Disney/Eric McCandless
Key Points
Dancing With the Stars is eyeing a new sequel centered on the search for the reality competition series' next pro partner.
The tentatively titled Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro is in talks with season 34 winner Robert Irwin to host and longtime pro Mark Ballas to judge, Variety reports.
The news comes days after EW's exclusive announcement of the first-ever Dancing With the Stars Con in summer 2026.
Dancing With the Starsis sashaying into a new era.
Following EW's exclusive announcement of the first-everDancing With the StarsCon, the series is gearing up to drop another potential bombshell: a new spinoff.
The tentatively titledDancing With the Stars: The Next Prowill stage a season-long search for the main series' next pro partner, according toVariety, which first reported the news. The winner ofTheNext Prowould earn a spot on theDWTSroster alongside fellow newcomers Jan Ravnik, a backup dancer on Taylor Swift's globe-trotting Eras Tour who joined the show last year, Ezra Sosa, who joined the year before, and Rylee Arnold, who became a part of the main company in 2023.
Disney/Eric McCandless
The series has not yet entered production and has no official airdate, but will reportedly be produced by BBC and air on ABC and Hulu.
Season 34 winner Robert Irwin is said to be in talks to host the new series, making him the colleague ofDancing With the Stars' current hosting duo, season 19 winner Alfonso Ribeiro and former pro Julianne Hough.
As for the judging panel,The Next Prowould trade out long-serving judges Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli, as well as new appointee Derek Hough for a panel comprised of Mark Ballas and his mother, Shirley Ballas.
Mark has participated in 21 seasons ofDancing With the Starsas a pro, winning three. Shirley is a legendary English ballroom dancer with a specialty in the International Latin style, earning her the nickname "The Queen of Latin." Since 2017, Shirley has also served as a judge onStrictly Come Dancing, the English reality competition series thatDancing With the Starsspun off from.
Advertisement
Entertainment Weekly has reached out to ABC, BBC, and representatives for Irwin and Mark Ballas for comment.
This is not the first time ABC has spun a new series offDancing With the Stars.
Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with ourEW Dispatch newsletter.
The first attempt to create aDWTSextended universe came in 2008, with the lively competition seriesDance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann. The figure-skating spinoffSkating With the Starsfollowed in 2010, and a third,Dancing With the Stars: Juniors, featuring celebrity children contestants, aired in 2018. Each of these series was canceled after one season.
Disney/Eric McCandless
The next banner event on the packedDWTScalendar isDancing With the StarsCon 2026.
Described as the "ultimateDWTSfan convention and live show," the three-day event will reunite past celebrity winners like Joey Graziadei and Xochitl Gomez with pros like Alan Bersten and Emma Slater, fan-favorite celeb contestants like Elaine Hendrix and Danielle Fishel, and judges Inaba and Tonioli.
Tickets for the convention's inaugural edition go on sale on Saturday, Feb. 14 at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT atwww.dwtscon.com.
Read the original article onEntertainment Weekly
