Dancing With The Stars All Athlete Edition Premiere Date Set For April

ABC released some official dates for their new Spring Schedule. According to TV By The Numbers via ABC, the “Dancing With the Stars” All Athlete Edition will premiere on Monday, April 30th. That’s a long time to wait. Are you up for it? I am a big American Idol fan. So, I’m looking forward to this change. Let us know what you think in comments.

“American Idol” will keep its familiar two-nights-a-week format when it debuts on ABC — and in turn push the next cycle of “Dancing With the Stars” to later in the spring.

That’s one of the highlights of ABC’s schedule for the back half of the season. Others include the still-untitled “Grey’s Anatomy” spinoff getting a spot in the TGIT lineup and a slew of series premieres: comedies “Alex, Inc.” and “Splitting Up Together” — plus the return of “Roseanne” — and dramas “Deception” (which is getting the post-“Idol” spot on Sundays), “For the People
and “The Crossing.”

During the Winter Olympics, ABC will also run “The Bachelor Winter Games” — a cold-weather version of “Bachelor in Paradise” — to rest several shows. It will air from 8-10 p.m. Feb. 13, 15, 20 and 22.

Let’s get to the rundown, because there’s a lot to take in. Premiere dates (all times ET/PT) below. New shows are in italics. Where shows are replacing series currently on the schedule, notes on their finale dates are included.

Sunday, March 11
8 p.m. “American Idol”
10 p.m. “Deception”

Monday, March 12
8 p.m. “American Idol” (time period premiere)

Monday, April 30
8 p.m. “Dancing With the Stars” (all-athlete edition)

More at TV By The Numbers .