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Dancing with the Stars — A Dance Mogul Magazine Franchise Interview Hub

Twenty years of ballroom on ABC, told from the dancers’ side of the floor.

By Dance Mogul Magazine | Originally published June 2012 | Comprehensively updated September 2026

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Dancing with the Stars — the American ballroom competition series premiered on ABC in June 2005. | Archival image, ABC / DMM archive

What This Page Is

Dance Mogul Magazine has covered Dancing with the Stars since our earliest issues. This page is our permanent interviews hub for the franchise — a place to gather Q&As with contestants, pro dancers, choreographers, and behind-the-scenes voices from the American version of the international ballroom competition format that first aired as Strictly Come Dancing on BBC One in the United Kingdom.

The American series adaptation premiered on ABC on June 1, 2005, with Tom Bergeron as its founding host and a rotating group of co-hosts — Lisa Canning in the debut season, Samantha Harris across seasons two through nine, and Brooke Burke Charvet from season ten forward. Twenty years and thirty-five seasons later, the show is streaming live on both ABC and Disney+ with next-day catch-up on Hulu, hosted by Alfonso Ribeiro (himself the Season 19 champion) and Julianne Hough (a former Mirrorball-winning pro and now judge-turned-co-host).

This page keeps the historical shape of our original 2012 overview and expands it season-by-season so readers can trace the show’s full run from the perspective of the working dance industry. Every interview link below leads to a full DMM feature.

How the Competition Works

Each season pairs celebrities from a broad range of fields — actors, singers, athletes, Olympians, astronauts, teen idols, YouTube personalities, chefs, reality-show casts, and, in more recent seasons, social-media stars — with a professional ballroom or Latin dancer. Every week the couples perform a required dance style set by the producers. Judges score each routine on a 30-point scale (10 from each of the three-judge panel); audiences vote by phone and app. The combined judge-score and viewer-vote total sends the lowest couple home each week until only the champion pair remains and lifts the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy, renamed in 2020 in honor of the show’s original head judge.

Hosts and Judges Through the Years

Founding host: Tom Bergeron carried the ballroom microphone from Season 1 through Season 28 (2005–2019), a run that made him one of the longest-serving live-television anchors in American reality history. He returned as a guest judge during the Season 34 finale in November 2025 — his first time back in the ballroom since 2019 — as part of the show’s 20th anniversary celebration.

Co-hosts: Lisa Canning (Season 1), Samantha Harris (Seasons 2–9), Brooke Burke Charvet (Seasons 10–17, later returning as a competitor and champion herself), Erin Andrews (Seasons 18–28), Tyra Banks (Seasons 29–31), and Alfonso Ribeiro joining Banks for Season 31 in 2022 when the show moved to Disney+. Julianne Hough came in as co-host from Season 32 (2023) forward.

Judges panel: Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman, and Bruno Tonioli formed the original three-judge panel from 2005. Julianne Hough joined as a fourth judge in Season 17 through Season 19. Len Goodman retired at the end of Season 31 in 2022 and passed away in 2023; the show renamed the trophy in his honor. Derek Hough replaced him. As of Season 35, the panel is Derek Hough, Carrie Ann Inaba, and Bruno Tonioli.

Every Champion, Every Season

Every season of Dancing with the Stars from 2005 to today. Each champion pairing has a story — and where DMM has interviewed one of them, we’ve linked to that piece. This is a living table; the current season and reigning champions sit at the top.

Table reflects the American Dancing with the Stars series only. Season 15 was the show’s All-Stars edition featuring returning fan favorites. Season 26 was the athletes-only spring edition.

The Current Chapter — Seasons 34, 35, and The Next Pro

Season 34 (Fall 2025) celebrated the show’s twentieth anniversary and set a new voting record when the finale drew 72 million viewer votes — double the previous year’s tally. Robert Irwin and Witney Carson won the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy on November 25, 2025, with Alix Earle and Val Chmerkovskiy as runners-up. In a symmetry the ballroom seemed to have written on purpose, Carson had won her first mirror ball trophy on the same November 25 date eleven years earlier — with Alfonso Ribeiro, who was now standing across the studio as her boss and host.

