Dancing With the Stars is preparing to step back into the ballroom for Season 35 on the 2026 TV schedule, and the competition and drama are already looking tough. Several celebrity contestants for Season 35 have been announced, with many more on the way. The full cast announcement is expected to be in September, and there is no telling who will be competing and who will be paired up. What can be assumed is that the judges will once again be as strict as ever, and longtime judge Bruno Tonioli has an understandable reason for it.
Tonioli has been a judge on Dancing With the Stars since the very first season. He has seen it all, which is why he’s coming down harder on the competitors each season. It’s no secret that the judges on DWTS can be harsh and that the fans have a lot of opinions about it. That’s only because the competition in the ballroom is getting fiercer each season, as Tonioli revealed during a panel at the first-ever Dancing With the Stars Con in Palm Springs (via People):
The show has evolved. And they’re getting better and better and better. It’s become more and more competitive. [My] way of judging is changing because [I] go into details now that years ago I would never have been able to go because of what they deliver.
Dancing With the Stars has had a variety of contestants over the course of its run. Some of them have dance experience, others with none at all. As for the DWTS pros, they seem to really up the game each season, with technique and execution, and you never know what to expect. They also improve each season, the more they compete and the more challenges they have to do, meaning that the competition gets tougher. It makes sense for Tonioli and the other judges to really look deeper into the dances.
For all that it may be taken seriously and requires hard work, DWTS is still a fun show. Every season, it’s clear that the pros and contestants have a lot of fun, even when rehearsals get tough. Just look at all the TikToks that come out of DWTS each year. Tonioli mentioned the “friendly competition” between the pairs, and what kind of feedback they’re all looking for:
What I love about what the kids are doing now is that there’s this friendly competition to outdo each other. I always say, ‘If you don’t give me something, I’ve got nothing to talk about.’ They keep surprising me. I love that it’s friendly competition, and you start to make everyone better.
The friendly competition is one of my favorite parts about DWTS. Everyone on the show is friends, but they’re always looking for something that will improve their game. The tougher the competition, the tougher the judges are going to be, for better or worse. While the full cast has not been announced for Season 35 yet, I have a feeling the contestants will be even fiercer this time around.
Fans will soon see how tough the competition is when Dancing With the Stars’ two-night Season 35 premiere kicks off on Tuesday, September 15 and Wednesday, September 16 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and with a Disney+ subscription. New episodes will also stream with a Hulu subscription the following day.
