“Dancing With The Stars” – Wicked Night Theme Details Announced

Disney has announced details on the next theme for its next episode of the hit competition dance series, “Dancing With The Stars”, which will be “Wicked Night”.

“Dancing with the Stars” is the hit series cohosted by Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough in which celebrities are paired with trained ballroom dancers to compete in themed, choreographed dance routines that are judged by a panel of renowned ballroom experts, including Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and Derek Hough.

Special guest judge Jon M. Chu, who is the director of last year’s Oscar-winning cinematic phenomenon “Wicked” and this year’s epic conclusion, “Wicked: For Good,” will be joining the panel to provide expert insights as the couples dance to songs from the films’ iconic soundtracks. The show is produced in front of a live audience by BBC Studios.

The episode will feature the premiere of a never-before-seen clip from Universal Pictures’ “Wicked: For Good” arriving in theatres on November 21st 2025. In addition, there will be special video messages from the film’s acclaimed cast including Academy Award nominees Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, Emmy Award nominee Jonathan Bailey and Academy Award winner Michelle Yeoh.

The magical night carries on with a show-stopping medley to “No One Mourns the Wicked / Defying Gravity / For Good / Thank Goodness / Dancing Through Life / What Is This Feeling?” from “Wicked” and “Wicked: For Good.” Then the couples perform gravity-defying routines set to the styles of Argentine Tango, Contemporary, Foxtrot, Jazz, Rumba and Quickstep.

The couples (along with their dance styles and songs) are the following:

• From Pentatonix GRAMMY® winner Scott Hoying and partner Rylee Arnold will perform a Contemporary to “The Wizard And I” by Cynthia Erivo featuring Michelle Yeoh.
• Social media personality Alix Earle and partner Val Chmerkovskiy will perform a Jazz to “What Is This Feeling?” by Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo.
• Wildlife conservationist Robert Irwin and partner Witney Carson will perform a Jazz to “Dancing Through Life” by Jonathan Bailey featuring Ariana Grande, Ethan Slater, Marissa Bode and Cynthia Erivo.
• From “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” Whitney Leavitt and partner Mark Ballas will perform a Quickstep to “Popular” by Ariana Grande.
• Reality TV star and content creator Dylan Efron and partner Daniella Karagach will perform a Rumba to “I’m Not That Girl” by Cynthia Erivo.
• Comedian Andy Richter and partner Emma Slater will perform a Jazz to “One Short Day” by Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Kristin Chenoweth, Idina Menzel featuring Michael McCorry Rose.
• Film and TV actress Elaine Hendrix and partner Alan Bersten will perform a Contemporary to “Defying Gravity ” by Cynthia Erivo featuring Ariana Grande.
• From “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” Jen Affleck and partner Jan Ravnik will perform a Foxtrot to “As Long as You’re Mine” by Cynthia Erivo and Jonathan Bailey.
• “Boy Meets World” star Danielle Fishel and partner Pasha Pashkov will perform an Argentine Tango to “No Good Deed” by Cynthia Erivo.
• Olympic gold medalist Jordan Chiles and partner Ezra Sosa will perform a Rumba to “For Good” by Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande.

After each episode, go behind the curtain with the “‘Dancing with the Stars’ Official Podcast.” Hosted by Season 33 Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy champion Joey Graziadei, the show brings exclusive cast interviews, special guests, behind-the-scenes insights and expert breakdowns of the performances people can’t stop discussing. Tune in Thursdays on Disney+ and Hulu.

Fans will be able to vote during the live simulcast of the show in the ET/CT time zones. During this time, online voting will be available to fans in any time zone in the U.S., its territories and Canada via dwtsvote.abc.com, and fans on participating U.S. wireless carriers can also vote via SMS/text (fans in Canada cannot vote via SMS/text). Live viewer votes from Dedication Night and Wicked Night will be combined with the judges’ scores from both nights to determine which couples may be in jeopardy of elimination after two weeks of dancing.

“Wicked Night” premieres on Tuesday 21st October 2025 at 8:00-10:00 p.m. EDT/PDT, 7:00-9:00 p.m. CDT.  It will be simulcast live across both ABC and Disney+ in local time zones, and it will also be available the next day on Hulu.

Who do you think will perform best on the next episode of “Dancing With The Stars”?  Let me know on social media!