‘Dancing with the Stars’ spinoff gives ABC its best summer launch since 2020
‘The Next Pro’ opened with 5.33 million viewers across ABC, Disney+, Hulu and digital platforms after three days, according to Nielsen data.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
2 min read
ABC’s ballroom bet is already paying off. Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro opened to 5.33 million viewers after three days of viewing across ABC, Disney+, Hulu and digital platforms, according to Nielsen Big Data + Panel.
The new competition series, built around the hunt for the next professional dancer on Dancing with the Stars, also drew a 0.86 rating among adults 18-49, Nielsen data showed.
That made the debut ABC’s strongest summer series premiere in any genre since July 2020, according to Nielsen. On ABC alone, the premiere was the night’s No. 1 program in both total viewers and the 18-49 demo, drawing 4.42 million viewers and a 0.47 rating.
The show is hosted by Robert Irwin, who won Season 34 of Dancing with the Stars. Its first episode put 12 dancers through an audition-style test for a future pro slot on the flagship series.
Judges Shirley Ballas, Mark Ballas and Derek Hough assessed the contestants on jive and samba technique, with one pair eliminated during the premiere episode.
A spinoff with franchise muscle
The Next Pro marks the first major expansion of the Dancing with the Stars brand since the main show launched in 2005. The long-running series has featured many professional dancers over the years, including several who returned for last season’s 20th anniversary celebration.
The new show arrives as Dancing with the Stars heads toward Season 35. For comparison, Season 34 premiered last fall with 5.5 million live-plus-same-day viewers, according to the Nielsen figures cited by Deadline.
By the Season 34 finale, the main series approached 10 million live-plus-same-day viewers, Deadline reported. That finale was described in the report as the franchise’s highest-rated and most-watched finale in nine years.
The Next Pro is also currently the top alternative series premiere of the television season across broadcast and cable, excluding programs that benefited from NFL lead-ins, according to Nielsen data cited in the report.
What comes next
The series is produced by BBC Studios and airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC. Episodes stream the next day on Disney+ and Hulu.
In the next episode, the remaining dancers will take on a group performance, a familiar challenge from the Dancing with the Stars playbook. Britt Stewart will mentor the contestants as they learn a fast-paced routine in a short time frame, testing their coordination, timing and ability to work as a group.
For ABC, the early numbers give the network a lively summer entry tied directly to one of its most durable unscripted franchises. For the dancers, the stakes are plain: one of them is chasing a pro spot under the bright lights of the main ballroom.
This story draws on original reporting from Deadline.