The Dancing With the Stars ballroom is getting even bigger with a brand-new spinoff series.
ABC announced on Wednesday, April 22, that Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro will air this summer to find the next pro dancer for the main broadcast.
“Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro features 12 exceptional up-and-coming dancers who move into one house and compete in a grueling audition process,” a logline reads. “[They are] all vying for a coveted spot as a pro dancer on season 35 of Dancing with the Stars.”
The Next Pro will be hosted by reigning DWTS champ, Robert Irwin, and will be joined by mirrorball-winning pro Mark Ballas and his mother, Shirley Ballas, as judges. Shirley, 65, is renowned as the “Queen of Latin” and currently serves as the head judge on the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing across the pond in England.
Mark, 39, and his mom will be joined by a rotating panel of guest judges and mentors, many of whom are already pros on the ballroom hit.
“For the first time in Dancing with the Stars history, the greatest dancers will compete for a spot as the next pro,” Irwin, 22, said in a trailer. “This summer, let the fiercest dance battle begin.”
Irwin won DWTS season 34 with pro partner Witney Carson last year.
“Our last dance, that freestyle, was our way to say thank you to everybody who’s been on that journey,” Irwin said on Good Morning America in November 2025, referring to his freestyle routine. “We just knew we had to make it work because it was the way to just say, ‘We’re so grateful for this experience.’”
Mark Ballas. Disney/Maarten De Boer
The stunning dance, however, caused an unexpected injury for the wildlife conservationist.
“It’s all good. We were having that much fun that I didn’t even realize there was an issue till the end because [of] the adrenaline, the passion and the fun of it all,” Irwin noted of his recovery. “It overrides anything. It is, literally, the greatest thing I’ve gotten to be a part of. I’m just so, so happy [that I could] bring a bit of that khaki, ‘wildlife warrior’ vibe in there.”
Carson, 32, for her part, said on GMA that winning felt “so different” the second time around. (Carson won her first mirrorball in 2014’s season 19 with now-host Alfonso Ribeiro.)
“The first time I won, I was 19 years old — and now I’m 32,” Carson said at the time. “I have kids now, and to celebrate with them and my husband was so special.”
Dancing With the Stars fans just got their first major update on what’s next for the franchise ahead of season 35. Season 33 winner Joey Graziadei and numerous DWTS pros appeared on the Tuesday, February 10, episode of Good Morning America to announce the Ultimate DWTS Fan Convention. “The big announcement is that we are going to […]
Carson was among the pros on season 34 alongside Mark, Val Chmerkovskiy, Pasha Pashkov, Brandon Armstrong, Emma Slater, Jenna Johnson, Britt Stewart, Daniella Karagach, Rylee Arnold, Ezra Sosa, Gleb Savchenko and Jan Ravnik, the latter who made his ballroom debut that year.
ABC also announced on Wednesday that DWTS will return for season 35, featuring celeb contestants Ciara Miller and Maura Higgins.
Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro premieres on ABC Monday, July 13, at 8 p.m. ET and streams the next day on Hulu.
