Dancing With the Stars is preparing to turn the ballroom into something much bigger than a normal theme night.
Season 35’s first-ever Super Bowl Night will celebrate some of the biggest halftime performances in NFL history — and ABC is bringing several familiar faces back to help make it happen.
Four former NFL players who previously competed on DWTS are scheduled to return:
Donald Driver, Emmitt Smith, DeMarcus Ware and Danny Amendola.
That immediately gives the episode a major connection to the show’s own history.
Driver and Smith are especially notable names.
Both former NFL stars actually won the Mirrorball Trophy during their respective seasons, proving that football players have a long history of translating athletic ability into success on the dance floor.
Ware and Amendola also made memorable runs on the show, giving Super Bowl Night an unusual reunion element alongside the current competition.
The football influence extends to the judges’ table as well.
Longtime NFL broadcaster Joe Buck will join Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli as the night’s guest judge.
Buck is preparing to call Super Bowl LXI for ABC and ESPN in February 2027, giving his appearance a direct connection to the event the episode is celebrating.
But the most interesting part may be what the remaining couples are being asked to perform.
Every routine will use music connected to a memorable Super Bowl halftime performer.
That includes songs associated with Rihanna, Usher, Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, Kendrick Lamar, Bad Bunny and Lady Gaga.
And one assignment immediately stands out.
Jenna Dewan and Val Chmerkovskiy will perform a Paso Doble to Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance.”
Lady Gaga headlined the Super Bowl LI halftime show in 2017, delivering one of the event’s most recognizable modern performances.
Her set included a massive stage production, aerial entrance and several of her biggest hits — with “Bad Romance” serving as the finale.
Now Jenna and Val are taking that theatrical energy into the ballroom.
A Paso Doble already demands power, sharp movement and dramatic intensity.
Combining that style with one of Gaga’s biggest songs gives the pair an opportunity to produce one of Super Bowl Night’s most ambitious performances.
They won’t be the only couple attempting a huge halftime-inspired number.
Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson will perform a Samba to Usher, Lil Jon and Ludacris’ “Yeah!”
Usher headlined the 2024 Super Bowl halftime show, making the song instantly recognizable to football viewers.
Connor Wood and Rylee Arnold will also tackle a Samba, dancing to Shakira and Wyclef Jean’s “Hips Don’t Lie.”
Shakira co-headlined the 2020 halftime show with Jennifer Lopez, making her music another natural choice for the theme.
Meanwhile, Julia Stiles and Ezra Sosa will perform Jazz to the Track Masters remix of Jennifer Lopez’s “Jenny from the Block.”
And one of the night’s most unpredictable routines belongs to Guillermo Rodriguez.
Guillermo and Witney Carson will perform a Salsa to Bad Bunny’s “Tití Me Preguntó.”
The assignment comes immediately after Guillermo received only 13 points for his Mariah Carey Night Samba and once again finished at the bottom of the judges’ leaderboard.
Yet viewer support kept him alive.
Now another fast Latin routine gives him an immediate chance to show whether that support can be matched by visible improvement in the ballroom.
Jackson Olson and Emma Slater will also perform Salsa, this time to Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson’s “Uptown Funk.”
Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach have a Salsa to Nelly’s “Hot in Herre,” while Tatyana Ali and Jan Ravnik will dance Salsa to Kendrick Lamar’s “squabble up.”
Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas, fresh off earning the season’s first 9, will take on a Tango to Rihanna’s “Only Girl (In the World).”
So Super Bowl Night won’t simply be another collection of dances.
It is being designed as a crossover between DWTS history, NFL history and some of the most memorable halftime performers ever to appear on football’s biggest stage.
Former football contestants are returning.
An NFL broadcasting legend is joining the judges.
And the current cast is taking on music that already comes with enormous expectations.
But among all those performances, Jenna Dewan and Val Chmerkovskiy’s Gaga-inspired Paso Doble may have one of the biggest opportunities to become the routine everyone is still talking about after the scores are revealed.
Super Bowl Night airs Tuesday, October 13, and with only 11 couples remaining, the spectacle won’t be the only thing at stake.
Another elimination is coming too.
