Jenna Dewan, Amber Glenn and Ezra Frech are reasonable early contenders to watch on Dancing with the Stars season 35—but none can be called the clear favorite on the public evidence available through September 29, 2026. Dewan has a dance-related film background; Glenn and Frech bring elite competitive-sports experience. Those are potential strengths, not proof of ballroom skill or audience support. The season is still underway, and public sources do not provide vote totals, contestant odds or a complete current leaderboard.
Who is still competing on Dancing with the Stars season 35?
ABC News reported that 12 couples remained after four eliminations, as of September 29, 2026:
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- Jenna Dewan and Val Chmerkovskiy
- Tatyana Ali and Jan Ravnik
- Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach
- Amber Glenn and Pasha Pashkov
- Connor Wood and Rylee Arnold
- Tyler Cameron and Sharna Burgess
- Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson
- Guillermo Rodriguez and Witney Carson
- Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas
- Ciara Miller and Brandon Armstrong
- Jackson Olson and Emma Slater
- Julia Stiles and Ezra Sosa
The four eliminated couples were Conner Leavitt and Adele Zaikman; Sarah Jane Nader and Hailey Bills; Giada De Laurentiis and Alan Bersten; and Taylor Hanson and Britt Stewart. This is a dated snapshot, not a live roster: the season continued after the September 29 update. ABC News reported the eliminations and remaining couples.
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Why Dewan, Glenn and Frech are worth watching
This is an evidence-based watchlist, not a ranking. A celebrity’s résumé can suggest useful experience, but it cannot tell us how that person will perform in ballroom, improve week to week or fare with viewers.
#1 Best Overall
Jenna Dewan and Val Chmerkovskiy
Dewan first drew attention in the 2006 film Step Up, according to her official ABC cast biography. That gives her a documented connection to dance performance and makes her a natural name to monitor. Film work, however, is not the same as demonstrated ballroom technique, and it says nothing definitive about viewer votes.
Amber Glenn and Pasha Pashkov
ABC identifies Glenn as an Olympic gold medalist. Elite skating can involve athletic discipline and performance under pressure, which may be relevant in a dance competition. It does not establish ballroom proficiency or popularity with the show’s voters. ABC’s cast biographies provide her background.
Rank #2
- Ballroom Instruction
- Excercise
- Self Improvement
- DVD
Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach
ABC identifies Frech as a Paralympic gold medalist and describes his competitive-athletics background in the season’s cast announcement. That makes him a plausible athletic contender, but his ballroom ability and level of viewer support have to be judged from the competition itself.
What determines who wins?
The show combines judges’ scores with viewer votes. ABC’s season announcement describes the voting format; for the two-night premiere, voting was limited to the couples performing on that night, and the combined results determined who could be in jeopardy. The premiere also had one male and one female contestant eliminated on their respective nights. ABC’s September 10 season announcement and ABC News’ September 15 premiere coverage explain those rules.
To assess a contender as the season progresses, look for evidence that is comparable and current:
- Actual ballroom technique and improvement across episodes, rather than a résumé alone.
- Survival through each elimination.
- Judges’ scores, when a complete and dated record allows fair comparisons.
- Viewer-vote information, if a reliable source publishes it.
Celebrity recognition, social-media attention, athletic medals and dance-related screen credits are not substitutes for vote-share data or a season-long performance record. The official sources cited here do not establish public odds, vote totals or a complete current contestant-level leaderboard, so they cannot support a reliable probability or a single definitive pick.
Rank #4
- Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Full Screen, NTSC
- Language: English
- Region: Region 1 U.S. and Canada only
- Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
- Video Run Time: 51 minutes
How season 35 began
Season 35 has 16 celebrity contestants paired with professional dancers. The two-night premiere aired September 15 and 16, 2026; each couple appeared on only one night. Male celebrities danced on September 15 and female celebrities debuted September 16, with each premiere dance set to a No. 1 song from the celebrity’s birth year. The season announcement also lists Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough as co-hosts and Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and Derek Hough as judges. ABC’s September 10 announcement has the premiere details.
The September 15 premiere drew 6.67 million total viewers, according to ABC/Disney citing Nielsen National Live+Same Day Preliminary Panel Only Program Ratings. This is a preliminary same-day figure for that broadcast, not a final multiplatform or full-season audience total. ABC/Disney’s September 16 ratings release compared it with 5.38 million for the season 34 premiere on September 16, 2025; the comparison uses the stated preliminary same-day measurement basis.
Where to watch season 35
ABC’s official materials say season 35 airs live on ABC and Disney+, with episodes streaming on Hulu the next day. ABC’s series page listed episodes through “Yacht Rock Night” on September 30 and a Tuesday 8/7c schedule when checked October 3, 2026. Because schedules and episode listings can change, check the ABC series page for current details. ABC’s season announcement also describes the viewing options.
Quick Recap
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