Dancing with the Stars (U.S. TV series)

Hosts

Tom Bergeron has been the host since the program's premiere in 2005. In season 1, his co-host was Lisa Canning. She was replaced by Samantha Harris for seasons 2 through 9 (2006–09), who was then replaced by Brooke Burke-Charvet from seasons 10 through 17 (2010–13). Erin Andrews took over as co-host starting in season 18 (2014). Drew Lachey served as a temporary replacement for Harris during season 5 (2007) during her absence for 3 weeks due to maternity leave. Leah Remini filled in for Andrews in week 6 of season 19, due to commitments with the 2014 World Series and filled in for her again in weeks 6 and 7 of season 21 for the 2015 World Series.^[7][8] Season 19 champion Alfonso Ribeiro filled in for Bergeron on week 4 of season 21, due to Bergeron's ailing father.^[9]

Judging panel

The regular judges are Len Goodman, who serves as head judge, Carrie Ann Inaba, and Bruno Tonioli. Goodman was absent for much of season 19, all of season 21, and much of season 23. Julianne Hough, who was a professional dancing partner for seasons 4–8, was added as a full-time judge on the panel for three seasons, 19–21,^[10] after having been a guest judge in the previous two seasons.^[11] She did not return for season 22.^[10] Hough did return as a full-time judge for seasons 23 and 24 but did not return for seasons 25 and 26. Several former contestants appeared as judges in episode 200 (in season 11), including Hélio Castroneves, Mel B, Drew Lachey, Gilles Marini, Kelly Osbourne, and Emmitt Smith. Other celebrities, most often those who are associated with the world of dancing, former professional dancers, and past contestants have appeared as the fourth judge or in absence of one of the main judges, including Paula Abdul, Donnie Burns, Nick Carter, Cher, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Michael Flatley, Kevin Hart, Jessie J, Rashad Jennings, Baz Luhrmann, Ricky Martin, Idina Menzel, Abby Lee Miller, Mandy Moore, Olivia Newton-John, Kenny Ortega, Donny Osmond, Pitbull, Redfoo, Alfonso Ribeiro, Robin Roberts, David Ross, Shania Twain, and Zendaya.

Cast timeline

Color key:

Couples

A total of 309 celebrities have appeared in the 27 seasons of the series. For each season, the celebrities are paired with a professional partner who instructs them in the various dances each week and competes alongside them in the televised competition. A total of 45 professional partners have appeared alongside celebrities, some for only one season (mostly in the earliest seasons).

Key:

Dance troupe and musicians

In season 12, the show introduced the troupe consisting of professional dancers who perform on the show but are not paired with celebrity partners.^[12] The first troupe in season 12 included Oksana Dmytrenko, Tristan MacManus, Peta Murgatroyd, Kiki Nyemchek, Nicole Volynets, and Ted Volynets.^[13] Members of the season 27 troupe are Artur Adamski, Hayley Erbert, Britt Stewart, Morgan Larson and Vladislav Kvartin. Other past troupe members include Brandon Armstrong, Lindsay Arnold, Alan Bersten, Sharna Burgess, Henry Byalikov, Witney Carson, Brittany Cherry, Dasha Chesnokova, Artem Chigvintsev, Sasha Farber, Shannon Holtzapffel, Dennis Jauch, Jenna Johnson, Kiril Kulish, Tristan MacManus, Keo Motsepe, Kiki Nyemchek, Sonny Fredie Pedersen, Gleb Savchenko, Emma Slater and Julz Tocker.

