Updated: Sept. 7.... or the 8th, depending on your time zone.
It's been a long year without Dancing with the Stars on the air, but the Disney + show is ready to fire up the ballroom for another season. We last left the show with Daniella Karagach winning her first Mirror Ball Trophy with partner Iman Shumpert. Before we start predicting this season's winner, we have to know all of the important details for the milestone season.
Premiere Date: Monday, Sept. 19
The season begins airing on its new home, Disney +, as the first live-streaming reality competition show in the U.S. — and we get two hours commercial-free. That's quite a history-making moment, so it should be a great season!
How Long Is the Season?
This year, the season will run 10 weeks — from Monday, Sept. 19 through Monday, Nov. 21.
Host: Tyra Banks, Co-Host: Alfonso Ribeiro
We know you all miss Tom Bergeron, but he's not coming back to the show. Both sides have moved on and that means we have to move on, too. The good news is that Season 19 winner Alfonso Ribeiro is there to add his strong hosting skills to the season.
Judges: Len Goodman, Carrieann Inaba, Derek Hough, Bruno Tonioli
Everyone is back from last season! Without commercials to cut to, they will hopefully all get the opportunity to talk.
New Pro Auditions: YES
This seems to be a controversial topic online, but yes, new pro auditions happen almost every year. Sometimes they hire new pros, sometimes they don't — it's all about finding what they are looking for at the right time. This year it was necessary because they are bringing the troupe back — and adding one new pro on the roster.
Troupe:
Ezra Sosa
Alexis Warr
Kateryna Klishyna
D'Angelo Castro
Pros This Season:
**Sharna Burgess announced on Aug. 31 she is out for the season.**
Women:
Britt Stewart
Cheryl Burke
Peta Murgatroyd
Emma Slater
Koko Iwasaki
Daniella Karagach
Witney Carson
Men:
Val Chmerkovskiy
Alan Bersten
Artem Chigvintsev
Gleb Savchenko
Louis Van Amstel
Brandon Armstrong
Pasha Pashkov
Sasha Farber
Episode 1 Opening Number Choreographers: Luam & Robert Roldan
Partnerships:
1. Charli D'Amelio
Partner: TBD
The TikTok superstar already is a trained dancer and has a Derek Hough connection after performing in his Step Into the Movies TV special . With 145.8 million followers on the popular platform, will they also follow her to DWTS?
This news was also confirmed by TMZ.
2. Heidi D'Amelio
Partner: TBD
Heidi D'Amelio is joining Charli to be the first mother-daughter team in the series' history. Will they cancel each other out in votes?
This news was also confirmed by TMZ.
3. Joseph Baena
Partner: Daniella Karagach
Joseph Baena is the son of Arnold Schwarzenegger and his parents' tabloid story has been well-documented. However, he's pursuing an acting career, so this is a good publicity push.
This news was also confirmed by TMZ.
4. Wayne Brady
Partner: Witney Carson
This pairing is absolute fire, putting them on the fast track to win the competition. Wayne Brady is a PERFORMER who just danced in high-heels for Kinky Boots at the Hollywood Bowl with Mark Ballas. Do you think the former pro gave Brady some tips?
5. Daniel Durant
Partner: Britt Stewart
Daniel Durant is known for his role in this year's Oscar-winning movie, CODA. He also performed on Broadway in the Deaf West Theatre production of Spring Awakening, which was choreographed by Spencer Liff. Britt and Daniel could also be a couple to watch.
6. Jordan Sparks
Partner: Brandon Armstrong
How Jordan Sparks escaped DWTS casting before this is beyond us, but the American Idol star (she won the sixth season) is perfect for the show. With Brandon's strong choreography, we cannot wait to see them light up the dance floor.
7. Gabby Windey
Partner: Val Chmerkovskiy
It's not an official DWTS season unless we have a Bachelor Nation contestant — and here we are. Gabby Windey has been open about wanting to do the show, and she's not hiding her formal dance training (how refreshing!). While her Bachelorette season has been fairly quiet, she could make some noise on the ballroom floor.
8. Trevor Donovan
Partner: Emma Slater
I've honestly been sitting on this one for a few days just because I wanted to enjoy my long weekend, but since he's decided to post from the rehearsal studios — well, welcome to DWTS, Trevor! He did his best to hide his right-calf guitar tattoo behind his backpack, but the photographers nabbed it anyway. And yes, those shorts... the same ones in both photos.
Update:
This DWTS sleuthing season is ending with a bang... Us Weekly might have been late on confirming Wayne, Gabby, and Jordin, but they accidentally let the cat out of the bag about Val and Gabby's partnership. (And thank you to everyone who screen-grabbed this for me.)
Don't go to sleep! I added the fourth (very talented) troupe member. They are replacing Sasha, who was paired with a celebrity for the season.
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