Dancing With the Stars alums Peta Murgatroyd and Maks Chmerkovskiy agreed that the show has “always” been a “popularity contest” in an interview with E! News.
Has DWTS lost the plot?
Peta, the professional dancer who last appeared on season 32, addressed the show’s current format of determining a winner. She doesn’t believe that the Mirrorball Trophy always goes to the “most-improved” celebrity.
“It’s always been how it’s been: a popularity contest. So, the best dancer doesn’t always win.” Peta reminded the audience she won with stars with “zero” dance experience. “I’ve won with two non-dancers. People are going to vote for who they love.”
Maks agreed, arguing that DWTS shares the same voting element as some of the other “biggest shows” on television. “Twenty years later, it’s still the only show that you can watch with four generations, and each will find something interesting in it.”
The DWTS renaissance:
And with social media, where content from rehearsals and backstage can be shared, Maks said he’s noticed a “resurgence” of interest in DWTS that may have lead to this season’s record-breaking number of votes for contestants.
“It was the marriage of what’s in now, TikTok, with a product that’s a juggernaut on television,” he explained. “TikTok is based on dance. Why not marry the two and then see both grow?”
Plus, as Peta pointed out, having influencers with large online followers compete “blows it up even more.” She marveled at DWTS‘ popularity, “Holy moly, this is exploding. It’s very smart.”
Author’s note:
The format of the show doesn’t allow those of us on the West Coast to vote based on the week’s performances. Fans in Pacific Standard Time get DWTS at 8pm. Those on the East coast get the show at 8 pm, which is three hours ahead. The show runs two hours, which is also the length of the voting window.
Alas, eliminations are made, with the show ending for a full hour before it even begins on the West Coast.
The reason I mention this – How could DWTS NOT be a popularity contest when half of the audience doesn’t get to see the episode before being forced to cast their vote?!?!
To the DWTS execs … Bring back the two-night model with performance night and results night and give us a chance to vote on the weekly dances!!!