Key:

     Active member of the troupe

     Professional partner

For 17 seasons, the Harold Wheeler orchestra and singers provided the live music for the show. On February 7, 2014, it was announced that the new bandleader is Ray Chew. Along with him is a new band of instrumentalists and singers.^[14]

Payment

On the April 18, 2006, episode of the Howard Stern Radio Show, Stern's wife Beth said that she was guaranteed to earn $125,000 for just appearing on DWTS (in season 3) and could earn up to more than double the original sum, depending on how long she lasted on the program.^[18][19]

In season 21, Bindi Irwin had her payments withheld by a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge because she was a minor, which therefore required her parents to sign-off on the contract.^[20] But although her mother signed, the contract lacked her father's signature, so the judge refused to validate the contract, despite Irwin's father being the world-famous naturalist Steve Irwin, whose death in 2006 had been widely covered in the news/media. The judge later validated the contract once Steve Irwin's death certificate was presented to the court, resulting in Bindi receiving a $350,000 paycheck from the show.^[21]

Withdrawals

The first person to withdraw from competition was Romeo in season 2.^[22] His father, Master P, took his place in the competition before the beginning of broadcasts, being partnered with Ashly DelGrosso. However, Romeo later competed in season 12^[23] and finished in 5th place. He was partnered with Chelsie Hightower.

On week six in season three, Sara Evans cited her divorce as the reason for leaving the competition. No one was eliminated that week.

Another withdrawal occurred during the run-up to season four on February 28, when Vincent Pastore withdrew from the competition after only one week of training. Pastore said he did not realize how much work was needed during a ten-week period, and that he was not up to the physical demands of the show. He was replaced on March 2 by Pixar voice actor John Ratzenberger who was partnered with Edyta Sliwinska.^[24]

In season seven, Misty May-Treanor withdrew from the competition in week three, after rupturing her Achilles tendon when rehearsing her jive with her partner, Maksim Chmerkovskiy. She did not perform the routine at all nor was she scored for it; no one else was eliminated that week.

In season eight, Jewel and Nancy O'Dell were injured before the season even began and could not compete. Jewel was diagnosed with fractured tibias in both legs; she came back later in the season to perform "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" on a results show. O'Dell suffered from a torn knee cartilage.^[25] They were replaced by Holly Madison and Melissa Rycroft who would be dancing with their partners for the rest of the season (Dmitry Chaplin and Tony Dovolani).

Tom DeLay, in season nine, withdrew in week three of competition due to a full stress fracture that had developed in both feet from an earlier pre-stress fracture in one foot. DeLay was declared safe before he announced his withdrawal during the October 6, 2009 results show. Debi Mazar was still eliminated that night despite DeLay's departure.

In season sixteen, Olympic figure skating champion Dorothy Hamill had to withdraw from the competition due to doctor's orders for a spinal injury. A cyst had developed near her lower spine, and was pinching off the nerve in that area. Either boxing champion Victor Ortiz or reality TV star Lisa Vanderpump would've been eliminated, but Hamill withdrew before the results could be announced, meaning that no one was eliminated that week.

In season eighteen, week three, actor Billy Dee Williams withdrew, by advice from a doctor, due to a chronic back problem (which resulted in no elimination that week).^[26]

In season twenty-one, week three, reality TV star Kim Zolciak-Biermann was forced to withdraw from the competition after suffering a blood clot which resulted in a mini stroke (which resulted in no elimination that week). Tamar Braxton also withdrew from the season due to blood clots in her lungs making it the first season to have two withdrawals in it.

Macy's Stars of Dance: Design a Dance

Beginning in season 7, viewers had the opportunity to vote for their favorite professional dancers (or in some cases former contestants) to perform a particular style of dance to a song, also of their choice. An online contest is also usually held so that viewers can submit drawings of outfits for the performance.

