Everything To Know About Dancing With The Stars: The Next Pro

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Dancing With The Stars Season 34 Winners Witney Carson and Robert Irwin Holding Mirrorball Trophies

Published Apr 23, 2026, 2:40 PM EDT

Lorianne Palinkas has been a reality television writer for Screen Rant for four years. After teaching middle school English for twenty years, she knows a thing or two about high drama, complicated alliances, and even singing competitions. Growing up in New York City gave her a solid foundation in the arts and culture.

Dancing With The Stars has a new spin-off on the horizon called Dancing With The Stars: The Next Pro, in which 12 up-and-coming dancers will compete to be a professional dancer on season 35 of the reality dance competition series. Dancing With The Stars premiered in 2005 and had a renaissance in 2025 with season 34.

Hosted by Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough and judged by Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough, and Bruno Tonioli, Dancing With The Stars season 34 crowned wildlife conservationist Robert Irwin and professional dancer Witney Carson as its winners. During the finale, Alix Earle and Val Chmerkovskiy were the runners-up, while Jordan Chiles and Ezra Sosa placed third, and Dylan Efron and Daniella Karagach placed fourth. Now, Dancing With The Stars is giving a whole new group of dancers the chance to become a pro on the show with Dancing With The Stars: The Next Pro.

Dancing With The Stars: The Next Pro Premise

Dancing With The Stars' Season 34 Winners Robert Irwin and Witney Carson With Their Mirrorball Trophies

According to an ABC press release, Dancing With The Stars: The Next Pro will feature 12 up-and-coming dancers moving into one house and competing in a grueling audition process. The prize is a coveted spot as a pro dancer on Dancing With The Stars season 35. The contestants' names will be announced at a later date.

Dancing With The Stars: The Next Pro Host

Dancing With The Stars' Robert Irwin and Witney Carson Dancing in the Ballroom

Dancing With The Stars: The Next Pro will be hosted by Robert Irwin. Robert is a wildlife conservationist who works at Australia Zoo. He and his family live there, and also run the nonprofit charity, Wildlife Warriors. Robert is the son of the late Steve Irwin and Terri Irwin, both conservationists. His sister, Bindi, is also a conservationist, along with being a television personality and an actress. She won Dancing With The Stars season 21 with her professional dance partner, Derek Hough, which inspired Robert to compete on the show. He followed in her footsteps and also took home the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy.

Dancing With The Stars: The Next Pro Judges

Dancing With The Stars: The Next Pro will feature the mother-and-son duo of Shirley and Mark Ballas as its judges. They'll be joined by returning pros who will serve as rotating mentors and guest judges. Their names will be announced at a later date.

Mark has been a professional dancer on Dancing With The Stars for many seasons, beginning with season 5, and has won three times with his celebrity partners, Kristi Yamaguchi (season 6), Shawn Johnson (season 8), and Charli D'Amelio (season 31). Mark is an award-winning choreographer who's also starred on Broadway. His most recent role was Billy Flynn in Chicago opposite his Dancing With The Stars season 34 celebrity dance partner, Whitney Leavitt. Mark also appeared in The Traitors US season 4, during which he placed 6th out of 23 players. In addition, Mark is a musician, who's released one studio album and one EP.

Shirley, a champion ballroom dancer, is known as "the Queen of Latin" because of her many championship titles in the Latin dance style. She's also the head judge of BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing. The winner of multiple prestigious dance awards, Shirley has been inducted into both the United States and Great Britain Dance Hall of Fame.

Dancing With The Stars: The Next Pro Premiere Date

Dancing With The Stars' Julianne Hough, Robert Irwin, and Witney Carson Looking Shocked

Dancing With The Stars: The Next Pro premieres on July 13, 2026, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. Episodes will also be available the next day on Hulu.

Dancing With The Stars: The Next Pro Trailer

The Dancing With The Stars: The Next Pro trailer (shared via the Dancing With The Stars YouTube channel) features the 12 contestants showcasing some of their dance moves, with Robert announced as the host. In the teaser, Robert states, "For the first time in Dancing With The Stars history, the greatest dancers will compete for a spot as the next pro. This summer, let the fiercest dance battle begin." The clip also includes the words, "12 dancers ... 1 dream."

Dancing With The Stars: The Next Pro is going to be an intriguing spin-off. It'll be so interesting to watch the process of how a professional dancer is selected for the show. With the incredible success of Dancing With The Stars season 34, this spin-off is certain to be another hit. Dancing With The Stars has been on television for two decades, but it's only just getting started.

Sources: ABC, Dancing With The Stars/YouTube