2025 marks twenty years since Dancing With The Stars premiered. Soap star Kelly Monaco won the first season back in 2015. Season 34 of DWTS just started last month and has only seen three contestants go home. But producers are reportedly already fed up and planning a major shakeup with multiple firings ahead of Season 35. Keep reading to find out who is in danger.
DWTS Shake-Up: Major Firings Planned After Season 34
The backstage drama on Season 34 of DWTS started before the first dance. Pro dancer Jenna Johnson was reportedly frustrated over the lack of rehearsal time with her celebrity partner, Corey Feldman. The actor had prior engagements that made him miss the first few rehearsals, despite rehearsals being in Los Angeles, California. Not surprisingly, he was among the first eliminations.
But the drama didn’t end when he left. Recently eliminated contestant Hilaria Baldwin made the shocking claim that she was bullied off the show. But fans think they made the right choice sending her home.
There are still eleven celebrities in the competition for this year’s Mirrorball Trophy. Not all of the pro dancers will return for next season. ABC hasn’t officially renewed DWTS for Season 35.
Longtime pro Val Chmerkovskiy recently hinted at retirement. But the producers are reportedly looking to make a major shakeup after disappointing performances so far this season.
Some of the pros “aren’t quite keeping up with the rest of the ensemble,” an insider spilled to The U.S. Sun. The source named two surprising Season 34 pros as the problem.
Two Pros In Danger
Gleb Savchenko was a last-minute addition to Season 34. He went on a social media rant about not being asked back shortly before it was confirmed that he was, in fact, returning. But is he done after this season? He did recently say that Hilaria Baldwin would be his “last” partner on DWTS.
But Gleb isn’t one of the pro dancers the insider claims producers are keeping a close eye on. Jan Ravnik was a backup dancer on Taylor Swift’s Eras tour before joining Season 34.
It’s his first time on DWTS, but he doesn’t seem to handle feedback from the judges very well. “Jan has been called out for lacking proper technique himself and not having clean lines when he should be the teacher and the master of technique,” the source said.
Rylee Arnold joined DWTS as a pro in 2023. She’s been struggling on managing a serious condition while competing on the dance show. The producers are reportedly disappointed in her performance this year.
“With Rylee, there has been an emphasis that she needs to be a better teacher and make her partners learn the technique. Her and her partners, while beloved, have not improved drastically and make mistakes even deeper into the season,” the insider said.
Mark Ballas Vows To Return For Shocking Reason
One pro who definitely wants to return next season is Mark Ballas. He retired after winning Season 31 but made his return this year to partner with Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Whitney Leavitt.
The two are regularly at the top of the leaderboard and have a real shot at winning this season. But a lot of viewers are unhappy with Mark’s return. One viewer even called him out for whining so much and hoped he wouldn’t come back next season.
Mark Ballas has been hilariously interacting with trolls coming for him this season. The DWTS pro joked that he would come back next season just for the hater.
If you had to choose two pros to fire after Season 34, who would you choose? Tell us in the comments.
Jennifer Havener grew up in a small town in Upstate New York. She earned her B.A in Writing & Literature from Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. She always knew watching reality TV shows and soap operas, particularly ‘Days of Our Lives’, would come in handy someday. When she’s not writing, she’s playing with her dogs, Lola and Ruger