Dancing with the Stars’ 33rd Season Premiere with High Viewership

Published: September 23, 2024

DANCING WITH THE STARS Season 33 Premiere with High Viewership

Author: Movieguide® Contributor

The 33rd season premiere of DANCING WITH THE STARS (DWTS) drew a larger audience than the previous season, with a significant increase in interest among younger viewers.

The DWTS Season 33 premiere drew an audience of 4.97 million viewers, up 4% from the Season 32 premiere last fall, according to Deadline. The show also saw a 14% year-over-year increase among viewers 18-49. DWTS previously saw a surge in viewership among that demographic at the end of last season thanks to “Taylor Swift’s night.”

While there are a lot of stars dancing this season, many of them have gained fame through the Olympics or their work with Netflix. Contestants include gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik, rugby player Ilona Maher, actor Chandler Kinney, actress Tori Spelling and con artist Anna Delvey, whose story was the basis for INVENTING ANNA.

Other stars include former NFL player Danny Amendola, THE BACHELOR star Joey Graziadei, NBA star Dwight Howard, model Brooks Nader, REAL HOUSEWIVES OF ATLANTA star Phaedra Parks, actor Eric Roberts, THE BACHELORETTE star Jenn Tran and actor Reginald Veljohnson.

The first episode of the season featured contestants dancing to a song of their choosing that they felt represented them or the professional they were paired with. To give them a chance to learn the ropes and have fun in their first competition, the first episode did not feature any eliminations, but the second episode would see two contestants go home to keep the competition on track.

This season is hosted by Julianne Hough and Alfonso Ribeiro, with judges Derek Hough, Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli.

Chandler Kinney and Dwight Howard held the top two spots after the first episode, while Eric Roberts and Reginald Veljohnson found themselves in last place.

Movieguide® previously reported on Hough:

Derek Hough knows his wife Hayley Erbert’s recovery has been nothing short of a miracle.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, the DANCING WITH THE STARS celebrity shared her thoughts on recovering from an emergency craniotomy and cranioplasty.

“It’s nothing short of a miracle, honestly,” he said. “Both Hayley and I have expressed our gratitude to the medical staff and everyone who was so good at what they did and did everything they could and did an amazing job.”

Initially, doctors believed Erbert would suffer permanent damage, but to their surprise, no long-term damage was found.

“Hypothetically or even metaphorically, we felt this beautiful energy from everyone and it was really special. I think every day there’s a victory, there’s a triumph, there’s a step forward. I think the hardest thing is reliving some of those moments. They creep up on you and pop into your head. I think they’re so hard,” Hough told Fox News Digital.