EntertainmentDancing with the Stars recently celebrated its 20th anniversary — but that’s not why it’s been the talk of Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and, yes, water coolers everywhere this season. Blending nostalgia with a new kind of stardom, the show has successfully reimagined the dance competition for a new generation. Combination of strategic social media and star casting has brought a surge in viewershipAmelia Eqbal · CBC News · Posted: Nov 25, 2025 4:00 AM EST | Last Updated: 7 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 6 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Valentin Chmerkovskiy and Alix Earle perform in the ballroom on Prince Night during the semi-finals of Season 34 of Dancing with the Stars. (Eric McCandless/Disney)As the record-setting Season 34 of Dancing with the Stars comes to a close in Tuesday night’s finale, it’s clear that the show has officially fox-trotted, cha-cha’d and jived its way back onto the screens and into the hearts of more fans than ever before — thanks in part to vested interest from a new generation.Now in its 20th year, the ballroom dancing competition show has seen its ratings climb with each episode this season and broken its record for most votes received multiple times. According to Variety, last week’s semi-final episode had the best performance among viewers aged 18-34 in a decade, and saw an all-time high of 55.9 million votes cast.It has also managed to make its Tuesday night simulcast on both ABC and via Disney+ appointment television, becoming water cooler conversation in an otherwise fragmented media landscape.”Dancing with the Stars has been a reality TV stalwart for some time,” entertainment journalist Natalie Jarvey told CBC news. Over the course of its run, however, she said there was a point where “the novelty of the show wore off a little bit.”The reasons for the renewed interest are simple, perhaps even obvious, but nonetheless effective: star casting that features internet celebrities with high viral potential and a TikTok-driven social strategy fit for a generation that loves to watch people dance — not to mention watch TV — on their phone.Up until 2022, Dancing with the Stars “didn’t really worry itself too much with keeping up with trends,” said New York Times reporter Shivani Gonzalez. In her article about last season, Gonzalez wrote that the show’s audience had “a median age of 63.5 in 2022.””That formula they had going on worked perfectly for them,” she told CBC News.WATCH | Charli D’Amelio’s guest performance on Season 34’s TikTok Night:But, as Gonzalez noted, the show began to evolve in 2022. For starters, that year there was a short-lived experiment where the show was only available to watch via streaming on Disney+. Dancing with the Stars returned to ABC the following year.That year also saw the show pivot toward casting viral celebrities like dancer and TikTok superstar Charli D’Amelio, who ended up winning Season 31. Gonzalez described the decision to cast D’Amelio as mutually beneficial for both the show and the TikToker, as it not only brought in younger viewers but also allowed the social media personality to legitimize herself as a performer — a trend she sees continuing with TikToker Alix Earle this season.”I feel like [before 2022] you saw a lot of contestants who were like, ‘I don’t know what this show is and I don’t know what I’m doing here.’ Whereas now it feels a lot more like it’s something really desirable,” Gonzalez said.Jarvey agreed, pointing out that the cast this season in particular covers a lot of different online niches with the inclusion of The Traitors winner Dylan Efron, Olympian Jordan Chiles and two stars from The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.WATCH | Dylan Efron performs during Dancing with the Stars Season 34’s Prince Night:”There’s a whole constellation of people bringing their different disparate audiences from social media to the show, and I do think it’s kind of created … a magic recipe for success,” Jarvey said.Given the popularity of dance trends on platforms like TikTok, Gonzalez said the decision to cast popular personalities from social media “reads very seamlessly.” The show has even leaned into the idea so far as to have a whole episode dedicated to songs and dances that have trended on TikTok.What’s remarkable is that the inclusion of internet celebrities hasn’t necessarily alienated long-time fans, either.”You’ll see comments from older people online being like, ‘I had no idea who Alix Earle was, but she’s a phenomenal dancer,'” Gonzalez said.”I can’t think of any other show that has had that type of successful rebrand without completely kicking off their past viewership.” Like, comment, subscribe … and voteFrom full performance videos to behind-the-scenes footage and trendy videos, there is no shortage of Dancing with the Stars content to consume online between episodes each week.This season, the show has even introduced a TikTok livestream during episode broadcasts, hosted by some of their professional dancers. Not to mention, there’s also an official podcast hosted by Season 33 winner and former The Bachelor star Joey Graziadei.”It’s almost like it’s an ecosystem within an ecosystem within an ecosystem,” Gonzalez said.From the looks of it, that media ecosystem is thriving. On YouTube, seven of the 25 most popular videos of all time from the show’s official channel are from this season (and, for the record, all feature the finale-bound conservationist Robert Irwin).Likewise, on Instagram and TikTok, everyone involved with Dancing with the Stars — from the celebrity contestants, to the professional dancers and even the musicians on the show — routinely get hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of views.But with a younger and more engaged online audience comes a shift in viewer voting behaviour.”In the past I think it was very much like, ‘I’m gonna vote for who I think is best, or who I like or who has charmed me.’ Whereas now, it’s a lot of fan culture,” Gonzalez said.There is a trade-off that comes with this level of virality, however.Gonzalez said she thinks there’s “probably more of an inclination” to create choreography that is not only compelling for judges, but enticing for the average viewer.”People see it and they’re like, ‘Maybe I could try that’ — that’s where that virality comes from,” she said. “And to be able to do that, you do have to probably lessen the difficulty of the choreography a bit.”While Dancing with the Stars has undoubtedly leaned into fun, catchy themes like Disney night, Jarvey said “it’s very clear … that the dance is still the most important piece of this show.”As for whose dance skills will reign supreme at the end of this season, both Gonzalez and Jarvey think it’ll come down to either Robert Irwin or Alix Earle.ABOUT THE AUTHORAmelia Eqbal is a Toronto-based journalist with CBC’s entertainment unit. She has previously contributed to Q with Tom Power, Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud and CBC Books. You can find her at amelia.eqbal@cbc.ca.
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