Plot Synopsis

American stars of entertainment, sports, fashion and pop culture are paired with professional dancers, and the dancing pairs compete against each other in weekly dancing elimination challenges. Each week the couple with the smallest number of points -- a combination of scores from a panel of judges and audience votes -- is sent home. Previous winners are: Kelly Monaco (Season 1); Drew Lachey (Season 2); Emmit Smith (Season 3); Apolo Anton Ohno (Season 4); Helio Castroneves (Season 5); Kristi Yamaguchi (Season 6); Brooke Burke (Season 7); Shawn Johnson (Season 8); Donny Osmond (Season 9); Nicole Scherzinger (Season 10); Jennifer Grey (Season 11); Hines Ward (Season 12); J.R. Martinez (Season 13); Donald Driver (Season 14: All-Stars); Melissa Rycroft (Season 15); Kellie Pickler (Season 16); Amber Riley (Season 17); Meryl Davis (Season 18); and Alfonso Ribeiro (Season 19); Rumer Willis (Season 20); Bindi Irwin (Season 21); Nyle DiMarco (Season 22); Laurie Hernandez (Season 23); Rashad Jennings (Season 24); Jordan Fisher (Season 25); Adam Rippon (Season 26); Bobby Bones (Season 27); Hannah Browne (Season 28).
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Hosted by supermodel and businesswoman Tyra Banks, Season 29 of DWTS premieres on Monday, September 14, 2020 from 8-10pm ET/PT on ABC. Six-time Mirrorball champion dancer Derek Hough joins DWTS in a new capacity as a judge. Hough joins Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli at the judges table in the ballroom. Meanwhile, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Len Goodman is unable to judge this season live in the ballroom, though he still is a part of the show in a different capacity sharing his ballroom expertise from London.

The new season features a cast of 15 celebrities, including a GRAMMY winner, a Bachelorette, a big-cat lover-turned-reality TV star and a pro-football legend, to name a few. The celebrities and professional dancers heading to the ballroom this season (in alphabetical order) are as follows:

Celebrities (with their dance and song on the season premiere):
- head coach Monica Aldama (CHEER): Foxtrot to "My Wish" by Rascal Flatts
- animal activist Carole Baskin (TIGER KING): Paso to "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor
- Kaitlyn Bristowe (THE BACHELOR; THE BACHELORETTE): Cha Cha to "Stupid Love" by Lady Gaga
- Super Bowl Champion Vernon Davis: Foxtrot to "All of Me" by John Legend
- TV and film actress Anne Heche: Cha Cha to "Don't Start Now" by Dua Lipa
- Disney Channel actress Skai Jackson: Tango to "Super Bass" by Nicki Minaj
- actress Justina Machado (ONE DAY AT A TIME): Cha Cha to "Respect" by Aretha Franklin
- Backstreet Boys singer AJ McLean: Jive to "Blinding Lights" by The Weeknd
- host of THE REAL and correspondent on HOLEY MOLEY, Jeannie Mai: Salsa to "Tell It to My Heart" by Taylor Dayne
- TV and film actor Jesse Metcalfe: Quickstep to "Part Time Love" by Stevie Wonder
- rapper Nelly: Salsa to "Ride Wit Me" by Nelly
- TV host Nev Schulman (CATFISH): Foxtrot to "The Way You Look Tonight" by Frank Sinatra
- NBA superstar Charles Oakley (THE LAST DANCE): Salsa to "In Da Club" by 50 Cent
- actress Chrishell Stause (SELLING SUNSET): Tango to "Raise Your Glass" by P!nk
- Olympic figure skater and on-air commentator Johnny Weir: Cha Cha to "Buttons" by The Pussycat Dolls

Professional dancers (with partnerships to be revealed on the season premiere):
- Brandon Armstrong
- Alan Bersten
- Sharna Burgess
- Cheryl Burke
- Artem Chigvintsev
- Val Chmerkovskiy
- Sasha Farber
- Jenna Johnson
- Daniella Karagach
- Keo Motsepe
- Peta Murgatroyd
- Pasha Pashkov
- Gleb Savchenko
- Emma Slater
- Britt Stewart

Throughout the first evening, the celebrity and pro duos perform the time-honored dances that include the Cha Cha, Foxtrot, Jive, Salsa or Tango.

For the show's first broadcast of the season, there is no viewing audience vote, and only the judges score the routines. Those scores carry over and will be combined with judges' scores from Week 2, which also marks the first weekly live viewing audience vote of the season (via abc.com and SMS/text) -- and the first elimination. The live votes occur each week only during the live broadcast in the EDT/CDT time zones (but fans in all U.S. time zones may vote within that window). Moving forward with each subsequent episode, the live vote combined with the judges' scores are revealed during the broadcast.