A Star-Studded Ballroom Returns This September

Dancing With the Stars is heading into its 35th season with one of its most eclectic casts yet — sixteen celebrity-and-pro pairings spanning Olympic gold medalists, Emmy-recognized actors, reality television mainstays, and at least two performers with deep professional dance roots of their own. The full lineup was unveiled Wednesday morning on Good Morning America and confirmed by both The Hollywood Reporter and Variety [1][2].

The season kicks off with a live two-night premiere on Tuesday, September 15, and Wednesday, September 16, on ABC and Disney+, with episodes available the following day on Hulu [1].

The Celebrity Lineup

Four celebrities — reality star Ciara Miller, Love Island and The Traitors personality Maura Higgins, "Savannah Bananas" baseball star Jackson Olson, and Jimmy Kimmel Live! fan favorite Guillermo Rodriguez — had already been announced ahead of the GMA reveal [1]. They are joined by twelve more:

  • Julia Stiles (10 Things I Hate About You) with Ezra Sosa [1][2]
  • Harry Shum Jr. (Glee, Grey's Anatomy, Crazy Rich Asians) with Jenna Johnson [1][2]
  • Jenna Dewan (The Rookie, Step Up) with Val Chmerkovskiy [1][2]
  • Tatyana Ali (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air) with Jan Ravnik [1][2]
  • Tyler Cameron (The Bachelorette, HGTV) with Sharna Burgess [1][2]
  • Giada De Laurentiis (Food Network) with Alan Bersten [1][2]
  • Ezra Frech, Paralympian gold medalist, with Daniella Karagach [1][2]
  • Amber Glenn, Olympic gold medalist, with Pasha Pashkov [1][2]
  • Taylor Hanson (of the band Hanson) with Britt Stewart [1][2]
  • Conner Leavitt (husband of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Whitney Leavitt) with Adele Zaikman [1][2]
  • Sarah Jane Nader (Love Thy Nader) with Hailey Bills [1][2]
  • Connor Wood, comedian and podcaster, with Rylee Arnold [1][2]

Two of the celebrity competitors bring unusually strong dance credentials. Jenna Dewan launched her career as a backup dancer for Janet Jackson and has since hosted and judged multiple dance-focused television programs [2]. Harry Shum Jr. has performed as a backup dancer for Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, Jennifer Lopez, and Mariah Carey [2], making both of them early favorites to watch on the leaderboard.

Notable Moves on the Pro Side

The professional dancer roster carries several storylines of its own.

Witney Carson, who won season 34, is returning to compete — while pregnant — partnered with Guillermo Rodriguez [1][2]. Sharna Burgess is making a high-profile comeback after five years away from the ballroom; she previously competed across 14 seasons and won the competition once, and will now partner with Tyler Cameron [1][2]. One source described her last appearance as 2021, while another characterized the gap as five years, placing her most recent full season around 2021 [1][2].

Perhaps the most structurally significant addition on the pro side is Hailey Bills, elevated from troupe member to full professional dancer for season 35 [1][2]. Bills is paired with reality star Sarah Jane Nader, forming the second all-female celebrity-and-pro duo in the show's history and the third same-sex pairing overall [1][2].

Adele Zaikman, winner of the spinoff competition DWTS: The Next Pro, also joins the main cast as a pro for the first time, dancing with Conner Leavitt [1][2].

On the other side of the ledger, Gleb Savchenko — who had appeared as a pro consecutively from seasons 23 through 34 — was not included in the season 35 cast [1].

Mark Ballas, a judge on The Next Pro, returns to the ballroom floor as a pro dancer, paired with Maura Higgins [1][2].

New Addition: The DWTS After Party

Beyond the competition itself, the show is launching a new companion program: the first-ever DWTS After Party, hosted by season 34 winner Robert Irwin [1]. The special will air live on September 16 at 10:00 p.m. — the second premiere night — and is described as "checking in with eliminated contestants and breaking down the best moments with DWTS alumni with never-before-seen footage and special teases" [1].

Returning Hosts and Judges

The on-air team remains unchanged from recent seasons. Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough return as co-hosts, while the judges' panel of Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli, and Derek Hough is also back [1].

What to Watch

With a cast that blends Olympic and Paralympic athletes, actors with genuine dance experience, and a historically notable same-sex pairing, season 35 appears designed to push the show's competitive and cultural range simultaneously. The key questions heading into the premiere: whether Dewan and Shum Jr.'s professional dance backgrounds translate into ballroom dominance, how Sharna Burgess fares in her comeback run, and whether the show's new After Party format finds an audience. The two-night opener on September 15 and 16 will set the tone.