Who Might Be on Season 35 of Dancing with the Stars
Dancing with the Stars Season 35 Cast is going to be expolisive, this show has been one of the most beloved reality competition shows on television for over two decades, and with Season 34 officially wrapped — crowned by wildlife icon and all-around crowd favorite Robert Irwin taking home the mirrorball trophy alongside pro Witney Carson — the entertainment world is already buzzing about what Season 35 will bring. While ABC has not yet made an official renewal announcement, the show is riding a remarkable wave of momentum, thanks in large part to a surge in younger viewership driven by TikTok clips going viral week after week.
The numbers have been strong, the cultural conversation has been louder than it’s been in years, and there’s virtually no scenario in which the network doesn’t greenlight another season for fall 2026. So the question on every fan’s mind is simple: who is going to be on it? The casting process is notoriously secretive, and the full lineup typically doesn’t get confirmed until just before the season premiere. But that doesn’t stop the rumors, the wishful thinking, the social media campaigns, and the celebrities who can’t seem to stop hinting — loudly — that they’d love a spot on that ballroom floor. Here is a deep dive into the names generating the most buzz ahead of what could be one of the most exciting seasons in recent memory.
The Olympic Ice Dancers Who Are Basically Begging to Be Cast on Dancing With The Stars Season 35 Cast
If there is one story tailor-made for Dancing with the Stars Season 35 cast , it is the real-life romance and professional partnership of Madison Chock and Evan Bates. The ice dancing duo had a storybook 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, taking home gold and silver medals respectively, and they have since made absolutely no secret of their desire to bring those skills to the DWTS ballroom. What makes this potential casting so delicious is that they have floated the idea of competing against each other — as in, two separate contestants, two separate pros, going head to head for the mirrorball while in a relationship off the floor.
Chock appeared on Live with Kelly and Mark in March 2026 and said, “I think we should trade our skates for some ballroom shoes. That might be fun. I would love to do Dancing With the Stars. I love that show. I’ve been watching it since it first started.” Host Kelly Ripa didn’t hold back, telling the duo that whichever one of them competed would win the whole thing outright. It’s hard to argue with that assessment. Ice dancers already possess elite-level musicality, body control, footwork, and performance quality. The transition to ballroom is not seamless — the technique is genuinely different — but the foundation is light-years ahead of what most celebrity contestants bring. Casting one of them would be great. Casting both of them to compete against each other? That would be must-watch television from the very first episode.
The Figure Skating Gold Medalist With Big Dreams of Dancing with the Stars Season 35 Cast
Next, for the Dancing with the stars Season 35 cast, Amber Glenn had the kind of Winter Olympics moment that you remember for the rest of your life — a gold medal performance that captivated audiences around the world and instantly made her one of the most recognizable names in American figure skating. And almost immediately after the Olympic flame was extinguished, Glenn was talking publicly about what she wanted to do next: Dancing with the Stars.
In a February 2026 social media exchange with Season 26 DWTS winner Adam Rippon, Glenn revealed that the show is firmly on her post-Olympics bucket list. She gushed about the costuming, the set design, and the overall spectacle of the show in a way that felt completely genuine. “I can’t wait to see and inquire about that,” she said. Glenn has an infectious personality, a natural flair for performance, and the athletic foundation to be genuinely competitive. Casting directors love an Olympic story, and Glenn’s would be a compelling one to follow across an entire season.
The Reality TV Crossover Star Everyone Is Predicting
Taylor Frankie Paul has had a wild 2026. Between starring on The Bachelorette and appearing on Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, she has become one of the most talked-about faces in reality television — and multiple sources have already called her a near-certain bet for a DWTS casting call. She has the kind of self-aware, relatable humor that plays brilliantly on a show like Dancing with the Stars, where personality and likability can carry a contestant just as far as technical skill.
In a 2025 TikTok post that went massively viral, Paul captioned a video of herself dancing: “When DWTS asked any dance experience? Umm no but I am the creator of the Baja blast. I’ll be here if you need ppl next season.” It was funny, it was charming, and it showed she understood exactly how to speak to the DWTS fanbase. The show has always loved casting women who are simultaneously polarizing and magnetic, and Taylor Frankie Paul fits that description perfectly. If she ends up on the cast list this fall, nobody should be remotely surprised.
