Competition Shows Next Week (Sept. 14–20, 2026): DWTS Opens Two Nights, The Challenge Drops Wednesday, Physical 100 Italy Adds Two Friday

Disclosure: Bubblelime (bubblelime.com) is an activewear store connected to this site's publisher. Treat mentions of it on this page as promotional. How we make this.

Correction (31 October): The 12:43 a.m. update below was labeled Monday, Sept. 15; Sept. 15, 2026 was a Tuesday.

Quick answer — Four nights between Monday, Sept. 14 and Sunday, Sept. 20 carry something we cover: DWTS season 35 premieres Tuesday the 15th and Wednesday the 16th at 8 p.m. ET on ABC, The Challenge S42E8 lands Wednesday on Paramount+, and Physical 100: Italy adds episodes 4 and 5 on Friday at 3 a.m. ET. Monday is empty because American Ninja Warrior wrapped on Aug. 31, and nothing from our roster airs Saturday or Sunday. Below is the grid, what wardrobe to watch in each, and three buyable versions of the look the rehearsal packages will be full of.

What is on next week, and what should you watch the wardrobe for?

All times Eastern. We built this from TVmaze episode listings and checked every premiere against the network's or streamer's own announcement.

For the wider reality picture across the same seven days, including the shows we do not cover, our sister site keeps a full grid: Reality TV Next Week, Sept. 14–20. The food-competition side lives at Cooking Shows Next Week.

Why do the two DWTS premiere nights split men and women?

ABC has confirmed the format, and it changes what you will see. Night One puts the male celebrities on the floor, each dancing to a number-one song from the year they were born. Night Two does the same with the women. One couple is eliminated each night.

That split matters here for a boring practical reason: the rehearsal packages that air between dances are cut from the week's practice footage, and Wednesday's will be the ones full of leggings. If you are watching for clothes rather than scores, Wednesday is the night to record.

What does a ballroom rehearsal kit actually consist of?

Rehearsal rooms are not gyms, and the clothes reflect that. Three differences show up on camera again and again.

• Leg length runs longer. A full-length legging or a flared crop reads better in a mirror than a short does, because the line of the leg is the thing being corrected.
• Waistbands sit high and stay put. Lifts and spins mean a band that rolls is a band you fight all afternoon.
• Layers come off and go back on constantly. Rehearsal blocks run hours. A cropped hoodie or a wrap over a bra top gets removed in the first ten minutes and put back on at every break.

Footwear splits the room. Pros wear practice heels or dance sneakers; celebrities in week one are usually still in trainers, and you can watch that change over the season as their feet adapt.

One caution before the prices. Wardrobe credits are not published for these rehearsal packages, and a garment that looks like a label you recognize is frequently a plain sample. Nothing below says a cast member wore a specific product. These are close matches in cut, chosen so you can buy the style.

Which shows are still dark, and when do they come back?

Half the reason next week looks thin is that the second half of September is where everything lands. Dates confirmed against network listings on Friday, Sept. 11.

Two of those are worth planning around. Survivor issues everyone the same kit for weeks, so the interesting question becomes how fabric behaves in salt water — we went through that in what Survivor contestants wear in season 51. Special Forces sits closest to real field training, which makes its layers technical rather than decorative. The kitchen side of Sept. 24 belongs to our sister site's Hell's Kitchen season 25 guide.

What does the rehearsal-room look cost at three price levels?

Prices checked on each brand's own site on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, at about 11:50 p.m. ET. Colors and stock move daily, so read these as the price at that moment.

Bubblelime also lists a bootleg flare crop at $32.98, which is the shape you will actually see on the rehearsal floor more than a straight legging. If you want the piece-by-piece version of the competition equivalent, that lives in the competition-show training kit.

Is a flare worth paying for during a dance week?

For dancing, yes, more than you would expect. A flare hides the ankle break that makes an untrained foot look wrong in a mirror, which is exactly why studios are full of them. For lifting or running, no — the extra fabric catches on everything.

So the honest split is by use. If you are going to a barre or ballroom class because a show got you interested, buy the flare. If the legging also has to cover a Tuesday night on a treadmill, buy the straight leg and keep the $32 for shoes.

How do you find the exact piece someone wore?

Usually you cannot, and sites that claim to have identified it are guessing off a compressed frame. Competition and rehearsal wardrobes go uncredited, unlike scripted shows where a costume designer will name labels happily. When a brand does outfit a season, it says so loudly, because announcing the deal is the whole point of paying for it. No such announcement covers anything premiering this month.

The question we can answer is the narrower one: what kind of garment is that, and where is the closest thing you can buy? Our method is written out in how to find workout clothes you see on TV. More breakdowns sit under Shop the Look, the competition archive is at Competition Shows, the reality side at Reality TV, host athleisure at Talk & Daytime, and the background explainers live in Guides — starting with what this site covers and what it will not claim. Last week's version of this page is still up for comparison: competition shows for Sept. 8–14.

TL;DR

• Four nights carry something: Tue 15, Wed 16, Thu 17 and Fri 18. Monday and the weekend are empty.
• DWTS season 35 premieres across two nights, 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+ — men Tuesday, women Wednesday. Wednesday is the activewear night.
• The Challenge S42E8 drops Wednesday on Paramount+; Physical 100: Italy adds episodes 4 and 5 Friday at 3 a.m. ET on Netflix.
• Buyable versions of the rehearsal legging: $29.98 (Bubblelime), $70.00 (POPFLEX), $108.00 (Girlfriend Collective), checked Sept. 11 at 11:50 p.m. ET.
• Nothing premiering this month has announced a wardrobe sponsor, so no one can name the exact product. Buy the cut.

Sources

• TVmaze episode listings for Dancing with the Stars, The Challenge, America's Got Talent, The Voice, Survivor, The Amazing Race, Special Forces, Hell's Kitchen and American Ninja Warrior, retrieved Sept. 11, 2026.
• ABC News / Good Morning America, “Dancing with the Stars season 35: what to know about the cast, premiere date and more” — two-night premiere, hosts, judges and cast.
• Netflix newsroom announcement for Physical 100: Italy (Sept. 11 premiere) and the published weekly batch calendar through Oct. 2.
• Brand-listed prices from bubblelime.com, popflexactive.com and girlfriend.com, checked Sept. 11, 2026, about 11:50 p.m. ET.