The ballroom is back in a major way in news today during the Disney’s Get Real unscripted TV event. First, Dancing with the Stars has been renewed for its upcoming 35th season, that is expected to premiere this fall.

The first two celebrity contestants have been revealed. Maura Higgins from Traitors and Love Island has joined the cast as has Summer House favorite Ciara Miller.

Previously, the 34th season of Dancing with the Stars saw its largest audience in years driven by viewer interest in the younger demographics, plus the sho delivered its highest-rated finale in nearly a decade, which saw wildlife conservationist, Robert Irwin winning the Mirror Ball trophy.

Photo: ABC

It’s clear, ABC feels they have gold with Irwin, who they have tapped to host their new spinoff series coming this summer. Now comes Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro coming to ABC and Hulu. The series will premiere July 13, 2026, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC, with episodes available the next day on Hulu.

The new competition series which will be hosted by Irwin, features 12 up-and-coming dancers who move into one house and compete in a grueling audition process, all vying for a coveted spot as a pro dancer on Season 35 of Dancing with the Stars.

Three-time Mirrorball champion Mark Ballas and his mother, Shirley Ballas “The Queen of Latin” will serve as judges. They will be joined by lineup of returning pros who will serve as rotating mentors and guest judges. Details about the returning pros, and contestants will be announced at a later date.

The series is produced by BBC Studios. Conrad Green serves as showrunner and executive producer. Ryan O’Dowd, Krystal Whitney, Alex Cross and Jenny Groom are executive producers. Deena Katz and Quinn Lipton are co-executive producers.

Now below, check out the first look trailer for ‘Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro.’ Then let u know, what you think of the concept? Robert Irwin as host and the OG Dancing with the Stars returning for season 35 via the comment section.

Just announced Dancing with the Stars fans, is its first foray into a full-on fan fest convention. Dancing With the Stars Con 2026 is coming this summer which will feature a plethora of pro dancer favorites,  uniting past winners, alums and a pair of well-known judges for the weekend long event.

Billed as “a celebration of all things Dancing With the Stars” the three-day convention will take place from Friday, July 31 to Sunday, August. 2 in Palm Springs, California at the Acrisure Arena. The venue has the capacity to hold 11,000 people and is located in heart of the Coachella valley near where the Coachella music fest is held every year.

Event organizers share that attendees will see live dance performances, live panels, interactive photo experiences, and exhibits which feature. mirrorball champions and fan favorites.

Photo: ABC

WHO’S APPEARING AT ‘DANCING WITH THE STARS CON’

Confirmed to attend are: long-time judges: Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli. Dancers: Brandon Armstrong, Lindsay Arnold, Rylee Arnold, Alan Bersten, Hailey Bills, Sharna Burgess, Witney Carson, Val Chmerkovskiy, Sasha Farber,, Jenna Johnson, Daniella Karagach, Pasha Pashkov, Jan Ravnik, Gleb Savchenko, Emma Slater, Ezra Sosa, and Britt Stewart.

Photo: ABC

The convention was “designed to celebrate the iconic television series and its passionate fan base” shared the event organizers with Entertainment Weekly. Danielle Fishel added, “There are a lot of things that we don’t even know yet. The greatest thing about the Con is that it’s going to be a celebration of all 20 years of the show.”The Con is going to be the legacy of the show – a celebration of the legacy of the show.”

HOW TO GET TICKETS

Tickets for Dancing With the Stars Con go on sale this Saturday, February 14 at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT. However, in a special promotion with Verizon, its members can access an exclusive presale beginning February. 12. Three-day early bird tickets, VIP packages, and more can be explored at at www.dwtscon.com

So, what do you think about the concept of a Dancing with the Stars massive convention with fans from around the country and the world, pro dancer, past winners and celebs and more? Is it something you would be interested in attending? Let us know via the comment section below.

Photo: ABC

It was quite a night for Dancing with the Stars! The long-running ballroom dance floor competition, delivered an outstanding finale, and in turn, it brought in its strongest ratings in nine years as its 34th season during its 20th anniversary came to a close.

According to Nielsen National Live+Same Day ratings and data; the following milestones were reached during this season’s run and the finale, which saw Robert Irwin and his pro partner, Witney Carson taking home the Mirrorball Trophy after the nationwide vote was tallied along with the judges scores.

Dancing with the Stars scored 9.24 million total viewers for the finale that aired on Tuesday night, November 25. It also became the highest finale ratings among key demos of Adults 18-49 since 2015 and best among Adults 18-34 since 2011. In addition, the finale is now TV’s top entertainment telecast since ABC’s presentation of the ‘The Oscars.”

Photo: ABC

Ironically, Robert’s sister, Bindi Irwin, who won the Mirrorball Trophy back in 2015 with now judge, Derek Hough, held the previous record, as this season finale and the show doubled its 18-49 demo ratings from last season. In addition, Dancing with the Stars season finale captured 53% audience share among Adults 18-34, that’s the largest share of available viewers for any broadcast entertainment series telecast since the Friends series finale in May 2004.

This week’s season 34 finale when becoming the most-watched finale in nine years now beats the former record-holder, the Season 23 finale, which saw Olympic gymnast Laurie Hernandez and Val Chmerkovskiy take the top spot and the Mirrorball.

But that’s not all! As first revealed by hosts Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough before the reading of the final results, the at-home vote shattered an all-time record with over 72 million votes cast – which tallied in total, nearly half a billon votes for the season.

On social media, with 6.9 million total social interactions, Dancing with the Stars was the No. 1 most social program on television across broadcast and cable and the No. 1 most social episode of any primetime series, year to date. The finale grew +109% over the show’s current season average (vs. 3.3 million) and was up +67% over the show’s previous season finale (4.1 million).

And there’s more dancing on the way, next week! In a special holiday presentation, Dancing with the Holidays airs Tuesday Dec. 2, 8:00-9:00 p.m. EST/PST on ABC and Disney+, streaming next day on Hulu. In the loglines for the special, ABC shares, “The ballroom comes alive with holiday magic as “Dancing with the Stars” celebrates the season with festive-themed routines, dazzling musical performances and special holiday greetings.”

So, do you agree that this season’s was the best all-time on record given its competitors, the dances, the emotion from all involved and how it has revived itself also through social media engagement? Let’s not forget, just a few years ago, ABC kicked the show off of broadcast television, and it was only streamed on Disney+! What does this show? Everything can come back around with the right combination of ingredients, and this season did just that. Share your thoughts below, but first check out the moment where Alfonso and Julianne crowned the new Mirrorball champs!