When the calendar flipped to September, the best season of all was about to begin — the 34th season of Dancing with the Stars (DWTS), of course!
On Tuesday nights, television screens across America tune in to see professionally choreographed dance routines, dazzling costumes and famous celebrities from all spheres.
All three judges returned for season 34 — Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli. Both Tonioli and Inaba have been judges since the show’s debut in 2005, whereas Hough returned for his sixth season as a judge following a long stint as a pro (professional dancer) competing on the show. Hough’s judging era began in 2020 following the retirement of longtime judge Len Goodman, who passed away in 2023.
Stars of the season include reality TV personalities Whitney Leavitt and Jen Affleck from “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” “Boy Meets World” actress Danielle Fishel, social media influencer Alix Earle, wildlife conservationist Robert Irwin and several other modern faces.
While this season has brought many well-loved dancers to the floor, week three’s “TikTok Night” arguably brought the biggest shock yet.
The couples danced to songs from popular TikTok audios and were permitted some adjustments to dance styles to incorporate parts of viral dances into the routine.
As some DWTS pros have fostered a social media following in recent years, dancers credit this to the show’s increased viewership.
“We got together a younger demographic of people, and the people who go on TikTok every day, they (saw) the Dancing with the Stars content,” pro Rylee Arnold said to The Hollywood Reporter.
Connecting the show with TikTok certainly brought interest to a younger viewership, considering three main celebrity dancers gained popularity on the platform: Earle, Leavitt and Affleck. These stars brought with them droves of followers from their social media, allowing the season premiere to take the No. 1 spot for the 8 p.m. timeslot with 5.5 million viewers, according to Variety.
In the most recent episode, the pros had their work cut out for them as week three included another elimination.
Even though both stars finished at the bottom of the leaderboard, Fifth Harmony’s Lauren Jauregui was sent home after actor and comedian Andy Richter was saved by fan votes.
According to Variety, this season has seen increased fan participation, with voting up by 163% for show one compared to last season’s premiere.
The voting system used in recent years has been a controversial topic for the show’s audience, as the competition is largely based on popularity over dancing ability.
During the live broadcast, viewers are able to cast votes for their favorites while limited to 10 votes per couple in both texted votes and online voting via the DWTS website, according to ABC. Voting ends after the last dance of the night.
As many cast members and viewers shared their thoughts about Jauregui’s elimination, senior Zoey Cummings, who watches the show each week, was also surprised.
“I’m shocked to see Lauren got eliminated so early,” Cummings said.
The judges have already sparked lots of controversy this season through their scoring, as some viewers felt the scores were a bit harsh at week one, according to Pop Culture.
However, on the Sept. 29 episode of “The Penthouse with Peta,” former pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy felt differently as he shared his concerns with his wife, former pro Peta Murgatroyd, that the judges’ scores were too high for the first performances.
“Right now, nothing is going to separate couples in judge’s scores; therefore, almost 100% of the decision of the vote will go to the audience,” Chmerkovskiy said.
In the coming weeks, the question remains: Who will take home the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy?
There are many frontrunners so far in the competition. In week three, Leavitt and Olympian Jordan Chiles tied for first place, each scoring 24 out of 30.
Richter, though tied for last, brought charm through his heartwarming performance to “Northern Attitude” by Noah Kahan, grabbing the camera during his rendition of the “Hozier’s Yell” trend on TikTok.
“After seeing how good the contestants are, I think that this competition will be tougher than last year,” Cummings said. “There’s more people in the running for the top spot.”
Despite the fan appeal, the show’s content from this season still brings in the question asked in the review last year: Is this show still worth the watch?
While the show retained its PG content rating from IMDb, some dances from TikTok night — I’m looking at you, Whitney Leavitt — were not the most appropriate for younger audiences. Common Sense Media recommends the show for viewers age 10 and above, mainly due to occasional language and the way certain dances can be sexualized.
Nonetheless, fans of the show can find entertainment this fall as they anticipate who will take home the trophy. Other themes this season include Disney Night Oct. 7, Halloween Night Oct. 28 and the show’s 20th Birthday Party Nov. 11, according to Cosmopolitan.
Eleven couples remain, providing many more weeks of competition to come. Season 34 will run until the finale Nov. 25. Watch Tuesdays at 8 p.m. EST live on ABC and Disney+.
Garman is a copy editor for the Liberty Champion.