Twitter didn’t exist. Gas prices were less than $2. The Office started its first season on NBC. Jimmy Fallon had just left SNL to begin a movie career.

Now ABC’s dancing competition has more than 300 episodes — almost 100 more than Friends, a couple dozen more than Cheers. How does this show plan to stay relevant in its 18th season?

There are the usual ways — glitter, skimpy outfits, faux drama. But DWTS seems intent on shaking things up in the new season that started Monday night. Here’s what to keep an eye out for:

● Erin Andrews: Just a few weeks ago, DWTS co-host Brooke Burke-Charvet (the Season 7 champ) was unceremoniously let go, and taking her place as host Tom Bergeron’s right-hand lady is sportscaster Andrews. The reporter competed on the show in 2010 with pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy. DWTS fans will remember the two had quite good chemistry. Funny thing: Maks is back this year after a two-season hiatus and reports that he was done with the show for good. Coincidence? No.

● Bye, bye band: Also on the chopping block: bandleader Harold Wheeler and the 28 musicians and singers of the DWTS band, who had been with the show for 17 seasons. A new music director, Ray Chew, has been hired, along with a new lineup of musicians, though there’s been speculation that this season is going to rely more on recordings and a smaller electric band. No offense to Wheeler, but this is probably for the better.

● Cheating, maybe? The names “Meryl Davis” and “Charlie White” might not be widely recognized by people who didn’t watch every second of Olympic ice dance coverage last month. Lucky for you, I saw every twizzle and lift of the pair’s gold medal-winning routines, so trust me when I say that enlisting these two Olympians for the show’s cast is a great get. But ... they’re almost too good. Sure, dancing on solid ground is different from dancing on the ice, but it’s not a long shot to say the two skills are ... similar. Bottom line: One of these will likely make it to the finale, because they can already perform and have charming personalities and know the various pitfalls of skintight dance costumes.

● Partner swap: This year, the competition will feature a new twist called the Switch Up, where America will be given the power to vote and change celebrity-pro pairings at some point in the season. This seems cruel. And also maybe not that fun to watch? The pro-celeb relationship is one of the most compelling things about the show. Then again, some celebs just get better partners, and end up going farther in the competition even if they’re not the best. So maybe this is more fair. At the very least, it adds drama, which DWTS craves.

This year’s lineup is one of the better ones recently:

• Hockey player Sean Avery with pro Karina Smirnoff
• Actor Candace Cameron Bure (Full House’s DJ Tanner) with Mark Ballas
• Actor/​The Price is Right host Drew Carey with Cheryl Burke
• Olympian Meryl Davis with Maksim Chmerkovskiy
• Reality star NeNe Leakes with Tony Dovolani
• Nickelodeon actor/​singer James Maslow with Peta Murgatroyd
• Actor Danica McKellar (Winnie Cooper from The Wonder Years) with Valentin Chmerkovskiy
• Swimmer Diana Nyad with Henry Byalikov
• Paralympic athlete Amy Purdy with Derek Hough
• Teen pop star Cody Simpson with Witney Carson
• Olympian Charlie White with Sharna Burgess
• Actor Billy Dee Williams (Star Wars) with Emma Slater