James Lafferty Reveals One Condition for Joining DWTS

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James Lafferty is ready to put his best foot forward—on one condition.

James recently thought about joining the cast of Dancing With the Stars after a fan asked him about it. His response quickly became popular online, even getting the attention of professional dancer Ezra Sosa.

In a TikTok posted on May 17th, James announced he’s joining the cast of Dancing With the Stars, saying he was happy to accept the offer.

He added one requirement: the show Everyone Is Doing Great needed to be among the ten most popular shows on Netflix in the United States.

All this 40-year-old wants to feel confident about competing on a dance show is for the second season of his series – which also features Stephen Colletti, his wife Alexandra Park, and Cariba Heine – to be a hit on the streaming platform.

If that happens, he said, “I will be happy to do Dancing With the Stars.”

He’s already got Ezra on his side, who playfully commented on James’s video, saying, “He’s hot, I’m in!”

You know, it was in a recent post where I really opened up and admitted something a little vulnerable. I shared that maybe, just maybe, my fans would actually be happier if I decided to hang up my dancing shoes for good. It was a tough thing to say, but I wanted to be honest about how I was feeling.

He suggested in a video on May 12th that appearing on Dancing With the Stars would be fun, not because he’d try to win, but because it would be a funny experience.

The idea sparked some thoughts for Stephen and James about a potential third season of Everyone Is Doing Great. The season could explore what happens to their characters, Seth and Jeremy, after their popular show finishes and they struggle with a decline in fame.

James jokingly suggested that Jeremy would be a good contestant on Dancing With the Stars. He hinted that it would be a fun and entertaining experience for everyone involved.

Plus, James has a fantastic dance partner in real life – his wife, Alexandra! They got married in 2022 after being together for seven years.

Alexandra, who stars in Everyone Is Doing Great with her husband, says working with him both on and off screen has been wonderful for their relationship.

In a 2024 interview with TopMob News, the actor explained that they collaborate on various projects – whether it’s self-taped auditions, writing their show Everyone is Doing Great, or working on a book – and that this shared time together strengthens their relationship. They emphasized that the more they work together, the better things become.

As she put it, “Every day is a surprise with James. We’re just really lucky to have each other.”

It’s still uncertain if James will be joining stars like Ciara Miller, Maura Higgins, and Jackson Olson on season 35 of Dancing with the Stars. However, there are plenty of interesting stories and behind-the-scenes details about the show to explore. Read on to discover the many secrets of this popular competition series.

Oh my gosh, you won’t BELIEVE how much the Dancing With the Stars pros and celebs actually make! I was reading in Variety back in 2019, and they said everyone gets a cool $125,000 just for rehearsals and the first couple of weeks! But get this – if they make it further in the competition, they get even more each week! Apparently, the biggest stars could rake in up to $295,000 total! Can you even imagine?! It’s amazing!

However, Bobby Bones said he made more than this when he won season 27 with Sharna Burgess in 2018.

The radio host explained on Jason Tartick’s podcast, Trading Secrets, in September 2025 that the show’s pay structure was unusual. They didn’t get paid for the first episode, but earned $10,000 for the second. The pay then increased, going from $10,000 to $20,000 per episode, eventually reaching $50,000 per episode if they continued with the show.

In addition to a salary of about $110,000, Bones revealed he earned nearly $400,000 from the show.

ABC has not publicly confirmed any of these figures.

As a lifestyle expert, I’m often asked about the financial side of reality TV, and honestly, details about the pros’ earnings are pretty scarce! But from what I’ve gathered, it seems to work like the contestants’ pay – the further they advance in the competition, the more they can potentially earn. It’s all about longevity on the show!

But even if a pro is eliminated in the first round, they’re not leaving the ballroom empty-handed.

Jenna Johnson explained on the June 2025 episode of the The Morning After podcast, hosted by Kelly Stafford and Hank Winchester, that dancers are typically guaranteed work for a specific number of weeks. However, she added that contracts vary and she couldn’t comment on everyone’s situation.

Apparently not.

Professional dancers on Dancing with the Stars, like Jenna Johnson, don’t earn extra money for winning the Mirrorball Trophy – now named after the late Len Goodman. However, Johnson, who has won seasons 26 (with Adam Rippon) and 33 (with Joey Graziadei from The Bachelor), explains that reaching the finale is still a valuable achievement, beyond just the prestige.

She explained on The Morning After that reaching the finale means you get paid for the entire season, plus a bonus. However, winning isn’t about a large cash prize; it’s just a shared trophy for the winning couple.

That doesn’t appear to be the case.

In a 2022 appearance on Trading Secrets, Lindsay Arnold shared that her pay was reduced by more than half after she moved from being a professional dancer to a troupe member.

The pros get little input when it comes to being matched with a celebrity.

Oh my god, you guys, Lindsay totally said this on Maggie Sellers’ podcast, Hot Smart Rich, back in May 2025! It was insane. She was like, ‘You don’t get any input at all!’ Apparently, they just tell you who your partner is and expect you to make it work. Can you believe it?! It’s so messed up, but I’ve replayed that clip like a million times. I’m obsessed!

In fact, Jenna said the pairing is often a secret until the last minute.

Jenna explained on The Morning After that the show aims to keep the cast a complete surprise until the contestants meet their partners. People often assume the show knows who will be on each season and deliberately keeps it under wraps, but that’s not the case. The show doesn’t even share the cast list with the hosts, and they work hard to prevent leaks so the reveal can be a genuine surprise for everyone involved.

As for what the Dancing With the Stars team looks for when making these matches?

According to former showrunner Rob Wade, the show’s pairings weren’t random. In a 2015 interview with TopMob News, he explained they considered height, body type, personality, and how well contestants would get along. They avoided matching people who clearly wouldn’t connect, as the experience is too demanding. Unlike shows like The Bachelor, forcing incompatible pairings would create a negative experience for everyone involved – the celebrity, the production team, and the audience. He admitted they’d learned from past mistakes where contestants simply didn’t click.

As a huge fan, I’ve always been amazed by the dedication of the Dancing with the Stars pros, and Rylee Arnold really laid it all out in a recent podcast interview! She explained that rehearsals are incredibly demanding – four hours every single day, either from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., or 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. But it doesn’t stop there! After those long hours, she’s often meeting with producers, working on choreography, or even studying dance videos. She said it basically takes over her whole life, but she absolutely loves it, and that passion is so clear. It truly is a job where there are no days off. She explained their schedule: shows on Tuesdays, then rehearsals Wednesday through Sunday, camera blocking on Monday, and right back to shows on Tuesday! It’s intense, but she wouldn’t have it any other way, and honestly, that’s what makes the show so great.

Emma Slater and Britt Stewart shared in a September 2025 Instagram video that they were mostly in agreement, but it involved working with the show’s producers.

If you think the quickstep dance is fast-paced, you should see how quickly the costume department works! Costume designer Daniela Gschwendtner explained to TV Insider that they collaborate with set, lighting, and dance teams to create a unique story for each dancer’s outfit. Then, they have just five days – often only half a day per costume, before adding rhinestones – to create everything. The department employs around 20 people, plus a separate tailor shop, making it a large operation.

Steven Norman Lee, another costume designer, shared that dancers often don’t try on their costumes until just hours before the show. While some basic pieces might be reused, most outfits are custom-made each week.

As Gschwendtner added, they will reuse costumes for group performances or promotional shoots, but never for the actual competition. The goal is to keep everything fresh and new each week to maintain visual interest for the audience.

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2026-05-20 21:50