After several weeks of intense performances and nail-biting eliminations, the Season 32 finale of Dancing With the Stars is about to air on the 2023 TV schedule, and it is closing out the show a tad different this time. Last week’s semi-finals ended in a shocking twist that saw no one going home. For the first time, five couples will be dancing for their lives in the finale and competing one last time for the first-ever Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy. To celebrate it all, the series is giving viewers a supersized finale, but it honestly might have been better if it was reversed.
Just like the semi-finals, all five couples will be doing two routines. On top of that, finalist and Grammy winner Jason Mraz will be performing his song “I Feel Like Dancing” alongside the pros who will be going on the DWTS Live Tour in 2024. Reigning champs Charli D’Amelio and Mark Ballas will also be doing a routine, and there will be some surprise guests. It sounds like they are fitting a lot into the finale, which is why it’s three hours long. However, wouldn’t it have been better if the premiere was three hours long instead?
While the finale is going to be three hours, the premiere was only two and a half hours. Fourteen couples started out this season, and to pack so numbers in that short amount of time was a lot. It would have been nice to really get to know the stars and the pros, mostly to see more of the couples’ dynamics from the jump. However, the shorter runtime made it hard to accomplish that.
If the premiere had three hours, it would have given us time to get acquainted with all the contestants, and it would have provided more time for meaningful judge feedback. Overall, I do think it makes more sense for the premiere to be longer than the finale.
The reason for the finale being longer is likely because there are more viewers and interest in the contestants. Also, the amount of ads that will be running and the number of sponsors that the show will likely be getting are higher. So, yes, it makes sense that the final episode is longer than the premiere, but I still think things should be switched.
Even though they will be packing a lot into the season finale, this just means viewers will be waiting even longer to see who wins. The good thing about the three hours is people will have more time to vote, which is going to be as crucial as ever. Votes and judges’ scores from last week are going to be carried over to tonight’s finale, but as always, viewers will want to vote if they want to see their favorite win.
The five finalists in the supersized finale are just the latest change for DWTS Season 32. After two seasons on Disney+, the series moved back to ABC, but it is still airing live simultaneously on the streamer. Julianne Hough made her debut as co-host alongside Alfonso Ribeiro too, replacing Tyra Banks. As previously mentioned, the coveted Mirrorball Trophy has been renamed the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy to honor late judge Len Goodman, who passed away earlier this year. Meaning that winning this season is exceptionally important.
Hopefully, with so much going on in the finale, all ten routines don’t happen one after the other. It’s hard to tell how the episode will go, as it really could be either a hit or a miss. However, at least viewers know that there will always be something going on, and it’s going to be a finale you won’t want to miss. Be sure to watch the Dancing with the Stars Season 32 finale tonight, starting at 8 p.m. ET on ABC or with a Disney+ subscription.
