“Dancing With the Stars” Season 34 Finale Breaks Records
“Dancing With the Stars” Season 34 finale night was a historic moment for the show, as it broke its own records week after week. The three-hour episode on Nov. 26 culminated in Robert Irwin and Witney Carson winning the Len Goodman Mirrorball trophy, captivating 9.24 million total viewers and earning a 2.15 rating with adults 18-49.
Among adults 18-49, the show saw a significant increase from last season’s finale, almost doubling the rating (2.15 vs. 1.14). This marked the strongest finale result in a decade, since Bindi Irwin’s victory in November 2015 with partner Derek Hough.
The episode became the most-watched finale in nine years, surpassing the Season 23 finale where Laurie Hernandez and Val Chmerkovskiy emerged victorious. It also saw a double-digit rise in viewership compared to last year’s finale.
According to ABC, the finale became the top entertainment telecast since the Oscars earlier in the year, leading in both total viewers and adults 18-49. It secured a 53% audience share in the demographic, the highest share for a broadcast entertainment series telecast since the 2004 finale of “Friends.”
The episode also saw a surge in voting participation, with a staggering 72 million votes cast, more than doubling last year’s finale count. This marked a 31% increase over the show’s previous high during the semifinals, with nearly half a billion votes cast throughout the season.
Social media engagement continued to grow, with 6.9 million total social interactions during the finale, a 109% increase over the current season average and a 67% rise from the previous season finale.
The finale featured five couples vying for the coveted Len Goodman mirrorball trophy, each performing three different dances: a judges’ pick, an insta dance (chosen five minutes before with the style and song revealed), and a freestyle.
In the end, Robert Irwin, who consistently topped the leaderboard throughout the season, emerged as the winner, clinching the mirrorball trophy with partner Witney Carson.
