Channing Tatum is heading to TV. No really. The actor has mostly had a big screen presence over the years, but he did enjoy a guest stint on Lip Sync Battle last year. Now, Channing Tatum and his wife Jenna Dewan Tatum are going to take their dance skills and bring them to NBC, where they will appear in and executive produce a currently untitled reality competition series based on dancing.
Obviously, since the couple met on the set of Step Up and both have dancing backgrounds, this is the perfect fit. Reports indicate that this will mostly be Jenna Dewan Tatum’s chance to shine. She’s set to be a judge and mentor on the upcoming competition series. Channing Tatum won’t just be stuck in an executive producing capacity, however. THR is indicating that he is expected to appear occasionally on the show, likely when his schedule permits. NBC has already signed on for six episodes of the series, although the network hasn’t bothered to work out a title, yet. We do know that along with the Tatums, Peter Kiernan, Reid Carolin, and Meegan Kierna will executive produce.
ABC and Fox have both had dancing competition shows on the air for years and years now. The fan-favorite is obviously ABC’s Dancing with the Stars, which just kicked off Season 22 this week. So You Think You Can Dance is expected to return to Fox this summer. Obviously, NBC does get some dancing on shows like America’s Got Talent, but the network hasn’t had a dancing-specific series in recent years. And with the ABC and Fox shows starting to show their age, there could be a desire in the market for something new. It helps that NBC’s untitled project has a well-liked celebrity couple attached.
Channing Tatum’s obviously a busy guy. He has several movie projects in the works right now, including the high-profile movies Gambit and—probably—23 Jump Street. Jenna Dewan Tatum also has a recurring role on Supergirl, so she’s busy, as well. Obviously, she’ll still have time to put together a reality competition series, however.
While we’re starting to round the bend and reach some season finales for the season, we’re still several weeks away from the major networks making decisions about what new programming will hit the schedule and when. Obviously a series order is a lot better than still being in the idea or script stage, but we have no idea if this one will be the sort of thing to hit the schedule next fall or to be given a weird timeslot in the winter, etc. It may even depend on how filming goes.
We don’t know a ton about the new dancing competition series, but as soon as NBC reveals details regarding the format—and whether or not there’s a gimmick like the chair turns on The Voice--we’ll let you know. In the meantime, you can find out what TV has coming up with our midseason TV premiere schedule.
