Derek Hough Teases the Game-Changing New Pro Set to Shake Up DWTS Season 35
Brace for a ballroom shake-up: Derek Hough told Us Weekly a new Dancing With the Stars pro will jolt next season and deliver a treat for fans, teasing the news at the Disney upfronts on May 12.
ABC is not just renewing Dancing With the Stars this fall; they are literally running a whole competition to hire a new pro before the season even starts. Derek Hough says fans are going to eat this up, and, honestly, he might be right.
The setup: a pre-season pro battle
Speaking at Disney 's upfronts on Tuesday, May 12, DWTS judge Derek Hough, 40, teased the new spinoff, 'Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro,' which will air on ABC ahead of season 35. The premise is simple and kind of brilliant: 12 dancers go head-to-head for a spot in the main show's pro lineup. Consider it a crash course in what it actually takes to be a DWTS pro, with the added bonus that we all get to root (and yell) along the way.
Current mirrorball champ Robert Irwin is hosting, and the judging panel is a very nerdy, very fun wrinkle: Mark Ballas and his mom, Shirley Ballas. Yes, that Shirley Ballas.
Why Shirley Ballas on American TV is a big deal
Hough could not hide how hyped he is for the U.S. audience to finally meet Shirley. He has been tight with the Ballas family for years, even training under Shirley himself, and he basically described her as family. If you know ballroom, you already know her nickname: the Queen of Latin. She is also the head judge on the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing and, at 65, still the authority a lot of pros grew up trying to impress.
The first look
Disney rolled out the trailer last month, and Irwin set the tone pretty clearly:
'For the first time in Dancing with the Stars history, the greatest dancers will compete for a spot as the next pro. This summer, let the fiercest dance battle begin.'
Meanwhile, season 35 is already taking shape
While The Next Pro plays out, DWTS proper is quietly locking in its new cast. Three names are official so far: Summer House's Ciara Miller, Love Island alum Maura Higgins, and Savannah Bananas player Jackson Olson. Hough says the season 35 roster is already 'fantastic' with more on the way, and he hinted he knows a few of them personally. Translation: expect some chemistry right out of the gate.
Pro pairings for season 35 have not been revealed yet. That has not stopped Ciara Miller from campaigning, though. She told E! News during the Met Gala livestream in May that she is actively lobbying to land Val Chmerkovskiy as her partner, emails and all. Aim high, why not.
Bottom line: ABC is turning the hunt for a new DWTS pro into its own summer sport, with Robert Irwin front and center and the Ballas dynasty calling the shots. If you wanted a peek at the machine that makes DWTS work, this is it. Then season 35 swoops in with a cast Hough swears is stacked. Not a bad one-two punch.