A Football Family Keeps Showing Up on Reality TV
At this point, Donna Kelce doesn’t need her famous sons Travis and Jason to get her into a room. She’s earned her own spotlight entirely. After becoming a viral sensation during Travis’s relationship with Taylor Swift and parlaying that into a full-fledged media personality, Donna Kelce showed up on Season 4 of The Traitors at the start of 2026 and proved she could hold her own in a competitive reality format with people decades younger than her.
She was charming, watchable, and completely unafraid of the cameras. DWTS prediction lists have her name appearing with increasing frequency, and it makes complete sense. She fits the show’s tradition of casting beloved, big-personality contestants who might not have a technical dance background but bring something authentic and joyful to every performance. The audience would vote for Donna Kelce every single week just on the sheer force of warmth alone.
The Controversial Slot That Every Season Seems to Have
Dancing with the Stars has never been a show that avoids complicated casting. Over the years, the producers have made a habit of including at least one celebrity whose presence is guaranteed to generate debate, headlines, and social media arguments that keep the show in the cultural conversation. For Season 35, that slot could very plausibly go to either Todd or Julie Chrisley.
The former reality television stars — known from their long-running show Chrisley Knows Best — served prison sentences before being pardoned by President Trump in May 2025, and their return to public life has been anything but quiet. They remain polarizing figures who inspire fierce loyalty from longtime fans and fierce criticism from others. That tension is, in a strange way, exactly what the show sometimes leans into. Whether viewers love them or love to hate them, the Chrisleys generate attention, and in the world of reality television, attention is currency.
The Soap Opera Revival Dancing With The Stars Is Overdue For
It has genuinely been too long since a daytime soap star made a splash on Dancing with the Stars. The soap opera fanbase is one of the most passionate and dedicated in all of television — these are viewers who have been showing up for the same show, sometimes for decades, and they know how to mobilize around a favorite cast member.
General Hospital’s Giovanni Mazza has been floated as an ideal candidate to revive that tradition. Young, charismatic, and connected to a deeply loyal audience, Mazza represents exactly the kind of casting that benefits both the show and the daytime world that rarely gets a prime-time spotlight. If the DWTS team is looking for someone who will bring a ready-made voting army from week one, a soap star is almost always a reliable answer. And Mazza, by multiple accounts, would be a compelling personality to watch navigate the challenges of learning ballroom dance on national television.
The Retired Athlete Who Could Be Must-Watch Every Week
Almost without exception, every season of Dancing with the Stars includes a retired professional athlete, and the casting team tends to pick people who bring size, charisma, and an underdog quality to the ballroom floor. For Season 35, former NFL quarterback Cam Newton has become one of the most frequently mentioned names in that category. Newton has already demonstrated a willingness to push himself outside his comfort zone — he appeared on Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test, which is not a show for people who need to protect their public image.
He’s expressive, he’s theatrical, he has genuine natural rhythm, and at 6’5″ he would cut an absolutely unforgettable figure on the dance floor. The narrative of a quarterback known for his flamboyance and showmanship trying to channel that energy into the Viennese Waltz or the Paso Doble writes itself. That’s exactly the kind of storyline DWTS builds seasons around.
The Guest Judge Who Basically Campaigned for a Spot on Dancing with the Stars
Flavor Flav appeared as a guest judge on Dancing with the Stars during Season 34 and, by all accounts, absolutely loved every single second of it. Since then, the legendary Public Enemy hype man has made no secret of the fact that he’s been in conversations about potentially joining as a full celebrity contestant.
He has talked about it publicly, his fans have talked about it loudly, and the clip of his guest judging stint generated enormous engagement online. The case for casting Flavor Flav is not really about dance ability — it’s about the fact that he is constitutionally incapable of being boring. Whatever he brings to the floor each week, it will be committed, it will be loud, and it will be entertaining. DWTS has always known that the best seasons blend genuine competitors with genuine entertainers, and Flavor Flav would be one of the most entertaining contestants the show has ever seen.
