LOS ANGELES — It’s been a big week for “Dancing with the Stars.” The show announced it’ll be back for a 34th season and announced the first celebrity contestant, Robert Irwin.
Fans of the show have been eating up the news and speculating about who might partner with the wildlife conservationist and photographer. “DWTS” pro Rylee Arnold told On The Red Carpet she hopes it’s her!
“I think he would be such a great partner,” Arnold exclaimed. “We’re super close in age, and I just feel like he has that same passion and wants to do well, just like his sister Bindi did. So I think it would be really fun to be paired with him.”
“Dancing with the Stars” is having a bit of a resurgence and with a younger audience, thanks to youthful contestants like 21-year old Irwin and pros like 19-year old Arnold (who was born 4 days after “Dancing” debuted in 2005!). Her partner last season was 26-year old Olympic gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik, who captured the hearts of the world, and of social media consumers.
Last season’s premiere episode increased its ratings in Adults 18-49 by 47 percent. The finale averaged nearly 8-million viewers and a 1.55 rating with adults 18-49.
Former contestant Alfonso Ribeiro, who joined “Dancing with the Stars” as host in 2022, told On The Red Carpet he credits 20-year-old TikTok star Charli D’Amelio with the rise in younger viewers.
“She did the show several seasons ago and really opened the door up to an audience that wasn’t really aware of the show. That was their mom’s show. That was their grandma’s show,” Ribeiro said. “Right now, it’s their show. Also, a new generation of our pros like Riley and Ezra and, they’re adding so much to connecting to the audience. I think we just became one of those shows that that had an incredible cast. This year. And with all of that together, people found the love of the show again.”
Social media has played a big part in helping viewers find the show, thanks to most of the pros leaning into posting about their lives as well as their dancing.
“What Rylee and I do and what all the pros are doing so good at (sic) is just posting on social media, which is just spreading awareness of the show,” said pro Ezra Sosa. “So people, like, are seeing it online, but then they’re watching it and they’re really just able to sit down and just enjoy.”
From pro Gleb Savchenko and last season’s partner Brooks Nader teasing TikTok viewers with their (now former) relationship to pros Emma Slater and Alan Bersten seemingly hard-launching their relationship with a kiss captured on stage during the “Dancing with the Stars” tour (and Sosa joking about all the secrets he knows about his co-stars!), fans are invested in the pros and their partners.
“I think something that’s really special about ‘Dancing with the Stars’ is being able to see what goes on behind the scenes, because it’s such a fun show, it’s such a fun family. And to see that just makes you grow love for the show and be excited for the show and be excited for people’s successes on it. So I think it’s really important to post about the show and to post about all the things you do and all the behind the scenes, because it’s so fun for people to watch.”
Season 34 of “Dancing with the Stars” will cha-cha-cha onto your screens later this year on ABC, Disney+ and Hulu.
The Walt Disney Company is the parent company of this ABC station.
Copyright © 2025 OnTheRedCarpet.com. All Rights Reserved.
