‘Dancing with the Stars’ Season 35 welcomes iconic Savannah Bananas player to the ballroom
ABC is already building hype for the next season of ‘Dancing with the Stars’, and another celebrity has officially entered the ballroom. This time, the show is welcoming someone from the world of baseball, but it's not who fans may expect. During Disney’s upfront presentation on Tuesday, May 12, it was announced that Jackson Olson, known for playing second base with the wildly popular Savannah Bananas, will compete in Season 35 of the long-running dance competition. The reveal came alongside another Bananas-related update. Disney also confirmed that Disney+ will exclusively stream the Banana Bowl live this October.
Olson becomes the third confirmed celebrity contestant set to compete in the upcoming season. Earlier casting announcements revealed that ‘The Traitors’ and ‘Love Island’ personality Maura Higgins will join the show, along with ‘Summer House’ cast member Ciara Miller. The pair was first announced during Disney’s Get Real unscripted TV event last month. ABC has not revealed which professional dancers will partner with the celebrities as of this writing. Fans will need to wait a little longer for that piece of the puzzle. According to Disney, the complete celebrity lineup and the pro pairings will be announced on September 2 during an exclusive reveal on Good Morning America. Meanwhile, even without a premiere date, anticipation for Season 35 already seems high.
ABC has confirmed the competition will return this fall. Like recent seasons, episodes will air live simultaneously on ABC and Disney+, with streaming available on Hulu the following day. The last season of the show was a huge ratings success for the network. In fact, the Season 34 finale became the show’s highest-rated finale episode in almost 10 years. Viewer participation also shot through the roof. Disney shared that the finale alone drew 72 million fan votes, while the entire season saw nearly half a billion votes overall.
For the unversed, Season 34 ended with wildlife conservationist Robert Irwin and professional dancer Witney Carson taking home the Mirrorball Trophy after weeks of competition. Notably, the hosting lineup is staying the same. Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough are both returning as co-hosts for the upcoming season. Viewers can expect familiar faces on the judging panel, including Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli, and Derek Hough. Behind the scenes, the production team remains mostly intact as well. Conrad Green continues serving as showrunner and executive producer. Ryan O’Dowd is attached as executive producer, while Deena Katz returns as co-executive producer. The series is produced by BBC Studios Los Angeles Productions in front of a live audience.
