ABC
‘Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro’ Lands This Summer — Premiere Date, Trailer and Everything We Know
Dancing With the Stars is getting a new summer spinoff that’s got fans eager and excited to hit the ballroom.
This summer, it’s time to dust off those dancing shoes because we’re on the hunt for the next professional dancer!
Here’s everything we know about Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro, the latest installment in the DWTS franchise, coming to ABC.
What Is Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro About?
The competition spinoff will focus on “12 exceptional up-and-coming dancers who move into one house and compete in a grueling audition process, all vying for a coveted spot as a pro dancer on Season 35 of Dancing with the Stars.” Like the title emphasizes, they are looking for the next pro to join the series!
When Will Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro Premiere?
Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro will premiere July 13, 2026, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC, with episodes available the next day on Hulu.
Who Will Host Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro?
The host is someone the DWTS fandom is very familiar with, as he holds the Mirrorball Trophy from last season of the competition series.
Wildlife conservationist and DWTS Season 34 Mirrorball Champion Robert Irwin, the son of the late Steve Irwin, will tap in as host.
Who Will Judge Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro?
Three-time Mirrorball champion Mark Ballas and his mother, Shirley Ballas, “The Queen of Latin,” will serve as judges, per ABC.
There will also be a star-studded lineup of returning pros that will be on hand throughout the season to serve as rotating mentors and guest judges. The names of guest judges and contestants will be announced at a later date.
Watch the Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro Teaser Below
TV
‘High Potential’s Kaitlin Olson Sent Fans Into a Tizzy With Exciting Update Ahead of Season 3: ‘She’s Back’
High Potential fans got an exciting update from Kaitlin Olson herself.
While the wait for the ABC drama is longer than ever before—the network held the series till the midseason, moving the premiere to 2027 rather than fall 2026—the good news is that production on the series is in full swing.
Just take Olson’s photo as confirmation that things are on track!
While Olson’s on-screen son, Matthew Lamb, who plays the gifted Elliot, was back on the set a month ago already, a week ago, the actress revealed she was kicking off the first day of filming.
Sharing a mirror selfie in Morgan’s signature attire—only she could get away with a denim pink skirt and a blue and pink-swirl print shirt while solving crimes—Olson captioned the shot, “Day 1, Season 3 💅.”
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The update understandably sent the fandom into a tizzy, holding them over during the unexpectedly lengthy hiatus (though, personally, I just hope the delay makes it possible for Steve Howey to return as Wagner.
“high potential group chat just EXPLODED thanks girl,” one fan commented.
“MOTHER MORGAN IS BACK !!!!!!!!!” another declared, while someone else pointed out the Morgan Barbie doll making a cameo in the photo was very on-brand.
“OMGGGGGG I AM SO NORMAL ABOUT THIS” someone noted, as yet another gasped, “SHE’S BACK”
Even her co-star Javicia Leslie, who plays Daphne, noted, “It’s timeeeeeeee 🥳,” while High Potential’s official IG account expressed, “So exciting! 🎉.”
It’s safe to say fans can’t wait till they get Morgan’s abilities back on their screen, as the search for what happened to Roman Sinquerra intensifies and puts her loved ones in imminent danger.
While no premiere date has officially been announced just yet, ABC is targeting early 2027, likely in January. Just think of it as a belated Christmas gift.
NEXT, ‘High Potential’ Hits a Huge High Note Ahead of Season 3
It was revealed in May that High Potential Season 3 would not be returning to ABC as part of the fall 2026 TV lineup.
Instead, the hit drama has been pushed to a 2027 premiere, an update that disappointed fans eager to see what happens next after that potentially deadly cliffhanger.
However, there’s some encouraging news to help bridge the long wait.
Matthew Lamb, who plays Elliot—Morgan’s equally gifted son—recently revealed that the series is already in production despite the extended hiatus.
“Best day ever at ‘work!’ So excited for Season 3 with our incredible writers and showrunners! Plus the nicest people ever!” he wrote on Instagram, posing alongside a poster for the show and around the lot.
That means the series should be ready to go when it returns in early 2027, possibly even in January, following the holiday break.
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High Potential joins other ABC hits like The Rookie and Will Trent, which have also been held for midseason—suggesting the network is confident fans will stick around despite the delay.
And based on the numbers, that confidence seems justified, as the Season 2 finale, which aired April 7, hit a high note, drawing an impressive 12.69 million viewers.
There’s also plenty of story left to explore. While Steve Howey may not return as a series regular, questions surrounding Nick Wagner’s fate—and the escalating Roman storyline—are more pressing than ever, especially after a hit was put out on Wagner during his investigation.
Meanwhile, changes are happening behind the scenes as well, with showrunner Todd Harthan stepping down and Nora and Lilla Zuckerman taking over.
All signs point to a season of major shifts, but ones that could ultimately and hopefully make the wait worthwhile.
The wait for season 3 of High Potential may be slightly longer than anticipated.
ABC joined the primetime TV networks in releasing the 2026-2027 Fall TV schedule, and fans were quick to notice that High Potential is not on the lineup.
The disappointing scheduling news reveals that the Kaitlin Olson-led series is being delayed until midseason.
ABC SVP of content strategy and scheduling Ari Goldman assured that the unexpected pushback has nothing to do with the series, but rather a decision made to prioritize the timeslot for another title, offering it up to the recently renewed for a sophomore season, R.J. Decker.
“We do want to keep using that launch pad of ‘Dancing with the Stars’ to get some new content off the ground,” Goldman told TheWrap.
With High Potential a huge hit for ABC (season 2’s ratings hit a high note), the drama doesn’t need the lead-in support that some of the other shows do, adding, “With ‘High Potential’ and the really dominant success that it’s enjoyed, we have no real concern about the audience not making the journey over to midseason to follow the show.”
What that means for fans is simply a longer wait time, which hopefully means that the added months allow Steve Howey’s Nick Wagner to fit some guest appearances into the schedule (pending Nick’s survival following the High Potential Season 2 cliffhanger, of course).
The news of High Potential being moved to midseason comes after the series landed on its newest showrunners.
Ahead of season 3, the ABC hit drama lost its showrunner, Todd Harthan, with Nora and Lilla Zuckerman, who previously served as showrunners on Peacock’s Poker Face, with writing work on Suits, Agents of SHIELD and Fringe, stepping into the role of co-showrunners and executive producers.
So, while fans will now have to wait until 2027 for new episodes of High Potential (with hopes it arrives early in the year, possibly January), the extra time could ultimately give the series room to deliver the payoff viewers are expecting in terms of Wagner’s life hanging in the balance, the Roman Sinquerra mystery and the relationship between Morgan and Karadec.
As for what scripted dramas ABC will be focusing on in the fall, that includes Scrubs, 9-1-1, 9-1-1 Nashville and Grey’s Anatomy, along with hit comedy Abbott Elementary.
Check out the full ABC fall schedule below:
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