When does Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro start? Premiere date, host, judges and what is confirmed

Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro premiere date is July 13, 2026, and ABC has already locked in the key on-screen names. If you are searching for when the spinoff starts, who is hosting it and whether the contestant lineup is fully confirmed yet, the clean answer is that the basic format is official, while some contestant details are still being filled in by the network’s rollout.

Watch the official trailers below.

Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro official trailer

The short answer

Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro premieres Monday, July 13, 2026 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC, with episodes available the next day on Hulu. ABC has confirmed Robert Irwin as host and Mark Ballas and Shirley Ballas as judges.

Why this is worth your time

I checked ABC Updates launch article, ABC Press show page and a few other places worth checking and trimmed the story down to what a reader actually needs: the main update, why it matters today, and which details still need an official follow-up.

When does Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro start?

ABC says Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro premieres on Monday, July 13, 2026 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. The network has tied the spinoff directly to its summer unscripted slate, which gives the show a clear launch window rather than a vague coming soon promise.

That matters because viewers have been seeing the title pop up for weeks without always getting the simple scheduling answer first. Right now, the most useful confirmed detail is straightforward: July 13 is the premiere date, and next-day streaming is set for Hulu.

Who is hosting and judging the new DWTS spinoff?

Robert Irwin is confirmed as host. ABC’s official release positions him as the face of the new competition after his own Dancing with the Stars win, which makes the spinoff feel closely tied to the main franchise instead of like a totally separate experiment.

Mark Ballas and Shirley Ballas are the confirmed judges. ABC also says returning DWTS pros will appear as rotating mentors and guest judges, but those names have not all been formally detailed yet.

Has ABC fully revealed the contestant cast yet?

ABC has confirmed the format includes 12 up-and-coming dancers competing for a pro slot on Dancing with the Stars season 35. The network’s official press photos posted on May 28 show the full group together, which is the clearest sign yet that the launch package is moving into a more complete phase.

What has not fully arrived in the same level of detail is a complete contestant bio rollout on the show’s main ABC press bios page. Based on the current official materials, it is fair to say the lineup is visually revealed in press assets, while some contestant-by-contestant background information is still limited.

How will Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro work?

ABC says the dancers move into one house and go through a grueling audition-style competition. The winner earns a coveted professional dancer spot on season 35 of Dancing with the Stars, which gives the show a much cleaner stakes line than a generic talent search.

That setup is probably why the series has started cutting through as more than just another franchise extension. It is built as a feeder competition with a real DWTS job at the end, not just a one-season side quest.

What to watch for next

The next useful update will probably be a trailer, cast reveal, premiere date, schedule change or platform listing. Until that lands, the cleanest read is the one above: what is known, what is useful, and what still needs receipts.