‘DWTS’ Boss Predicts This Person Could Fill Len Goodman’s Shoes on Judging Panel

Nine contenders remain on Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro, the summer reality series in which professional dancers are vying to become the next pro dancer on Dancing With the Stars, set to air its 35th season later this year.

TV Insider chatted with Conrad Green and Deena Katz, executive producers of Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro, at a kickoff viewing party in Hollywood to get the scoop on how the summer series will not only result in a new pro dancer, but one of the show’s judges may fill a guest spot at the DWTS judges table, too!

Three-time DWTS mirror ball champion Mark Ballas serves as one of the permanent judges on Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro, along with his mother, Shirley Ballas, who serves as head judge on Strictly Come Dancing, the British version of DWTS.

Specializing in the International Latin division, Shirley Ballas has earned both the nickname “the Queen of Latin” and the respect of the pro dancing community.

“She is a presence,” Green raves about Ballas. “She reminds me of Len [Goodman, the former DWTS head judge, who passed away in 2023].”

“She’s got a different vibe, a slightly different vibe than Len, but she has what Len had, which was an absolute, natural authority,” Green adds. “All of the dancers looked to Len, as someone who absolutely knew what he was talking about. Shirley’s a world authority. She’s also very funny and charming.”

“She’s also taught probably every single one of [the pro dancers],” Katz adds. “They respect her so much, and they’re a little afraid of her, too.”

Derek Hough, a six-time mirror ball champion and DWTS judge, has joined Mark and Shirley at the judges table, and so has DWTS pro Brandon Armstrong in the first two episodes of Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro.

Other DWTS pros including Britt Stewart and Jenna Johnson, a two-time Mirrorball champion, are set to sit at the table with Shirley and Mark, too, in upcoming episodes of Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro.

“I think it feels a little weird to them because they’re sitting next to Shirley Ballas,” offers Katz, adding, “Conrad’s right — she’s wickedly funny.”

While Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro is going to help producers find a new pro dancer to add to an upcoming season of DWTS, Green says that the winner of the competition may not be the only person who ends up on the mother show when it returns this fall.

“I think Shirley would make a great guest judge on Dancing With the Stars,” Green says. “Mind you, there are no changes planned for [the table], but Shirley’s wonderful. You’re seeing in this show what a wonderful presence she has as a judge.”

New dance pros have been moved up from the show’s troupe over the years, but little is known about them when they join the show. Conversely, Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro contenders are cutting open veins and sharing their lives with viewers on the summer reality series. When the winner debuts in an upcoming season of DWTS, viewers who watched the summer series will be very familiar with the new addition.

“Everything you know about our pros [on DWTS] comes from how you see them doing their job on the show,” Katz says. “But we never really stop and say, for example, ‘Witney [Carson], let’s tell your story.’ Whereas on this show, you do see their stories.”

Green and Katz say that the contenders on Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro are being put through a boot camp. However, don’t think the winner of this series is going to be the person who is also the most skilled performer.

“It’s not just the best dancer,” Katz says. A variety of factors will determine the show’s winner: “How do you teach? How are you on camera? How are you in a group number?”

Green and Katz attribute the show’s increased popularity to social media. Not only has the show cast influencers including Alix Earle and Dylan Efron, but producers have also observed a connection between the show’s diehard fanbase and social platforms such as TikTok.

“We’ve pushed hard to reach out to those worlds, and it’s kind of clicked,” Green observes. Adds Katz: “It’s funny because on some shows, you watch a show and then you watch social media [to learn more about the show] during the week. With our show, social media is so big, it works the other way.”

Katz points out two dance moves from the show’s last few seasons made their way onto social platforms: Danny Amendola‘s “leg lift” move with his partner, Witney Carson, and Dylan Efron’s “air walk” move with his partner, Daniella Karagach.

“I feel like people have to watch the show to keep up with it on social media,” Katz says.

DWTS is nominated for Outstanding Reality Competition Program at the Primetime Emmys this year, its first nod in this category in a decade.

The episode submitted was that for the show’s 20th anniversary, which aired on November 22, 2025, and featured the return of host Tom Bergeron, who sat at the judges table.

“The core of the show is the casting, which Deena [who casts the show and pairs stars with pro dancers], would never say herself, but it is,” Green says. “Who you book on the show is what makes people love the show. We’ve focused hard on the people we cast and how we tell the stories about those people, trying to get the ‘feel good’ feel of the show back.”

Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro, Mondays, 8/7c, ABC