Season 35 (Fall 2026) premieres September 15 as a two-night event across ABC and Disney+, with next-day streaming on Hulu. Sixteen celebrities compete this season, including Jenna Dewan, Harry Shum Jr., Julia Stiles, Taylor Hanson, Giada De Laurentiis, Tatyana Ali (Ribeiro’s Fresh Prince of Bel-Air co-star), Guillermo Rodriguez, and Olympic gold medalist Amber Glenn. Season 35 introduces two new professional dancers — Adele Zaikman and Hailey Bills — and features what will be only the second same-sex pairing in the American series’ history.

Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro is the franchise’s newest spinoff, which premiered July 13, 2026. It flips the format — twelve professional dancers compete against each other for a pro contract on the flagship show, hosted by Robert Irwin. See our full feature on The Next Pro for cast and premiere coverage.

DMM’s Dancing with the Stars Interview Archive

Dance Mogul Magazine has interviewed champions, pros, choreographers, and behind-the-scenes crew across many seasons. This hub gathers our long-form pieces in one place. Recent and evergreen highlights:

Why This Show Matters to Dance Culture

When Dance Mogul Magazine first began covering Dancing with the Stars, we made a deliberate choice: our angle would always be the dancer’s side of the floor. Not the celebrity storyline. Not the tabloid gossip. The actual craft. That editorial stance holds twenty years later because the show is one of very few American television formats that puts trained professional dancers on prime time and asks the country to take their discipline seriously. Careers built entirely inside the DWTS ballroom — Derek Hough, Julianne Hough, Witney Carson, Mark Ballas, Cheryl Burke, Peta Murgatroyd, Val Chmerkovskiy, Daniella Karagach, and others — are now visible to a generation of young dancers who might otherwise never see ballroom or Latin as viable industry paths.

Explore the DMM Dance Styles Hub for the ballroom, Latin, and jazz vocabulary that lives inside every DWTS routine, and follow us on Instagram at @dance_mogul_magazine for weekly coverage during the Season 35 run.

Frequently Asked Questions

When did Dancing with the Stars premiere on American television?

Dancing with the Stars premiered on ABC on June 1, 2005. It is the American adaptation of the British series Strictly Come Dancing, which launched on BBC One in 2004.

Who hosts Dancing with the Stars in 2026?

Alfonso Ribeiro (Season 19 champion) and Julianne Hough (former pro dancer and judge) co-host Dancing with the Stars for Season 35. Ribeiro has been hosting since Season 31 in 2022; Hough joined from Season 32 forward.

Who won Dancing with the Stars Season 34?

Robert Irwin and professional partner Witney Carson won Season 34 on November 25, 2025 — the show’s 20th anniversary season. It was Carson’s second mirror ball trophy; her first was Season 19 with Alfonso Ribeiro in 2014.

When does Dancing with the Stars Season 35 premiere?

Season 35 premieres with a two-night event on Tuesday, September 15 and Wednesday, September 16, 2026, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+, with next-day streaming on Hulu. Subsequent episodes air Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET.

How many seasons of Dancing with the Stars are there?

As of September 2026, there have been 34 completed seasons of the American series, plus one spinoff (Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro, which premiered July 13, 2026). Season 35 begins September 15, 2026.

Where can I watch Dancing with the Stars?

Live episodes air simultaneously on ABC and Disney+ Tuesday nights during the fall season. Episodes stream the next day on Hulu. Season 35 marks the fourth season to air live on both networks at the same time.

Bookmark This Page

This hub will be updated each season with new champion links, new pro interviews, and new season overviews. If you’re a DWTS professional, choreographer, or alum interested in speaking with Dance Mogul Magazine for a future feature, we welcome you: dancemogulmagazine@gmail.com.

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