ABC's new spin-off Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro has become the network's best-performing summer series premiere in six years, drawing a three-day audience of 5.33 million viewers across ABC, Disney+, Hulu and digital platforms. The show, which follows contestants competing to become the franchise's next professional ballroom dancer ahead of Dancing with the Stars' 35th season, marks the first major expansion of the long-running format since it launched in 2005, suggesting the main series' recent surge in popularity is set to continue.

The premiere scored a 0.86 rating among adults aged 18-49, and on linear television alone was the top-rated programme of the night with 4.42 million viewers and a 0.47 demo rating, making it ABC's strongest summer debut across all genres since July 2020. Hosted by Robert Irwin, winner of the last full series, the show is produced by BBC Studios and airs Mondays at 8pm before streaming the following day. It follows the parent show's own resurgence, whose most recent finale was its highest-rated and most-watched in nine years.