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'Dancing With the Stars' Spinoff Show in the Works With Possible Host Robert Irwin
Two Faithfuls are heading to the ballroom.
Traitors alums Maura Higgins and Ciara Miller are officially joining Dancing With the Stars as the first season 35 cast members, the pair revealed at Hulu's Get Real House Live on April 22.
"You've been manifesting this," cohost Julianne Hough told Maura at the event, with the Love Island alum noting, "I have. I'm a strong believer in manifesting. I had it on my vision board. And now it is happening, which I cannot believe, and I know it's going to be so, so hard, but because I really want to do it, I'm going to put my all into it."
Maura noted that her Traitors costar and DWTS pro Mark Ballas told her it would be "tough."
"I've got two left feet, though, so it might not go too well," she said, adding that the male dancers have "got their work cut out."
And Ciara is just as excited to compete for the Mirrorball Trophy this fall, sharing her reaction to the casting in a video message.
"I had some unfinished business here in New York City that I needed to wrap up, but I am so excited to join season 35 of Dancing With the Stars," the Summer House alum said. "I feel like this is the perfect moment. I feel like I'm opening a new chapter, and I'm so excited to share it with all of you guys. Can't wait to put my energy on the dance floor."
She added, "And Maura, I can't wait to share the dance floor with my fellow Faithful."
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images; Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images
Last season had a record-breaking 72 million votes cast during the finale, which resulted in victory for wildlife conservationist Robert Irwin and pro partner Witney Carson. The 22 year-old, whose sister Bindi Irwin took the top prize on the show in 2015, went up against Alix Earle, Jordan Chiles, Dylan Efron and Elaine Hendrix in the final.
Robert left everything on the dance floor, hurting his rib ahead of his last dance, but he emphasized “no pain, no gain.”
Eric McCandless/Disney via Getty Images
Crediting Witney for her ability to adjust their final routine to accommodate his injury, he told Good Morning America after his win last November, “Witney was amazing at changing up some of the moves that we had to do in there. We had to change on the fly, but our last dance, that freestyle, was a way to say thank you to everybody who'd been on that journey.”
And though his time on the ballroom floor is over, Robert isn’t necessarily waltzing away from the DWTS family, as he’ll host the spinoff series Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro, while Mark Ballas and mom Shirley Ballas will judge.
The new series, which is expected to air this summer on ABC and Hulu, will feature dancers competing to earn a position as a pro dancer on Dancing With the Stars, meaning the celeb contestants won’t be the only new faces on season 35.
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Ahead of the cast reveal, Maura admitted it would be a daunting experience she’d look forward to.
“It’s something that’d be a challenge for me,” she told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview published March 4. “I’ve never danced. I’d done a bit of Irish dancing when I was younger. It’d be a huge challenge, but I know I’d throw myself into it and all the looks and glitter.”
While you await the rest of the season 35 cast reveal, read on to learn some behind-the-scenes secrets from the show.
ABC/Paula Lobo
How Much Do the Celebrities Get Paid to Be on Dancing With the Stars?
Citing multiple sources, Variety reported in 2019 that Dancing With the Stars contestants make $125,000 for the rehearsal period and first two weeks of the show. If they progress beyond that point, the outlet continued, they earn more money each week. At the time, sources told the publication stars could earn a maximum of $295,000.
However, Bobby Bones said he made more than this when he won season 27 with Sharna Burgess in 2018.
"That show pays OK," the radio personality said on a Sept. 2025 episode of Jason Tartick's podcast Trading Secrets. "Like, first episode, no money. Second episode, $10,000. I think it's like, $10,000, $10,000, $20,000, $20,000. It ends up being $50,000 an episode if you last."
Also receiving a base salary of around $110,000, Bones continued, "I ended up making close to $400,000 from that show."
ABC has not publicly confirmed any of these figures.
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What Do the Pros Get Paid on Dancing With the Stars?
Similarly, little has been shared publicly about how much the pros get paid. But as with the contestants, it seems like the longer they're on the show, the more money they can make.
But even if a pro is eliminated in the first round, they're not leaving the ballroom empty-handed.
"You're guaranteed until a certain amount of weeks," Jenna Johnson said on a June 2025 episode of Kelly Stafford and Hank Winchester's podcast The Morning After. "I think there's different contracts though. I can't speak for everybody."
