ABC Family, in association with Merv Griffin, is reviving Dance
Fever,positioning it as a "reality variety show."
The cable network, owned by The Walt Disney Co., has ordered 13 episodes of
the hour-long show, which was created and launched in 1979 by Griffin, officials
said Tuesday.
The variety show will search the nation for "America's most talented
dancers," as ABC Family put it, with celebrity judges determining the
grand-prize winner.
Dance Fever is being produced by Merv Griffin Entertainment and Nash
Entertainment, which is also doing another original series for ABC Family, My
Life Is a Sitcom.
"This was always one of my favorite series that I brought to television,"
Griffin said in a prepared statement. "I think it's great that variety-show
genres are coming back into the mainstream."
Both ABC Family president Angela Shapiro and senior vice president and head
of programming Linda Mancuso said they hope Dance Fever will draw new
viewers to the channel.
