Dancing with the Stars officially has a spinoff, and it will be airing this summer.

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ABC has announced Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro, a spinoff that will find Dancing with the Stars' next professional partner, will premiere Monday, July 13, 2026 at 8PM ET/PT, with episodes available the next day on Hulu.

Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro will feature 12 talented up-and-coming dancers moving into one house and competing in a grueling audition process.

All 12 dancers will by vying for a coveted spot as a pro dancer on Season 35 of Dancing with the Stars, which is slated to air in Fall 2026.

Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro will be hosted by wildlife conservationist and Season 34 Dancing with the Stars winner Robert Irwin.

Three-time Mirrorball champion Mark Ballas and his mother, Shirley "The Queen of Latin" Ballas will serve as the judges.

Mark -- who appeared on the latest season of The Traitors and has had multiple roles on Broadway -- and Shirley -- who has served as the head judge on Strictly Come Dancing in the UK since 2017 -- will also be joined by "a star-studded lineup" of returning pros.

The returning pros will serve as rotating mentors and guest judges throughout the season, according to ABC.

Details about the returning pros will be announced at a later date.

Rob Mills, the executive vice president of unscripted for Walt Disney TV, told The Wrap that the idea for The Next Pro spinoff came about because executives were "incredibly excited with the resurgence" of Dancing with the Stars last year.

Dancing with the Stars' Season 34 finale was the most-watched finale in nine years, and according to ABC, 72 million votes came through on the final night of performances.

"I like the fact that [DWTS] still is once a year, because I think that keeps it really special. But it was also, how do you keep sort of a pulse going?" Rob explained.

"And this is a show that they had done in other territories, and it worked."

Rob elaborated, "It was really great that you could tell the story of what it takes to be a pro, and there will be investment in this dancer now going into the season, so this was a really, really unique opportunity to kind of do a baton hand off this summer into the next season of Dancing with the Stars."

Variety had reported in February that Dancing with the Stars was launching a new spinoff to find the show's next pro dancer, a few months after Season 34 of the reality dancing competition broke records in Fall 2025.

Mark just competed on Dancing with the Stars' 34th season with The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Whitney Leavitt.

Mark and Whitney were eliminated during the semifinals episode in November, finishing in sixth place, despite having received the highest cumulative judges' scores up to that point.

Mark joined Dancing with the Stars for Season 5 in 2007. He competed on every season until he took a break for Season 23 and Season 24. He also took a hiatus from the show from Seasons 26 through 30, followed by Season 32 and Season 33.

Last season, Dancing with the Stars introduced Jan Ravnik as a new pro partner, but there was some controversy surrounding the fairness of his casting given he's famous for having danced in Taylor Swift's Eras Tour.

Many Dancing with the Stars pros were also promoted from the show's Troupe over the years.

Dancing with the Stars also recently announced it's creating a convention for fans that will be a "celebration of all things Dancing with the Stars."

"Dancing with the Stars Con 2026" will include a live show and celebrity appearances, including show pros such as Jenna Johnson and former contestants including Joey Graziadei.

"Dancing with the Stars Con 2026" will be taking place from Friday, July 31 to Sunday, August 2 at Acrisure Arena in Palm Springs, CA.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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