Dancing With the Stars is having one of its best seasons in years, but could it all fall apart at the final hurdle?
The long-running competition series has had one of the most robust rosters of performers possibly ever, which has put all eyes squarely on the competition.
Of course, the season started controversially with Anna Delvey’s stunt casting, but the convicted fraudster is a distant memory.
That said, fans were shocked on Tuesday evening when the two-hour semi-finals played out before it was revealed that everyone performing on the evening would advance to next week’s season finale.
Eliminations are typically the backbone of any good competition series, so DWTS isn’t the same without them, and the decision could affect the finale.
Five finalists and many group numbers mean that the final episode of Season 33 will be an overstuffed affair that could ruin the show’s big creative comeback.
Understandably, fans took to social media to voice their displeasure about the lack of eliminations and the pressure on the show to pull off a big conclusion.
Viewers question how the DWTS finale will work
One viewer used a GIF of Steve Harvey to get their point across about the decision.
It’s a fair point because, from a marketing perspective, promoting a semi-final implies that some people won’t make it to the next stage.
Another fan said they miss when “eliminations happened when they were supposed to.”
“Let’s go back to scoring low and sending people home every week for the next season.”
It’s not too much to ask, is it?
Another fan believed the producers had nixed eliminations because the finale had been expanded to three hours.
Now that the series is proceeding with an extended finale, predicting who will win the coveted Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy is more complicated.
The finale will feature more strong performances
The final couples set to compete in the finale are Chandler Kinney and Brandon Armstrong, Joey Graziadei and Jenna Johnson, Ilona Maher and Alan Bersten, Stephen Nedoroscik and Rylee Arnold, and Danny Amendola and Witney Carson.
It will be a tough race, but there is an element of excitement because all of these duos are so strong that we won’t be able to predict how it will shake out.
While the scores will play a big part in picking the winner, viewers also have skin in the game because they can vote for their favorite, so there is the possibility that scores will be too close, meaning it will become a popularity contest.
What are your thoughts on the lack of semi-final eliminations?
Dancing With the Stars airs on ABC on Tuesdays at 8/7c. You can stream full episodes on Disney+ and Hulu.