The Dancing With the Stars franchise is taking things outside the ballroom for a new spinoff.
Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro will be coming to ABC later this year and will be hosted by Season 34 Mirrorball winner Robert Irwin, ABC and Hulu announced Wednesday at the Get Real event.
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The series, which premieres on July 13, will feature “12 exceptional up-and-coming dancers who move into one house and compete in a grueling audition process, all vying for a coveted spot as a pro dancer” on Season 35, as per the network. The Next Pro marks the first major expansion of the Dancing With the Stars franchise since its premiere in 2005.
Dancing With the Stars pro Mark Ballas and his mother, Shirley Ballas, who is also a celebrated ballroom pro, will judge the competition alongside a rotating panel of guest judges and mentors. Details about the returning pros and contestants will be shared at a later date.
“It has been such an honor to step back into the Dancing With the Stars world,” Irwin said at Wednesday’s event, shouting out his pro partner Witner Carson in the process. “Dancing With the Stars has changed my life, and honestly, we, the stars, could not do it without the most incredible pros giving everything to their partner every single season.”
“Now it’s time to find the next pro who can keep up with our seasoned pros in the ballroom, and whip those rookie stars into shape,” Shirley added.
ABC also announced the first two celebrity contestants of Dancing With the Stars Season 35 at Wednesday’s event, revealing that Love Island and The Traitors star Maura Higgins will be taking to the dance floor with Summer House‘s Ciara Miller in the upcoming season, set to premiere this fall.
A full cast of celebrities and their pro dancer partners will be announced at a later date.
Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro is set to premiere on July 13 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC with episodes available to stream the next day on Hulu.
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