Each season, a television institution must decide what kind of mirror it wishes to hold up to the culture — and for its 35th iteration, Dancing With the Stars has chosen to reflect the world of athletic achievement. ABC's cast announcement, arriving in early September 2026, signals a deliberate pivot away from the familiar gravitational pull of Hollywood celebrity toward Olympians and unconventional sports figures, suggesting the franchise is searching for new human stories to tell. The question at the heart of this recalibration is an old one: what does it mean to be a beginner when your enti
'Dancing With the Stars' Season 35 Cast Revealed: Olympians, Savannah Bananas Star Join
Athletes are a new frontier for the show's casting strategy
Mark
So ABC is bringing in Olympians and a baseball player from some independent league. Why does that matter? Isn't Dancing With the Stars always about celebrities learning to dance?
Mimi
It is, but the pool of traditional celebrities willing to do the show has gotten smaller. Athletes are a new frontier—they have name recognition in their sports, they're disciplined, and they bring a different kind of story to the ballroom.
Luke
But here's the thing: we don't actually know who these Olympians are yet, or what sports they competed in. The coverage says "Olympians" plural, but I haven't seen the actual names. Are we talking household names or people who won medals in niche sports?
Mimi
That's fair. The announcement was the cast reveal itself, not necessarily the detailed bios. The names are out there, but the initial reporting was more about the concept—that ABC is trying something different.
Mark
And the Savannah Bananas player—that's the baseball league that does the entertainment thing, right? The one with the no-pitch clocks and the colored uniforms?
Mimi
Exactly. They're known for theatrical baseball, so there's already a performance element built in. That player probably has some comfort in front of crowds and cameras.
Luke
But again, we're working with the announcement itself here. The source material doesn't actually tell us how the judges or hosts are reacting specifically, or what the athletes themselves have said about competing. We know the hosts and judges "spoke out," but the actual quotes or substance of what they said isn't in what we have.
Mark
So this is really just the announcement—the cast list and the fact that it's different from usual?
Mimi
Yes. The story is the shift in casting strategy and the media attention it generated. The actual season hasn't started yet, so we don't know how it'll play out.
Luke
Which means the real story—whether this experiment works, whether athletes make better or worse television—that's still ahead of us.
Der Puls
- ABC is breaking from its own tradition by recruiting Olympic medalists and a Savannah Bananas baseball player, betting that athletic celebrity can revive a franchise that has long leaned on entertainment industry names.
- The cast reveal landed across ABC News, TODAY, ESPN, USA Today, and Good Morning America simultaneously — a coordinated media wave that suggests the network is fighting for cultural relevance in a crowded streaming era.
- The Savannah Bananas competitor introduces a wildcard energy: a player from a league built on spectacle and irreverence, whose presence challenges the show's usual gravity.
- The central dramatic tension is unresolved — athletes bring body awareness and discipline that civilians lack, and it remains unclear whether that advantage will produce compelling television or simply better dancing from the opening night.
- The season's narrative is already being shaped publicly by judges and hosts, framing the competition not as a celebrity fish-out-of-water story but as a collision between different forms of human excellence.
Each season, a television institution must decide what kind of mirror it wishes to hold up to the culture — and for its 35th iteration, Dancing With the Stars has chosen to reflect the world of athletic achievement. ABC's cast announcement, arriving in early September 2026, signals a deliberate pivot away from the familiar gravitational pull of Hollywood celebrity toward Olympians and unconventional sports figures, suggesting the franchise is searching for new human stories to tell. The question at the heart of this recalibration is an old one: what does it mean to be a beginner when your entire identity has been built on mastery?
ABC revealed the cast for Dancing With the Stars season 35 on Wednesday, and the announcement made clear that the franchise is deliberately shifting its center of gravity. Rather than relying solely on musicians, actors, and television personalities, the network has recruited Olympic medalists and a player from the Savannah Bananas — the independent baseball league celebrated for its theatrical, entertainment-forward style — to compete alongside more traditional celebrity contestants.
The casting choice reflects a strategy familiar to reality television: when the conventional talent pool begins to feel worn, producers go looking for new human stories. Olympians arrive with built-in narratives of sacrifice and discipline, while the Savannah Bananas competitor brings athletic credibility wrapped in a spirit of irreverence. Together, they represent a bet that audiences are ready for a different kind of contestant.
The announcement generated broad media coverage, with ABC News, TODAY, ESPN, USA Today, and Good Morning America all leading with the story from different angles. ESPN emphasized the sports dimension; the morning shows focused on the full roster and the celebrity-partner pairings. The cross-platform reach suggested ABC achieved exactly the kind of cultural moment it was seeking.
What the season will actually deliver remains an open question. Dancing With the Stars has historically drawn its drama from watching people wholly out of their element find their footing under the ballroom's unforgiving lights. Athletes, by nature, possess the body awareness and coordination that make that journey shorter. Whether Olympians and a baseball player can generate the same emotional arc as a stumbling first-timer — or whether they'll simply be more polished from the start — will define whether this recalibration feels like renewal or miscalculation.
ABC announced the cast for Dancing With the Stars season 35 on Wednesday, and the lineup signals a deliberate shift toward athletic celebrity. The network has recruited Olympic medalists and a professional baseball player from the Savannah Bananas to compete alongside the traditional entertainment figures who have long anchored the show.
The inclusion of Olympians marks a notable departure for the franchise. Rather than drawing exclusively from music, film, and television, the show's casting directors have pursued athletes whose names carry weight in their respective sports but who may not have the household recognition of past seasons' A-list talent. The Savannah Bananas competitor brings a different flavor entirely—a player from the independent baseball league known for its theatrical, entertainment-forward approach to the sport.
The cast reveal rippled across the media landscape. ABC News, TODAY, USA Today, Good Morning America, and ESPN all led with the announcement, each outlet emphasizing different aspects of the roster. ESPN's coverage highlighted the sports angle, while the morning shows focused on the full roster and the partnerships between celebrities and their professional dance partners. The breadth of coverage suggests ABC succeeded in generating the kind of cross-platform interest the network sought.
The decision to recruit athletes reflects a broader strategy in reality television: mining new talent pools when traditional celebrity wells begin to feel exhausted. Olympians carry built-in narratives—discipline, sacrifice, the weight of competition—that can translate effectively to the dance floor. A baseball player from an unconventional league brings both athletic credibility and a certain irreverence that may appeal to viewers fatigued by predictable casting.
What remains to be seen is whether audiences will embrace this recalibration. Dancing With the Stars has long thrived on the tension between celebrities uncomfortable in their bodies and the ballroom's rigid technical demands. Athletes, by definition, possess body awareness and coordination that civilians lack. The show's drama has historically come from watching someone wholly out of their element gradually find their footing. Whether Olympians and professional baseball players will provide that same arc—or whether they'll simply be better dancers from week one—will shape how the season unfolds.
The judges and hosts have already begun speaking publicly about the cast, signaling their own investment in the season's success. Their comments will likely emphasize the fresh energy the athletes bring and the opportunity to see competitors from one arena of excellence test themselves in another. The narrative arc is already being written: not just a dance competition, but a collision between different forms of athletic mastery.
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