Season 35 of the American reality competition Dancing with the Stars began with a two-night premiere on September 15 and 16, 2026, airing live on ABC and Disney+ at 8 p.m. ET, according to ABC11 and the show's Wikipedia entry. After the premiere week, new episodes moved to a regular Tuesday 8 p.m. ET slot, with each episode becoming available the next day on Hulu.
Hosts, judges and the celebrity cast
Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough returned as co-hosts, while the judging panel again featured Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli, per ABC11's season overview.
The season launched with 16 celebrity-professional pairs, tying the largest cast in the show's history, according to Wikipedia. The lineup included figure skater Amber Glenn with Pasha Pashkov, actor Harry Shum Jr. with Jenna Johnson, actor Jenna Dewan with Valentin Chmerkovskiy, actor Julia Stiles with Ezra Sosa, Paralympic and Olympic athlete Ezra Frech with Daniella Karagach, chef Giada De Laurentiis with Alan Bersten, model Tyler Cameron with Sharna Burgess, and singer Taylor Hanson with Britt Stewart, among others.
Wikipedia notes several firsts for the season: it is the first time an Olympic and a Paralympic champion have competed in the same season (a reference to Frech's Paralympic background), the third time the show has featured a same-sex professional pairing (Sarah Jane Nader with Hailey Bills), and the first season to include an Israeli professional dancer (Adele Zaikman, who joined after winning the companion series Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro). Professional Witney Carson, paired with Guillermo Rodriguez, competed while four months pregnant with her third child, per Wikipedia.
Sharna Burgess returned to the professional lineup after a five-year absence, while pros Gleb Savchenko and Sasha Farber did not return for this season, according to Wikipedia.
How the elimination format works
The two-night premiere included an elimination on each night. In subsequent weeks, one couple is typically eliminated per live episode based on a combination of judges' scores and viewer votes, according to Wikipedia and HollywoodLife.
By the Week 3 episode, themed 'Yacht Rock Night' and airing September 29, four couples had already left the competition: Conner Leavitt and Adele Zaikman, and Sarah Jane Nader and Hailey Bills in Week 1; Giada De Laurentiis and Alan Bersten in Week 2; and Taylor Hanson and Britt Stewart, who departed after that episode despite judge Derek Hough calling their foxtrot Hanson's best performance of the season, according to E! Online.
On the same Yacht Rock episode, Amber Glenn with Pasha Pashkov and Harry Shum Jr. with Jenna Johnson tied for the night's top score of 24 out of 30, according to Wikipedia.
How to vote: a step-by-step guide
- Watch the live broadcast on ABC or Disney+ starting at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT; voting opens when the live show begins, according to HollywoodLife.
- To vote online, go to DWTSVote.abc.com, create or log into an account, select your preferred couple(s), and click 'Save Votes' to lock in your picks.
- To vote by text, send the contestant's designated keyword to 21523 using a participating U.S. wireless carrier.
- You can cast up to 10 votes per couple through each voting method (online and text) during a single voting window, per HollywoodLife.
- Online voting is open to users in the United States, its territories, and Canada; text voting requires a U.S. wireless carrier and is not available to viewers in Canada.
- Voting closes shortly after the night's final competitive dance; viewers on West Coast tape-delay broadcasts must vote during the live Eastern-time window rather than waiting for their local airing.
Judges' scores from the night are combined with the viewer vote tally to determine which couples are safe, which land in the bottom and which couple is eliminated, according to HollywoodLife.
Where to watch
Episodes air live simultaneously on ABC and Disney+, with new episodes becoming available for streaming the following day on Hulu, according to ABC11's season guide.
Season at a glance
Season 35 key facts| Item | Detail |
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| Premiere | September 15–16, 2026 (two-night event) |
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| Regular timeslot | Tuesdays, 8 p.m. ET |
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| Networks/streaming | ABC and Disney+ live; next-day on Hulu |
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| Hosts | Alfonso Ribeiro, Julianne Hough |
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| Judges | Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough, Bruno Tonioli |
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| Starting cast size | 16 celebrity-professional couples |
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| Couples eliminated through Week 3 | 4 (Leavitt/Zaikman, Nader/Bills, De Laurentiis/Bersten, Hanson/Stewart) |
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| Online voting site | DWTSVote.abc.com |
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| Text voting number | 21523 |
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| Votes allowed per couple | Up to 10 per method, per voting window |
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Questions
- When did Dancing with the Stars season 35 premiere?
- The season premiered with a two-night event on September 15 and 16, 2026, airing live on ABC and Disney+, according to ABC11 and Wikipedia.
- How many couples started season 35?
- Sixteen celebrity-professional couples began the season, tying the largest cast size in the show's history, per Wikipedia.
- How do I vote for my favorite couple?
- You can vote online at DWTSVote.abc.com (U.S., territories and Canada) or by texting a couple's keyword to 21523 (U.S. wireless carriers only), up to 10 votes per couple per method, during the live broadcast window, according to HollywoodLife.
- Who are the hosts and judges this season?
- Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough host, while Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli judge, per ABC11.
- Who has been eliminated so far?
- Through Week 3, the eliminated couples are Conner Leavitt and Adele Zaikman, Sarah Jane Nader and Hailey Bills, Giada De Laurentiis and Alan Bersten, and Taylor Hanson and Britt Stewart, according to Wikipedia and E! Online.
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