Dancing With the Stars (DWTS) will waltz its way back to our screens tonight for its 31st season. For the first time ever, the dancing competition will not air on ABC, making a move to streaming on Disney+. It is the first show ever to air live on the streamer. The move is expected to introduce the series to younger audiences as the show has struggled to maintain its high viewership numbers since Tyra Banks took over hosting duties from fan-favorite Tom Bergeron in 2020.

Moving to streaming is forcing changes for the long-running reality competition, something Executive Producer Conrad Green discussed with Variety. As Disney+ is currently ad-free, the two-hour show will demand more content: DWTS will air for 120 minutes compared to its usual 86 minutes (commercial breaks account for the remaining time on broadcast television). Commercial breaks also provided crew time to set the stage for upcoming performances. While Tyra Banks will presume her hosting duties, the show is welcoming a co-host to assist in filling that additional time. Season 19 mirror ball champion Alfonso Ribeiro will serve as co-host to interview the celebrities and dance partners in the skybox. The skybox is not new to the series, but was discontinued once Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews exited DWTS.

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As the contestants begin to dwindle down in numbers, the series will have to rely on more content to fill their ad-free time:

“We definitely needed to bring back an area of the set so that we can clear the stage and actually move stuff around,” Green told Variety. “So we brought back the skybox, and that meant bringing in a co-host as well. Alfonso is such a great addition to the team. He’s a former champion on the show, but he’s really passionate about it. He’s friends with a lot of the dancers, he really understands what makes the show tick and he brings humor to it and genuine interest in the celebrities and their journeys.”

Although filling 120 minutes may seem like a daunting task, there is room to breathe, as the show is on streaming, so there is flexibility to go over or under.

“As the show progresses through the season and we have fewer people in it, we can let the show breathe in different ways,” Green says. “We’re bringing our [supporting dance] troupe back and some of those transition walkovers will be putting the troupe in there to do little reprises of dances. And the reason for that is just to try and break up the flow a little bit. As the show progresses, and we have a bit more time in the show, we might get [judge] Len [Goodman] to do some little master classes in between dances where he points to a dance that’s being repeated a lot in a given episode, and he’ll show what he’s looking for and the details of people dancing in front of him."

Season 31 Cast Set to Take the Dance Floor

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Tonight’s new season will begin with 16 contestants, which is more than most previous seasons.

The cast includes Arnold Schwarzenegger’s son, actor Joseph Baena; Cruel Intentions and Hellboy actress Selma Blair; comedian Wayne Brady; country musician Jessie James Decker; The Real Housewives of New Jersey reality star Teresa Giudice; Jersey Shore’s Vinny Guadagnino; weather anchor Sam Champion; CODA actor Daniel Durant; Sex and the City’s Jason Lewis; RuPaul’s Drag Race’s Shangela; winner of American Idol season 6 Jordin Sparks; 90210’s Trevor Donovan; Charlie’s Angels star and singer Cheryl Ladd; The Bachelor’s Gabby Windey; and Charli D’Amelio and Heidi D’Amelio from The D’Amelio Show.

DWTS will be available to watch live at the same time on DIsney+ (8 p.m. ET, 5 p.m. PT) for the first time ever, giving all viewers the same amount of time for voting.

It’ll be interesting to see how the show changes on Disney+ next season, as the streamer will introduce an ad-sponsored plan this December.