100th episode

The show celebrated its 100th episode on Tuesday, May 6, 2008, during week 8 of season 6.^[27] More than 30 former cast members and pros returned, with interviews with Stacy Keibler, Lisa Rinna, Jerry Springer, Vivica A. Fox, Joey Fatone, Kenny Mayne, Sabrina Bryan, and former winners Kelly Monaco, Drew Lachey, and Apolo Anton Ohno. Other appearances, besides the season 6 cast, included Paula Abdul (in a video introduction), Jane Seymour, Ian Ziering, Mark Cuban, Wayne Newton, Leeza Gibbons, Harry Hamlin, Shandi Finnessey, and Hélio Castroneves. New routines were performed by Apolo Anton Ohno and Julianne Hough, Mel B and Maksim Chmerkovskiy, and by Mario Lopez with the cast of A Chorus Line, in which he was starring on Broadway. The musical guest was country group Rascal Flatts.^[28]

Judges' top 10 dances

The judges also presented a countdown of their choices for the top 10 perfect-scoring dances of the 1st 5 seasons. Their choices were:

200th episode

In season 11, viewers were allowed two votes per day on the DWTS website to vote for their favorite out of 30 given choices. On Oct 25, 2010, a countdown of the Top 10 voted for dances on the show was reported to celebrate the following week when the 200th show would be.

On the actual 200th show, several dances were performed again on the show and six of the past fan favorites came back to judge; Helio Castroneves, Emmitt Smith, Drew Lachey, Kelly Osbourne, Gilles Marini, Mel B, and more. The couples re-created their most memorable routines on the 200th episode; Kristi Yamaguchi and Apolo Ohno served as team captains for the team dances. Yamaguchi's team consisted of Rick & Cheryl, Kyle & Lacey and Bristol & Mark, while Brandy & Maksim, Jennifer & Derek and Kurt & Anna were on Ohno's team. On the results show of November 2, some awards were given out to past celebrity contestants and professionals.

300th episode

The 300th episode took place on the week 9 results show of season 16.^[29] Twenty-two professional dancers who had appeared on the show, both past and present, performed an opening number choreographed by Jason Gilkinson. Past pros who performed were Chelsie Hightower, Dmitry Chaplin, Louis Van Amstel, and Anna Trebunskaya.^[30] Kellie Pickler and Derek Hough danced their "Argentine tango" as the week's encore. However, the top 10 dances were not revealed, nor were the achievements.

400th episode

The 400th episode took place on the season premiere of the twenty-fourth season. Tom Bergeron did mention so; however, no special dances took place.^[31]

10th Anniversary Special

On April 28, 2015, during season 20, a special pre-recorded episode aired as a 10th anniversary special with many former stars and professional dancers returning to the ballroom. Many past stars performed and reflected on their time on the show. Patti LaBelle, Amber Riley, and Lil' Kim performed LaBelle's "Lady Marmalade". The show closed with the largest number of people dancing in the show's history as stars, pros, hosts, and judges were all out on the dance floor.

Tributes

In seasons 9 and 10, three tribute performances were done to honor the memory of artists and others. The first was a tribute to recently deceased actor Patrick Swayze, on Sep 23, 2009. "She's Like the Wind" from the Dirty Dancing soundtrack (originally written by Swayze for Dirty Dancing), "Unchained Melody" from his film Ghost, and "(I've Had) The Time of my Life" from Dirty Dancing were performed by select professional dancers of the show.

On Oct 20, 2009, a tribute was done for singer and dancer, Michael Jackson. "I Want You Back", "Man in the Mirror", and "Thriller" were performed—the first two songs by select professional dancers of the show, with all coming together for "Thriller".

In season 10, professional Haitian dancers performed as a tribute to victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake on March 30, 2010. One of the male dancers, Emmanuel Pierre-Antoine, had lost his son in the rubble. They were dancing to "Dance Like This" by Wyclef Jean.

In season 24, to honor the passing of season 11 contestant Florence Henderson on November 24, 2016, a special tribute to Henderson was displayed on the dance floor. The season 24 premiere aired on March 20, 2017.

Average

This is a list of the celebrities with the highest averages. All averages above 27 out of a possible 30 are shown here. (Averages out of 40 were rounded to be out of 30)

Perfect scores

This is a list of celebrities who earned perfect scores (team dances are not included).

