The Revival of Dancing With the Stars (2005- )
Photo courtesy of ABC/Wikimedia Commons
Running for twenty years and still going strong, Dancing with the Stars (2005- ) has stood the test of time and continues to draw in new fans.
Television is currently in the era of streaming services and exclusive original content, which has transformed how people watch and interact with shows. Long gone are the days of traditional network television. Before streaming, watching television used to be a community experience; fans of a TV show would sit down each week at a specific hour to watch a new episode, and the next day, people would then go into work or school and discuss the events of the episode with fellow fans. Nowadays, most television consumers binge-watch shows at their own pace, creating a detached and isolated viewing experience.
However, there is one show that has managed to adapt, thrive, and bring back the shared watching experience in the age of streaming: Dancing With The Stars (2005- ). The show first premiered in 2005 and has been on air ever since. Entering its 34th season this September, fans of the show watch live on Tuesday nights at 8:00pm, either through regular network TV or on Disney+.
For those who are not familiar, Dancing With The Stars (2005- ) is a reality show that pairs up a celebrity with a professional ballroom dancer who teaches them how to dance. Each week, they perform a new dance that gets scored by a panel of judges and viewers’ votes. One couple gets voted off each week until only one couple remains, winning the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy. The show has experienced a decline in popularity over the years, but has recently seen a resurgence in the last couple of seasons. The show was on the brink of cancellation back in 2022 when it became exclusive only to Disney+, but that change did not last very long.
Prior to 2022, the main viewers of Dancing With The Stars (2005- ) were around 65 years old, according to New York Times. But with the help of social media, the show was able to bring in a whole new generation of viewers. TikTok was a huge way the professional dancers on the show got engagement with potential young viewers. Pro dancers Ezra Sosa and Rylee Arnold in particular have been praised for their help garnering Gen Z audiences. After 2022, the show was brought back to regular network television while also still available to watch live on Disney+. Having both platforms available meant both generations of viewers could watch live.
The show has social media to thank for the surge in popularity. The choreography that the professionals come up with for the show has gone viral on TikTok with people recreating their dances. This season, reality star Whitney Levitt and pro Mark Ballas’s dance from TikTok night went viral online. Last season, NFL star Danny Amendola and his partner Whitney Carson's dance from dedication night also went viral. The pros' iconic and learnable choreography encourages people at home to attempt what the celebrities are doing.
For season 34, the show has seen a stacked cast of celebrities which they had been lacking in recent years. Some of the most popular celebrities on this season are Robert Irwin, Jordan Chiles, Alix Earle, and Dylan Efron. Having more well-known celebrities on the show entices the celebrities' respective fanbases to watch, vote, and cheer on their favorites.
Dancing With The Stars (2005- ) has been able to bring back the community aspect of entertainment. If you want to vote for your favorite celebrities, you have to watch live every Tuesday night. The show allows the audience to be a key part of the voting process and gives viewers the power to keep their favorites and influence the show. We have seen it this season with comedian Andy Richter; While he is not the best dancer on the show, his fans love seeing his improvement and joy as a part of the show. He has been saved by viewer votes every single week since the start of the season.
TikTok and other social media platforms have also allowed viewers to share their thoughts and opinions on each couple's dances and who they think should win the mirrorball trophy, helping build the Dancing With The Stars (2005- ) community back up.
This season, the show has seen an all-time popularity. Every week, hosts Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough announce that the live voting record has been broken. A couple of weeks ago on Wicked Night, the show gained a whopping 50 million votes from people. The show saw a total of 6.63 million viewers just through network television, according to Deadline, not even including the amount of viewers watching live through Disney+.
It is safe to say that the show has brought back what television used to be. Television consumers have been craving the sense of community of watching and experiencing a show at the same time, and Dancing With The Stars (2005- ) has filled that void. From being on the brink of cancellation to breaking records, Dancing With The Stars (2005- ) has successfully avoided becoming another casualty of the streaming era.