The new season is slated to air on Disney+ this fall
Get ready to return to the ballroom!
Dancing With the Stars is returning for season 31 this fall, and it will include a few of major changes.
After 18 years of airing on ABC, the dancing competition will head to Disney+, making it the first live series to stream on the service.
Additionally, there will be a brand-new host stepping onto the scene. While Tyra Banks is set to return, she will be joined by co-host Alfonso Ribeiro, who previously took home the Mirrorball Trophy in 2014 with pro dancer Witney Carson.
"I'm super excited," Ribeiro PEOPLE ahead of the announcement. "For me to be asked now to co-host with Tyra, and be part of the great crew and dancers and friends ... to be able to be on stage with them and to be part of that family again, is quite special for me."
Eric McCandless/ABC
"My goal is to bring back a sense of the happy and the fun, and the family atmosphere, that this show has always felt like for me," he added. "I want to become friends with all of the contestants this year, and allow myself to kind of be able to really just sit and talk with them. And after their dance, I want to get honest, and true feelings from them and make people laugh and make people smile again. I feel like sometimes it gets a little serious and while it needs to be that also, it also needs to be light and fun and cheery."
For more on Alfonso Ribiero joining Dancing with the Stars, listen below to our daily podcast PEOPLE Every Day.
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From the returning stars to the tentative premiere date, here's everything to know about DWTS season 31.
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Who will host Dancing With the Stars season 31?
Paul Archuleta/Getty; Rich Fury/Getty
Banks and Ribeiro will be co-hosts for the show this year. Not only did Ribeiro previously compete on the show during season 19, but he and Banks go way back. The supermodel made a cameo on his show The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
Will Dancing With the Stars season 31 air on ABC?
Unlike previous seasons, DWTS will exclusively be available on Disney+ in the U.S. and Canada. In addition to streaming live on the service, Variety confirmed the series will not air repeats on ABC and will strictly be available via Disney+. Hough also confirmed that DWTS will no longer include commercial breaks.
RELATED: Carrie Ann Inaba Teases Dancing with the Stars Format Shift for Disney+: Viewers Will 'Adapt'
Who are the judges for Dancing With the Stars season 31?
Eric McCandless/ABC
Judges Len Goodman, Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli, and Derek Hough are all expected to return for the upcoming season, Deadline reports.
Which pro dancers will return for Dancing With the Stars season 31?
While ABC hasn't announced which pro dancers will be returning for season 31, Val Chmerkovskiy previously teased he probably wouldn't be back for season 31.
"I've always been very clear about coming back on the show. I love the show. I love being on it. I am so grateful for the opportunity, is this my last season?" he said to Entertainment Tonight. "Probably. Probably."
That being said, his wife Jenna Johnson, who is also a pro dancer on the show and currently pregnant with the couple's first baby, said that she hopes Chmerkovskiy changes his mind. "I hope it's not [the end]," she told Entertainment Tonight. "I think that he is the best male dancer on the show, and I can say that very confidently and proudly. I think that there is a lot more that we haven't seen from him that I would love to see."
Who is the cast for Dancing With the Stars season 31?
The show hasn't officially revealed which stars will be hitting the ballroom this season. Good Morning America is slated to reveal the cast for the upcoming season on Sept. 8.
When will Dancing With the Stars season 31 premiere on Disney+?
DWTS is slated to premiere this fall, but ABC hasn't confirmed the official date just yet. However, seeing that the cast is set to be announced on Sept. 8, the new season will likely premiere later that month.
In all honesty, I forgot just how much I loved watching Dancing With the Stars until season 30 sucked me in. With studio audiences coming back, JoJo Siwa and her partner Jenna Johnson being the first same-sex pair to ever compete on the show, Olivia Jade’s controversial casting, and Iman Schumpert’s historic win—it was quite a spectacular season. And IDK about you, but I am officially back on the DWTS train!
Now it’s 2022. And another year means another Mirrorball Trophy up for grabs! ABC confirmed that Dancing With the Stars is returning for another round with season 31. The twist? It's no longer on ABC and will instead stream on Disney+.
"Dancing with the Stars has entertained fans for 16 years on ABC, and we are excited to bring this beloved show exclusively to Disney+ as the platform's first-ever live series," Kareem Daniel, chairman of Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution, said in a statement. "The show's broad appeal, as well as the overwhelming popularity of its Disney-themed competition nights, make Disney+ the perfect home for Dancing with the Stars while continuing to expand our demographic reach."
Dana Walden, Chairman of Entertainment at Walt Disney Television, added: "Dancing with the Stars has been a beloved staple on ABC for 30 seasons and brought so much joy to millions of viewers. As we're significantly expanding our unscripted slate at ABC, this is a great opportunity to introduce this show to a whole new generation of fans on Disney+. We're so grateful to our incredible partners at BBC Studios and look forward to continuing our relationship with them on this spectacular series, which will continue to be overseen by Rob Mills and the talented Walt Disney Television Alternative team."
Dancing With the Stars is among ABC’s top-rated programs and is one of the longest-running unscripted shows across all broadcast network television, so the move is pretty shocking. It sounds like it all comes down to conflicting TV deals and not enough primetime space, though. Monday Night Football is getting DWTS's old slot, according to Deadline, so clearly ABC inked some sort of deal with the NFL that doesn't leave room for the dancers.
If you're still just as excited to watch on Disney+ though, don’t worry, we got all the info about next season. Here’s everything you need to know about Dancing With the Stars season 31.
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When will Dancing With the Stars season 31 premiere?
The exact date is still TBD, but the network is aiming for fall 2022, so buckle up!
Who will be competing on Dancing With the Stars season 31?
There’s no cast just yet. But there are big changes afoot, as a few of the ballroom pros might not be around this year. DWTS veteran Val Chmerkovskiy—who was partnered up with Olivia Jade in 2021—suggested in an interview with Entertainment Tonight that season 30 was his last. “Is this my last season?” he said. “Probably. I have no regrets about my tenure on the show. I have no regrets about the season. I couldn’t have asked for a better partner to end it with.”
Cheryl Burke has been around since season 2 and has won twice, but it seems like she also may be ready to hang up her dancing shoes. She told Tamron Hall that she’s got arthritis and dancing has definitely taken a physical toll on her. “I’ve come to the point now where I’m 37 years old, and it’s like, okay,” she said. “I’m starting to be like, ‘What's the next chapter?’”
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And Witney Carson has sad during a podcast that she’s thinking maybe having another baby soon. That would inevitably halt any plans to hit the dance floor for season 31.
Who will be hosting?
Tyra Banks will be back to take on her role as the hostess with the mostest for DWTS, but in a surprise twist, ABC cast another icon to join her as a co-host. Who is it, you ask? Oh, that would just be Alfonso Ribeiro, aka Carlton Banks from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air! Alfonso won the show's 19th season, so he's certainly no stranger to the competition. Plus, he has a history of hosting storied programs: Since 2015, he's been the host of America's Funniest Home Videos. Can't wait to see this duo in action!
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For now, pretty much everything is still TBD. But we’ll keep you posted whenever updates come! Crossing fingers and hoping this year’s cast is a solid one.
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