¹Shawn Johnson danced her Paso doble/Tango fusion dance with Mark Ballas instead of her partner Derek Hough due to him being injured.
²James Hinchcliffe danced his Viennese Waltz with Jenna Johnson instead of his partner Sharna Burgess due to her being injured.
³Nastia Liukin danced her Jive and Quickstep with Sasha Farber instead of her partner Derek Hough due to him being injured.
⁴For the switch-up week, Alexa PenaVega got a perfect score with Derek Hough instead of her original partner Mark Ballas.

Professionals with perfect scores

46: Derek Hough
35: Valentin Chmerkovskiy
30: Mark Ballas
21: Cheryl Burke
18: Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Lindsay Arnold
14: Karina Smirnoff
13: Sharna Burgess
11: Kym Johnson, Tony Dovolani
9: Julianne Hough, Witney Carson
7: Peta Murgatroyd
6: Allison Holker
5: Sasha Farber
4: Dmitry Chaplin, Gleb Savchenko
2: Anna Trebunskaya, Edyta Sliwinska, Emma Slater
1: Alec Mazo, Louis Van Amstel, Keo Motsepe, Jenna Johnson

Cardio dance DVDs

A DVD titled Dancing With The Stars: Cardio Dance was released on April 3, 2007, featuring Kym Johnson, Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Ashly DelGrosso. The program contains cardiovascular workouts adapted from cha-cha, Paso doble, samba, and jive dance routines.

A second DVD Dancing with the Stars: Latin Cardio Dance was released on September 13, 2008, featuring Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Cheryl Burke. The program contains cardiovascular workouts adapted from cha-cha, Merengue, samba and mambo dance routines.^[32]

Companion book

A companion book written by Guy Phillips was released in the early fall of 2007. Titled Dancing with the Stars: Jive, Samba and Tango Your Way Into The Best Shape Of Your Life, the book includes fitness routines modeled by Alec Mazo and Edyta Sliwinska, as well as original costume designs, lists of performed songs during a dance, and a complete list of song-and-dance routine performed since the first season of the show.

Spin-offs

The first Dancing spin-off, Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann, premiered on January 7, 2008, on ABC. The show's format was similar to the BBC Television series, DanceX. The show was canceled after 1 season.

A figure skating spin-off similar to ITV's Dancing on Ice called Skating with the Stars aired on ABC on November 22, 2010. The series was canceled after one season.^[33]

On May 16, 2017, a Dancing with the Stars: Juniors spin-off was announced. The dance competition spin-off was originally set to premiere in the spring of 2018 on ABC, and the format of the show will feature celebrity children and the children of celebrities paired with professional junior ballroom dancers.^[34] In January 2018, ABC stated that Dancing with the Stars: Juniors is still in the works, but didn't develop as quickly they hoped it would. Athletes Edition aired in its place, with Juniors slated to air that summer. However, In May 2018, it was announced that the series would begin airing on October 7, 2018, with filming taking place during August 2018.

Tours

An unofficial live tour show called Dancing Pros: Live! toured with several Dancing pros^[35] since 2010.^[36] A Dancing with the Stars: Live! official tour was announced on November 3, 2014, for the 2014-2015 season starting on December 27, 2014, in Niagara Falls, New York and ending February 15, 2015, hitting 33 cities.^[37] A second tour, “Dancing with the Stars Live! : Dance All Night” was announced. A third tour, Dancing with the Stars: Live! - We Came to Dance, was announced on October 3, 2016, for 43 cities from December 16, 2016, to February 14, 2017.^[38] A fourth tour, Dancing with the Stars: Light Up the Night, was announced in October 2017 and began on December 30, 2017, in Charlotte, North Carolina, performing 71 shows and ending in Los Angeles.^[39] A fifth tour, Dancing with the Stars: Live!, was announced on October 1, 2018. The tour will begin on December 15, 2018 in Columbia, South Carolina and end on February 17, 2019 in Orlando, Florida.^[40]

U.S. Nielsen ratings

Emmy Awards

The program has also been nominated for various other production-related awards since premiering in 2005, including for hairstyling, makeup, lighting design, and technical direction.

Others