Longtime “Dancing With the Stars” pro Val Chmerkovskiy may be ready to take on a bigger role on the show. After numerous seasons and three Mirrorball Trophies on the dance competition series, Chmerkovskiy says he’d really love to be a judge.
“I’d love to judge,” Chmerkovskiy said on the December 3 episode of the “Lightweights” podcast. “I don’t know. You know, again, I’m never going to count me out. I don’t know if I have the tone for it,
I don’t know if I have the name for it, I don’t know if I have the look for it,” he said.
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“We’ll see. I definitely have the knowledge for it, the rapport for it, the, you know, I’ve paid my dues for it, but, you know, there’s so many people that make those decisions that have nothing to do with our show on a higher executive level, network level, that, you know, if it happens, I’ll be grateful,” Chmerkovskiy continued.
“Just because I, like I said, this is my life, and I have a lot of passion for it. But, you know, my heart is not going to be broken if it doesn’t come to me,” he added.
The current judges on the show are Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough, and Bruno Tonioli. For a few years, there were four judges, with Len Goodman, but following Goodman’s retirement from the show, the producers have stuck with three.
Several DWTS Pros Past & Present Would Love to Judge the Show
Chmerkovskiy certainly isn’t the only pro who would like to sit at the judges’ table. One of those people is Chmerkovskiy’s older brother, Maks Chmerkovskiy.
In a 2023 interview with Heavy, Chmerkovskiy said that he’d return to the show in that specific role.
“I love that DANCE has been represented worldwide by an entity such as DWTS and I would absolutely love to continue being a part of this project. My favorite ‘capacity’ would obviously be the judging position as I’ve finally understood its role and had experience of judging a full season in Ukraine. It would be an honor to be sitting behind that desk,” he said.
Meanwhile, former DWTS pro Mark Ballas was given the opportunity to guest judge on season 33 — and fans have been calling for him to join the panel officially.
In an interview with TV Insider, Ballas said he’d be open to joining the judges’ panel on a full-time basis.
“If they would have me? Of course! It would be fun,” he told the outlet.
Other stars who have been keen on judging include Sharna Burgess and Cheryl Burke.
Val Chmerkovskiy Thinks He Has a Few Seasons Left Before He Retires
For the time being, Chmerkovskiy is ready to continue competing for that Mirrorball Trophy, hoping to add to his collection.
On the “Lightweights” podcast, Chmerkovskiy confirmed that he’s not quite ready to retire as a DWTS ballroom pro.
“I want to beat this body up as much as I can, you know, I want to squeeze every ounce of what I can. I love to dance. So, yeah, I mean, I think I have a couple of seasons left,” he said.
He competed on season 33 with “Real Housewives” star Phaedra Parks. The two finished in eighth place.
