Overview - Dancing with the Stars

Overview

The competition sees celebrities perform choreographed dance routines which are judged by a panel of renowned ballroom experts and voted on by viewers. Enjoy sizzling salsas, sambas and spray-tans as they vie for the coveted Mirrorball Trophy.

Seasons

• Name: Specials

  Episode: 11

  Date first aired: 2008-05-07

• Name: Season 1

  Episode: 8

  The first season of Dancing with the Stars debuted on ABC on June 1, 2005. Six celebrities were paired with six professional ballroom dancers. Tom Bergeron and Lisa Canning were the hosts for this season. The premiere drew over 13 million viewers, the biggest summer debut ever for an American reality series. The second week climbed to 15 million viewers, and the show climbed to No. 1 in the summer 2005 TV season ratings, where it remained for the remainder of the season. The season finale aired July 6, 2005.

  Date first aired: 2005-06-01

• Name: Season 2

  Episode: 16

  The second season of the U.S. edition of Dancing with the Stars premiered on the ABC network on January 5, 2006, and ended February 24, 2006. This season expanded to ten couples from six in the previous season. Season two expanded each program from an hour to 90 minutes, and added an hour-long results show the following night. Two couples were declared safe in an earlier portion of the show, the remaining couples were then named off until only the bottom two were left.

  Date first aired: 2006-01-05

• Name: Season 3

  Episode: 20

  The third season of Dancing With the Stars premiered on September 12, 2006 and ended November 15, 2006. The number of couples expanded from ten the previous season to 11. For this season, the scoring system was changed. Fan vote only counted for 25% of the total score and scoring was now translated directly from percentages rather than into ordinals. The judges scores were added up, and each performer was given points based on the percentage of the total points distributed among all performers. The fan vote was handled the same way, with the points based on how much of the total fan vote the star received. The results shows of this season featured the Slim Fast Dance Challenge, where Tysonia Sichinga and Christian Perry illustrated how exercise such as dancing could aid weight loss. Unfortunately, Tysonia wound up gaining 5 pounds from what she said, "too much Slim Fast".

  Date first aired: 2006-09-12

• Name: Season 4

  Episode: 20

  The fourth season of Dancing with the Stars premiered on March 19, 2007 and aired until May 22, 2007. To avoid direct competition with Fox's American Idol, Dancing with the Stars changed time slots from the previous season. In this season, the performance show aired on Mondays, and the results show aired on Tuesdays. No elimination was scheduled for the first week, in order to allow viewers two weeks to see all of the couples perform both Latin and Standard ballroom dances. This season was broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom on Sunday afternoons from Sunday, July 15, 2007. Captions appeared on screen throughout the show to remind viewers that this was recorded earlier in the year and that they could not vote on the outcome. None of the first three seasons was screened in the UK. This season beat season two for the highest amount of perfect scores awarded, and fifteen perfect scores were awarded.

  Date first aired: 2007-05-19

• Name: Season 5

  Episode: 21

  The fifth season of Dancing with the Stars premiered on September 24, 2007 with a special three-night premiere week. The season ended on November 27, 2007. As with previous seasons, CTV Television Network had aired the series in Canada. "24" became the most popular lowest score per round. Eight were given to couples that landed in the bottom of the leader board. The show was hosted by Tom Bergeron, with returning judges Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli, and Carrie Ann Inaba. Co-host Samantha Harris gave birth on September 23, 2007; during her leave of absence season two champion Drew Lachey served as co-host. On October 15, 2007 Harris returned to the show. On August 29, 2007, the celebrity cast was announced on Good Morning America by host Tom Bergeron, judge Carrie Ann Inaba, and reigning celebrity champion Apolo Anton Ohno.

  Date first aired: 2007-09-24

• Name: Season 6

  Episode: 20

  The sixth season of Dancing with the Stars premiered on March 17, 2008; the first results show was a double-elimination episode airing on March 25, 2008. The show followed the format of previous seasons, with 12 couples. On May 6, 2008 DWTS had a special two-hour edition to commemorate its 100th episode. The most frequently-given score for this season was 29, which was awarded 9 times to leaders in several weeks. Kristi Yamaguchi and her partner, Mark Ballas, won the competition. Kristi & Mark combined for four of the five perfect scores given out this season; she received three of them for her three Finals dances, giving her a perfect 90 out of 90. This season, along with the previous season, season 14 and season 15 are the only ones without a score under 15 or without a score under 5 given from any judge.

  Date first aired: 2008-03-17

• Name: Season 7

  Episode: 21

  The seventh season of Dancing with the Stars premiered on September 22, 2008 as a part of ABC's fall 2008 line-up. Instead of 12 couples like previous seasons, this was the first season to showcase a lineup of 13 couples. This season also introduced four new dances: the hustle, the salsa, the jitterbug, and the west coast swing, as well as Team Dancing. Tom Bergeron and Samantha Harris return as the show's hosts. Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli, and Carrie Ann Inaba continue as the judges this season, with Michael Flatley having appeared temporarily as a guest judge for Len Goodman during week six. Only three 30s were given out this season, and all were given to the winner, Brooke Burke: once for her foxtrot in week seven, once for her freestyle in the finals, and once for her repeated favorite dance, the Viennese waltz, also in the finals. This is the first and so far only season where all perfect 30s were given to one person. The official cast announcement was made on the morning of August 25, 2008 on Good Morning America. This is the third season to have its cast announced on GMA.

  Date first aired: 2008-09-22

• Name: Season 8

  Episode: 21

  Season eight of Dancing with the Stars premiered on Monday, March 9, 2009, as part of ABC's spring line-up. The show generally followed the format of previous seasons, with 13 couples, although there were some changes, including two new dances, and an occasional dance-off between the bottom two couples, in order to determine who will be eliminated. The show was again hosted by Tom Bergeron and Samantha Harris. Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli and Carrie Ann Inaba all returned as judges again this season. Originally, the season was advertised as the first U.S. season where a husband and wife would compete against each other: rodeo champion Ty Murray and singer-songwriter Jewel. The two had married the previous year after a ten-year courtship. However, just prior to the series, Jewel fractured both her tibias and was unable to perform. She was replaced on the show by Playboy model Holly Madison. Murray chose to continue on the show, and Jewel appeared during the season as a special musical guest. Nancy O'Dell, the then co-host of Access Hollywood, was also originally announced to be on the show, but was forced to withdraw from the competition due to a torn meniscus, which required surgery. She was replaced by Melissa Rycroft, a former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader who won season 13 of The Bachelor. She only had two days to practice her first dance.

  Date first aired: 2009-03-09