DWTS Announces 14 Million Votes Received for Season 33 Elimination of Season 1

Dancing with the stars is breaking a long-standing tradition by publishing the total number of viewer votes after 33 seasons.

ABC told deadline On Monday, October 7, fan engagement on the show is stronger than ever. According to the outlet, it was the September 24th episode – when viewers were watching Anna Delvey and partners Ezra Sosa as well as Tori spelling and her partner, Pasha Pashkovis eliminated – there were more than 14 million fan votes.

The total was the highest in a single episode in series history. “This week's record number of votes suggests to me that much of our audience is very passionate about many of our stars this year, and the year-on-year ratings increases suggest this is the case.” DWTS Executive producer Conrad Green told deadline.

The DWTS The Season 33 premiere averaged 7.32 million total viewers after seven days of viewing on ABC, Disney+, Hulu and other platforms. After two episodes DWTS averaged a 0.81 rating among adults 18-49 among L+3 viewers.

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“At its core, as always, it’s the cast that makes the season,” said Green. “This group of stars are genuinely likeable, talented and love being on the show – and that passion for what they do really shines through on live television. There is real dance talent throughout the cast and many unique stories, as well as so much potential in the couples to grow as performers.”

In addition to Delvey and Spelling, the cast of the dance competition series also includes the former Bachelor Joey Graziadei, The Real Housewives of Atlanta star Phaedra Parks and Team USA gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik. Viewers can vote up to 10 times for each couple.

“Also, Dancing with the stars is a really positive show at a time when things are pretty dark in the world, so there's a certain escapism and sense of community that comes with watching it that reminds us of what we have in common as Americans,” said Green. “We’ve also been on the air long enough now that a new generation of viewers are watching with their children, and the show’s popularity has exploded on social apps like TikTok, attracting new viewers.”

After Delvey was voted off the show last month, he hit out DWTSand claimed the show was using her for ratings. “I feel like the show was blatantly using me to boost ratings, that they never intended to give me a chance to develop, and only cared about exploiting me for attention,” she claimed in an interview with NBC News. “It was predatory of them to make me feel inadequate and stupid even though I was getting better, but they chose to ignore it.”

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Delvey added that she felt like she was “never really given a fair chance by the viewers or some of the judges given her nonsensical scoring.” Delvey noticed this too DWTS “should be a dance competition and not a popularity contest.”

After a week break, Dancing with the stars will air simultaneously on Monday, October 7th and Tuesday, October 8th at 8pm ET on ABC and Disney+. Episodes are available to stream the next day on Hulu and Disney+.