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Season 34 of Dancing with the stars It was a moment in itself, but with the Emmy season underway and the show finding itself competing for awards recognition, the path to Season 35 has already been set.
“We’re deep into it,” says executive producer and head of casting Dina Katz. Hollywood Reporter She announced her plans for the upcoming installment at the Emmys FYC event on Sunday in Hollywood. “We really dive into casting, we talk about themes — we talk about everything.”
Sunday’s event, held at the Dolby Theater, allowed attendees to learn more about the creative processes that take shape Dancing with the stars. The Season 34 finale earned the show’s highest ratings in a decade, and they’re poised to continue that momentum with more recognition from the Television Academy.
Historically, the reality show has received the literal nominations, even though 10 years have passed since then Dancing with the stars It received a coveted nod in the reality competition show category. Shows like RuPaul’s Drag Race and Traitors (which Katz co-executive produces and stars in) has dominated the unscripted scene for the past decade, but with its newfound success, showrunner Conrad Green and Katz hope Emmys voters will recognize the blood, sweat and tears that fuel the creation of a two-hour live show for 11 weeks at a time.
“I think Emmy voters understand and appreciate that there is very little of this kind on television anymore except for those big awards shows,” Green explains. “There’s very little production of this level on television, week after week, certainly not routinely. For comedy, you have it Saturday Night Live; For dancing and entertainment, you’ve got it Dancing with the stars. It’s a similar process: it’s a weekly shift where you have to achieve that excellence every time.
The professional dancers put on a dazzling show on Sunday, highlighting their strengths as performers and providing a glimpse of what fans tune in to see every Tuesday night as the main season airs.
Led Q&A panel DWTS Graduates and Love Island Host Ariana Madix continued the show, highlighting the series’ strengths, including its ability to foster community each week with viewers, setting it apart from other reality shows that don’t use a live viewing (and voting) model.
As for plans for Season 35, Katz said they are in the midst of working on “every part of it.” Part of these plans were revealed in Hulu’s Get Real House 2026, with Traitors Runners-up Maura Higgins and Summer house Ciara Miller has announced the first two celebrities to go live in 2026 Dance season.
Higgins said previously THR She would like to compete on the ABC show, with Katz echoing that sentiment. “Maura literally shows it. She texts me every time she comes to L.A. and wants to grab lunch. She’s been dying to do the show, and she’s amazing. She’s great TV. She’s funny. She’s entertaining,” she says.
“[Maura] That’s exactly what our show is, and she’s having a moment right now, so it was a no brainer. And find out what will happen with him Traitors “And seeing the buzz around it, it was amazing,” Katz adds of being tapped for the show. “You’ll be one of those people that Conrad will love so much that you’re not sure what to say at any moment on live television.”
Greene agrees, adding, “She’s so authentic and cool and likable. I mean likability goes a long way.”
Bravo’s Darling Miller “was really a choice of the moment,” Katz explains, referring to the ongoing process Summer house The scandal that rocked her personal life. Miller’s ex-boyfriend and best friend, West Wilson and Amanda Batula, recently revealed that they are now dating, creating a major scandal in the bravosphere.
“I already knew Ciara. She was working TraitorsAnd it’s great. It’s amazing, it’s amazing. “It’s all of these things,” Katz says. “Then the things that happened to her, it was really a moment where we all felt like this was the right time. We really wanted her to be on the show, but this was also the right time to announce it.
Miller’s casting reflects the style of Maddix, who was given the opportunity to feature Dance Having also been caught in the crossfire of Bravo’s scandal, otherwise known as Scandal. The selections of Miller and Maddix were not, and will not be, the only selections in time for the Hall show, though Green explains that the opportunity to compete in the series could represent a positive new path for Miller.
“Sometimes, you face challenges in your life, but you always have something that can make it better,” he says. “[[DWTS]She can heal, because she’s so excited about the idea of doing this, of facing this challenge, of being able to focus on something positive, a new skill in her life, something new.
Katz also shared a sweet story about how Miller got involved Dance Like a full circle moment in her life.
“What we didn’t know existed [Ciara’s] “Her grandmother’s house in North Carolina, which she had just bought, there was a room where she used to film MTV videos pretending she was going to be an MTV Veejay,” Katz shares. “She had this kind of passion and wanted to do this kind of thing when she was a little girl. It’s so cool to be able to give her this.” [opportunity] “At this time.”
Although there is no information about the return of the professional dancers for Season 35, the next artist to join the cast will be revealed this summer with the addition of the new extension to the show, Dancing with the Stars: The Next Professional. Green asserts that the winner is “secretly in the bank,” and that the spinoff will pull back the curtain on what it really takes to be a professional dancer.
“[[Next Pro Shows]how many different skills you need to be a pro at Dancing with the stars. “Just being a good ballroom dancer or Latin dancer are the basics,” he says, “but you have to be able to do group dancing, choreography, manage difficult people, manage time pressure, and coordinate and choreograph a one-minute routine that has moments that might be captured on social media that might make a couple stand out.”
the DWTS The spinoff was a priority for both Katz and Green, because at the core of the series, Green explains, is the professional roster.
“If you’re a dancer, this is probably the best gig in the world, if you want to be known for what you do and have a creative outlet where you’re at the center of it,” Green adds. “And one of the big things for me coming back to the show is to refocus our energy on making the dancers the center of this show, because they are the creative center of the show. There’s a huge creative team around them that is super talented, but it’s them at the core with their choreography, with their passion, with their patience, that drives the whole project.”
Viewers will have to wait a little longer until the full cast list for Season 35 is revealed, but until then, buzz for the series continues to grow as it continues. Next Pro The first ever Dance with Stars Con sashays is coming to Palm Springs in late July.
But before that, Emmys voters will decide whether Season 34’s popularity will match Dance Prizes deserved.
“There’s no real reality show like this Dancing with the stars“Let’s get an Emmy!” said judge Derek Hough during the panel on Sunday.
