'Dancing With the Stars' 2022 Premiere Not Airing on ABC: How to Watch

By Daniel S. Levine

Disney is making television history Monday night with Dancing With the Stars. Season 31 kicks off on Monday, Sept. 19 at 8 p.m. ET, but not on ABC. It will instead stream live on the Disney+ streaming platform, making it the first live competition show to debut on a streamer. This will also be the first time Americans across the country can vote for their favorite dancers, no matter what time zone they live in.

Disney+ is available in different tiers, like most streamers. The current price for the ad-free service is $8 per month and $80 per year. That cost will go up starting on Dec. 8 to $11 and $110, respectively, once the $8-per-month version with ads launches. You can also subscribe to a Disney bundle, which includes Disney+ (without ads), Hulu (with ads), and ESPN+ for $14 per month until Dec. 8. (This plan will increase to $15 per month on Dec. 8.) DWTS fans need access to Hulu to watch past seasons of the series. A full list of Disney+ supported devices is available on the Disney+ website.

DWTS Season 31 will see the return of Tyra Banks as host, but Season 19 winner Alfonso Ribeiro has been brought on as a co-host. Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli, and Derek Hough are back as judges. Most of the fan-favorite professional dancers are returning, although Jenna Johnson, Lindsay Arnold, and Sharna Burgess all said they will not be participating this year. A dance troupe will also return for the first time since Season 27.

Here are the celebrity and pro dance pairs:

  • Joseph Baena (bodybuilder) and Daniella Karagach
  • Selma Blair (actor) and Sasha Farber
  • Wayne Brady (comedian) and Cheryl Burke
  • Charli D'Ameilo (social media star) and Mark Ballas
  • Heidi D'Amelio (social media star and Charli's mother) and Artem Chigvintsev
  • Jessie James Decker (singer) and Alan Bersten
  • Trevor Donovan (actor) and Emma Slater
  • Daniel Durant (actor) and Britt Stewart
  • Teresa Giudice (The Real Housewives of New Jersey) and Pasha Pashkov
  • Vinny Guadaginino (Jersey Shore) and Koko Iwasaki
  • Cheryl Ladd (actor) and Louis van Amstel
  • Jason Lewis (actor) and Peta Murgatroyd
  • Shangela (RuPaul's Drag Race) and Gleb Savchenko
  • Jordin Sparks (singer) and Brandon Armstrong
  • Gabby Windey (The Bachelorette) and Val Chmerkovskiy

While the show will follow a format familiar to longtime DWTS fans, there will be one big change. There will be no commercials! "The new 'no commercials' format is intense and exciting. There's no way I could handle this new format alone," Banks recently told Us Weekly. "We no longer have commercial time to clear sets. It's nonstop action. So, having a new host allows for cut-aways from the stage so that the crew can get the next act ready."

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