ABC courting 'bigger stars' for next season of 'Dancing with the Stars'

May 14 (UPI) -- The next edition of Dancing with the Stars will feature more famous contenders than the reality TV personalities, athletes and former child stars who have competed in recent seasons.

"We're going after bigger stars than we have in a long time, so watch this space for some future announcements," Karey Burke, the network's president of entertainment, said at the Disney Upfront Presentation on Tuesday.

ABC typically airs two cycles of DWTS a year -- one edition in the fall, the other in the spring.

Burke said she thinks skipping the Spring 2019 season of DWTS this year gave the network more time to improve the series, which will kick off its 28th season in the fall. It is hosted by Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews.

"We have been pitched some really fun format changes for DWTS by the executive producers, but, right now, they are still top secret, so I am not at liberty to share," Burke said. "It's still the show that the audience knows and loves, but they've got some good ideas about ways to surprise and delight the audience in new ways."