On July 8, the ABC celebrity dance competition series earned its first Outstanding Reality Competition Program nomination in a decade
NEED TO KNOW
- Dancing with the Stars earned its first Outstanding Reality Competition Program Emmy nomination since 2016
- The nomination follows the show’s highest-rated season in a decade, which ended with Robert Irwin and Witney Carson’s win
- The series returns this fall for season 35 after launching its first-ever spinoff, Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro
Dancing with the Stars is back in the Emmy spotlight.
On Wednesday, July 8, the long-running ABC dancing competition earned a nomination for Outstanding Reality Competition Program at the 2026 Primetime Emmy Awards, marking its first recognition in the category in a decade. (This year, it scored four other nods in technical categories.)
The series, which last received a nomination for Outstanding Competition Program in 2016, returns to the race alongside RuPaul’s Drag Race, Survivor, Top Chef and The Traitors.
The nomination caps off a successful 34th season for Dancing with the Stars, which delivered the show’s highest ratings in 10 years and saw fans cast 72 million votes during the live finale alone, with nearly half a billion votes submitted throughout the season.
Credit: Eric McCandless/Disney via Getty
Hosted by Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough, season 34 featured judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli. The cast included Robert Irwin, Jordan Chiles, Dylan Efron, Danielle Fishel, Andy Richter, Corey Feldman, Alix Earle, Hilaria Baldwin and The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives stars Jen Affleck and Whitney Leavitt.
Irwin and pro Witney Carson ultimately won the Mirrorball Trophy.
The latest nomination adds to the show’s already impressive Emmy legacy. Across its 34 seasons, Dancing with the Stars has earned more than 132 Emmy nominations and 21 wins, though in recent years much of that recognition has come in technical and creative categories rather than the marquee Outstanding Reality Competition Program race.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Ahead of the nominations, showrunner Conrad Green expressed hope that Emmy voters would once again recognize the series’ ambitious live production schedule.
“I think the Emmy voters understand and appreciate that there’s very little like this on television anymore apart from those big award shows,” Green told The Hollywood Reporter during an FYC event in April. “There’s very little production of this level on television, certainly not routinely, week after week. For comedy, you’ve got Saturday Night Live; for dancing and entertainment, you’ve got Dancing with the Stars. It’s a similar process: It’s a weekly turnaround where you have to hit that excellence every time.”
Credit: Eric McCandless/Disney via Getty
Before season 35 premieres this fall, ABC will debut its first-ever spinoff, Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro, on July 13. The competition series follows 12 aspiring ballroom dancers as they compete for the chance to join Dancing with the Stars as a professional dancer.
Four celebrity contestants have already been announced for season 35: Summer House star Ciara Miller, The Traitors runner-up Maura Higgins, Savannah Bananas star Jackson Olson, and Jimmy Kimmel Live! personality Guillermo Rodriguez. The remaining celebrity cast and professional dancers will be revealed Sept. 2 on Good Morning America.
Read the full article here