Disney/Eric McCandless
Do Pros Get Paid More If They Win Dancing With the Stars?
Apparently not.
While Johnson—who won season 26 with Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon, as well as season 33 with The Bachelor's Joey Graziadei—says the pros don't get a larger paycheck if they take home what is now called the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy, she noted there's still an incentive to make it to the finale (besides bragging rights, of course).
"If you make it all the way to the end, you're getting paid the whole season, which is amazing, and you get a bonus on top of that for making it to the finale," she explained on The Morning After. "If you win, it's not like you win a $1 million and split it with your partner. You're just getting a cute trophy together."
Instagram / Dancing With the Stars
Do the Troupe Members Get Paid as Much as the Pros on Dancing With the Stars?
That doesn't appear to be the case.
On a 2022 episode of Trading Secrets, Lindsay Arnold recalled how her salary was cut "more than in half" when she was demoted from pro to troupe member.
Eric McCandless/ABC via Getty Images
How Are Pros and Celebrities Paired Together on Dancing With the Stars?
The pros get little input when it comes to being matched with a celebrity.
"You get no say," Lindsay said on a May 2025 episode of Maggie Sellers' Hot Smart Rich podcast. "It's very much just, 'Here's your partner. Make it work.'"
In fact, Jenna said the pairing is often a secret until the last minute.
"They really want to keep it a secret until you meet them live," Jenna said on The Morning After. "They want that genuine reaction. So I think people always think we know who we have and we're keeping it a secret. Absolutely not. They do not tell us. They really don't even want us to know the cast. It gets leaked a lot, but they want it very hush-hush until you walk in and meet your partner."
As for what the Dancing With the Stars team looks for when making these matches?
"It's based on height, build and personality and compatibility," former showrunner Rob Wade told E! News in 2015. "We don't pair people who aren't going to get on. It's too intense. It's not like The Bachelor or something, we couldn't do that. That would just be miserable experience for the celebrity, for us and the viewer. You don't want to see two people who don't like each other and, quite frankly, we have made that mistake pairing people up who didn't get on so well."
Disney/Eric McCandless
How Often Do the Pros and Celebrities Practice on Dancing With the Stars?
Put simply, a lot.
"Every day we have four-hour rehearsals," Rylee Arnold, who was partnered with Olympic gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik on season 33, shared on a September 2024 episode of the Lightweights Podcast With Joe Vulpis. "It’s either 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. or 5:00 p.m to 9:00 p.m."
But the work doesn't stop once the rehearsal wraps. Rylee noted she might then meet with producers or the creative team, work on choreography or study dance videos.
"Literally my whole life is devoted to it," she continued, "but it's my passion and it's what I love. So, it makes me so happy."
Indeed, it's a no-days-off kind of gig.
"We have our show day on Tuesday and then it's Wednesday to Sunday, straight rehearsals," Rylee added. "And then Monday we have camera blocking and then Tuesday's show day again."
Instagram / Emma Slater
Do the Pros Get to Pick the Songs Each Week for Their Dance With Their Celebrity Partner?
"Mostly yes," Emma Slater and Britt Stewart revealed in a September 2025 Instagram video, "though it's a collaboration with producers."
Eric McCandless/Disney via Getty Images
What's the Process Like for Making the Costumes for Dancing With the Stars?
If you thought the quickstep was fast, just wait until you hear about the pace of the costume department.
"We meet with the set and lighting designers, dancers and talent and create a story [for each pair]," costume designer Daniela Gschwendtner told TV Insider back in 2017. "Then we sketch out ideas. We have five days, max, to make all the outfits. That’s half a day per costume, not including all the rhinestones. The fitting and trimming we do later. We have about 20 people in our department and then we have a separate tailor shop. It’s a big enterprise."
In fact, costume designer Steven Norman Lee said pairs usually try on their costumes for the first time just hours before showtime. And while the department "might use a pair of pants again for the boys," he continued, everything is generally made custom each week.
As Gschwendtner added, "We do reuse things for group numbers or promo shoots, but not for the competition. We don’t reuse things unless there’s a specific reason to do so. We try to keep everybody fresh and new in something different every week, so it stays interesting."
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