Back To The Ballroom
I Spy The Dancing With The Stars Front-Runners In The Season 35 Cast
There are some of the familiar faces competing for the Mirrorball Trophy.
The Dancing with the Stars Season 35 cast has finally been revealed — and you’re sure to spot plenty of familiar faces in the ballroom when the competition returns on Sept. 15.
While the show has always assembled a bevy of notable names, it’s practically become required viewing for reality TV fans in recent years, given the way its dance-floor drama intersects with other shows. (See the very meta fallout of Secret Lives of Mormon Wives stars Whitney Leavitt and Jen Affleck both being cast in Season 34.)
The DWTS 2026 cast is just as buzzy. Announced on Good Morning America on Sept. 2, this year’s reality TV contingent includes Mormon Wives husband Connor Leavitt, Bachelorette alum Tyler Cameron, and Summer House star Ciara Miller.
There’s also Traitors Season 4 runner-up Maura Higgins, who’s paired with her fellow Faithful from the show, Mark Ballas — who she previously told Bustle was indeed her “dream” partner. “We already have that brother-sister relationship,” she said. “We have a lot of fun together. We just take the piss out of each other. We would have such a laugh. And I feel like Mark understands me. He knows that if I’m getting in my head, he’d be able to get me out of it.”
There are also several actors in the bunch, including a few who have professional dance experience, including Step Up star Jenna Dewan and Glee alum Harry Shum Jr. — so you’ll definitely want to keep an eye on them as they’ll likely be front-runners. It’s worth noting that Shum’s Glee castmate Amber Riley won DWTS in 2013 (she actually found Glee “more grueling,” she told Us Weekly).
On the pros side, this season will also welcome two new dancers: Hailey Bills, promoted from the show’s troupe, and Adele Zaikman, who won the first season of spin-off competition, Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro.
Below, find the full lineup of stars and their pro partners ahead of DWTS Season 35’s premiere on Sept. 15.
- Tatyana Ali and Jan Ravnik
- Tyler Cameron and Sharna Burgess
- Giada De Laurentiis and Alan Bersten
- Jenna Dewan and Val Chmerkovskiy
- Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach
- Amber Glenn and Pasha Pashkov
- Taylor Hanson and Britt Stewart
- Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas
- Conner Leavitt and Adele Zaikman
- Ciara Miller and Brandon Armstrong
- Sarah Jane Nader and Hailey Bills
- Jackson Olson and Emma Slater
- Guillermo Rodriguez and Witney Carson
- Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson
- Julia Stiles and Ezra Sosa
- Connor Wood and Rylee Arnold