The High School Musical Anniversary Has Perfect Timing
2026 marks the 20th anniversary of High School Musical, and Dancing with the Stars is exactly the kind of show that knows how to lean into a pop culture moment. Bart Johnson, who played Coach Bolton in all three films, has been one of the most vocal HSM alumni about wanting to appear on the show. He hosts a podcast that has kept the HSM conversation alive and has a genuine personal connection to the DWTS world — pro dancer Britt Stewart was a background dancer in all three High School Musical films, and Johnson has talked openly about how fans have been pushing for a pairing between them for years.
On a November 2025 episode of his podcast, he said, “Do you know how many times people have said, ‘Coach, you’ve got to get on Dancing With the Stars and you’ve got to dance with Britt.'” That’s the kind of organic, pre-built narrative that casting producers dream about. Lucas Grabeel is another HSM cast member whose name has come up, and either would be a genuinely fun addition to a season that will inevitably be full of nostalgia-driven storylines.
The Hallmark Star With an Army of Devoted Fans
It is somewhat baffling that the Hallmark Channel universe has not been more heavily represented on Dancing with the Stars over the years, because the overlap between Hallmark’s dedicated fanbase and DWTS’s voting audience is enormous. Tyler Hynes has been called the obvious choice to be the one who finally bridges that gap. He’s warm and likable in the way that all great Hallmark stars are, he has a massive following of fans who are accustomed to tuning in every week to watch him, and he’d bring a ready-made voting bloc that could carry him surprisingly far in the competition. DWTS tends to reward contestants who improve steadily across the season, and Hynes has the kind of coachable, earnest energy that usually translates well to working with a professional dance partner over the course of several weeks. He’d be a crowd-pleaser from start to finish.
The Special Forces Winner Who Wants Her Next Trophy
Teresa Giudice has had one of the most remarkable image rehabilitations in reality television history. The former Real Housewives of New Jersey star who spent time in federal prison and emerged to continue building a media career . She has become something of a reality competition icon, winning Season 4 of Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test and proving that she has genuine competitive fire. She told TV Insider after her Special Forces win that Dancing with the Stars is exactly the kind of next step she’d love to take. She also said she’d love to share the floor with Andrew East, husband of former DWTS contestant Shawn Johnson. Giudice brings the full package of qualities that the show loves: a recognizable name, a complicated backstory, passionate fans, and zero quit in her. She would not be on that floor just to participate. She would be there to win, and that kind of intensity tends to make for great television.
What to Expect When the Season Finally Gets Here
Beyond any individual casting prediction, Season 35 of Dancing with the Stars is shaping up to arrive in a stronger position than the show has been in for years. The TikTok effect has been real and significant — clips from Season 34 routinely went viral among audiences who might never have sat down to watch a full two-hour episode. That kind of ambient cultural buzz has a way of converting casual interest into actual viewership over time.
Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough are expected to return as co-hosts, providing continuity and a sense of comfort for longtime fans. The professional dancer roster should remain largely intact after another strong season. And with a spin-off series, Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro, expected to premiere in summer 2026. Featuring up-and-coming professional dancers competing for a spot on the main show — there will be even more DWTS content keeping the brand alive in viewers’ minds before the fall premiere arrives.
The first hints about the Dancing with the Stars Season 35 cast typically start leaking out in late spring, with one or two names confirmed before the full announcement closer to premiere. Last year, Robert Irwin was the first name revealed, back in April 2025. If that timeline holds, fans could be getting their first official casting news within weeks.
In the meantime, the speculation is genuinely half the fun — and the list of celebrities who have publicly expressed interest, dropped hints on social media, or been named by industry insiders as strong possibilities is one of the most exciting in recent memory. From Olympic champions to reality TV favorites to retired athletes to iconic entertainers, Season 35 has the potential to be one of the most dynamic and watchable casts the ballroom has ever seen. The dance floor is waiting. The only question now is who steps onto it.
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