CBS Pairs Up With LL Cool J & Chris O’Donnell For Competition Format ‘Come Dance With Me’

Peter White
·3 min read

EXCLUSIVE: CBS is getting back on the dance floor with a non-scripted entertainment format from its own NCIS: Los Angeles stars LL Cool J and Chris O’Donnell.

The broadcast network has ordered Come Dance With Me (w/t) from the pair. The family show will be produced by CBS Television Studios and 3 Ball Productions.

Lip Sync Battle host LL Cool J, who sang “You Can’t Dance” on his debut album Radio, and O’Donnell will exec produce alongside 3 Ball’s Reinout Oerlemans, Ross Weintraub and Jeff Altrock.

The series will feature talented young dancers from across the country, who will invite one inspirational, and untrained, family member or other adult who has supported their dance dreams, to become their dance partner for a chance to strut their stuff for a grand prize. Each week, these kids will share their love of dance with their mother, father, grandparent or other hero on an uplifting and emotional journey to learn and perform challenging routines, with the assistance of professional choreographers, in a competition with other duos.

Come Dance With Me comes nearly ten years after CBS last went big in the dancing arena with Live To Dance, based on the British format Got To Dance. The show featured Paula Abdul as a judge and exec producer.

CBS has been looking to add to its slate of non-scripted entertainment formats and find a way to crack the big competition space. Dance is a popular genre across the broadcast networks with shows like ABC’s Dancing With The Stars and NBC’s World of Dance, although Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance latest season was recently shelved as a result of the COVID-19 production shutdown.

“We believe this concept is fun for the whole family, especially given the number of children we both have,” said LL Cool J and Chris O’Donnell. “We reminisced about our kids’ dance lessons and how it would look if they had to teach us how to dance. What we noticed was, aside from the two-left-feet element, like most parents, no one wants to let their kids down. The show is about being creative, having a good time and bringing families together through dance. It’s a fun show with a big heart.”

“It’s inspiring to see the positive connection that exists between adults and children play out through dance,” added 3 Ball’s Reinout Oerlemans. “Shepherding this show has been a labor of love, and the fact that it comes to CBS at a time when families are hungry for fun, uplifting entertainment is especially gratifying.”

More from Deadline

Best of Deadline

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.