“Dancing with the Stars” premiered its three-hour finale on Nov. 25 to wrap up its record-breaking 34th season. With zealous fans tuning in consistently all season, the show collected nearly half a billion votes for the stars and the finale came in with over 9 million viewers, making it the series’s strongest finale in 10 years.
Running since 2005, “Dancing with the Stars” has fluctuated in popularity. Its debut, showcasing hot-topic celebrities paired with professional dancers, had fans hooked initially, but its viewership began to decline in the 2010s. Recently, however, not only have past viewers returned to the ballroom, but many new ones have waltzed their way in to follow its 11-week run time.
This comeback is no accident: the show’s shift to accessible streaming services like Disney+ and Hulu along with casts filled with fan-favorites have worked hand-in-hand to revive the prime-time series.
“I haven’t seen past seasons just because I wasn’t super aware of the people,” senior Ashleigh Allen said. “But the fact that I knew the people this season–that made me so much more willing to watch it.”
While this season specifically brought in many viewers with its carefully curated casting, which mixed in athletes, internet sensations, reality stars, and household names to make it a production any audience can enjoy, it also featured 10 different themed nights, more than any past season. Some of these themes included Disney night, Tiktok night, and Prince night, which not only made episodes entertaining experiences but also challenged the stars in creative ways.
“I thought they added so much more excitement and fun to each episode, which made people want to watch even more,” senior Addie Connor said. “I think it also helped everyone stay on the same playing field when it came to voting because they were all under the same theme.”
However, the show’s heightened popularity also brought numerous criticisms about the season. Most notably, star Whitney Leavitt of reality TV show “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” received a large amount of backlash, with fans commenting on her personality, attitude, and seeming favoritism from the judges each week.
“I think the controversies that happened this season actually helped with the final turnout of the show,” Connor said. “I think without all of the Whitney Leavitt controversy, a large percent of their viewers would not have kept watching the show all the way through like they did.”
“Dancing with the Stars” was the talk of the town all the way up to its finale, where stars Robert Irwin and Alix Earle were in the tightest score gap in show history, both individually accumulating the most votes any stars have ever received. This result made for yet another topic of interest amongst audiences and especially social media, where fans debated over who deserved to win and discussed which star stole their hearts.
“I actually kept up with the show on Tiktok and [Instagram] reels,” sophomore Ella Pendleton said. “And even though it ended, it’s still all over my Instagram and For You page [on TikTok].”
Though this remarkable season has come to an end, its celebrities and professional dancers will take back to the stage on the “Dancing with the Stars Live” tour, where several stars will perform their best routines of the season on/at select dates and locations. It is clear that “Dancing with the Stars” is back better than ever and making sure its signature golden confetti never settles.
“The first time I watched the entire season was this time, this year,” Allen said. “But I’m definitely going to stream next season because I loved it so much, especially watching the dances and the community built between everyone.”
