Dancing With The Stars wraps up with the strongest-rated finale in 9 years

Dancing with the Stars season 34 concluded with the final performances of the celebrity participants, along with their pro dancers, premiering on Tuesday, November 25, 2025, on ABC.

The high-stakes finale ended with crowning 21-year-old animal conservationist Robert Irwin and Witney Carson with the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy.

Social media personality Alix Earle and Val Chmerkovskiy became the runner-up. Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles and Ezra Sosa finished third, followed by Dylan Efron and Daniella Karagach, who came in fourth.

The Parent Trap actor Elaine Hendrix and her pro partner Alan Bersten finished in fifth place after a journey filled with ups and downs, including an injury that caused her to miss a performance and even sent her to the hospital.

One more remarkable thing that happened in the Dancing with the Stars season 34 was its strong viewership, which achieved a milestone, breaking the nine-year mark.

The final episode of the ABC ballroom dancing reality competition, which streamed from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. PT, scored 9.24 million viewers across ABC and Disney+, according to Nielsen National Live+Same Day ratings and data.

Which records were broken in Dancing with the Stars season 34 finale episode?

Dancing with the Stars closed out its 34th season with a strong ratings achievement, delivering its biggest finale audience in nine years and marking a major high point in the show’s 20th anniversary season.

The finale, which aired on November 25, 2025, drew an impressive 9.24 million viewers across ABC and Disney+, according to Nielsen Live+Same Day data.

That number represents a massive 45% jump from last year’s finale and stands as the show’s strongest finish since 2016.

Among adults of 18–49, the series nearly doubled last season’s performance with a 2.15 rating, which was the highest since Bindi Irwin’s season in 2015.

Robert Irwin, who was crowned with the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy in the finale along with Witney Carson, achieved this feat, making it special because his sister Bindi Irwin had won the show exactly a decade ago in 2015.

And now, the viewership record of Bindi's season has also been broken by the current season's finale, which was won by her brother, Robert, making it even more meaningful.

Apart from the traditional voting, fan engagement reached historic levels, with a record-breaking 72 million votes cast during the finale.

It followed a previously record-setting Dancing with the Stars semifinal round that pulled in 55.9 million votes.

Social media viewership was also impressive, with 6.9 million total interactions, making the show the No. 1 most social program on all of television across both broadcast and cable, as well as the most social primetime episode of the year to date.

The finale grew 109% over the season average and was up 67% compared to last year’s final episode.

The show earned a 2.55 rating among adults 18–34, which is its strongest in that age group since 2011. 

Dancing with the Stars season 34 also kicked off with its strongest-viewed premiere in five years, pulling in 5.53 million viewers on September 16, 2025.

From there, the audience continued to grow, hitting 6.63 million on Wicked night and 6.74 million on Halloween night.

However, some disputes caused slight drops during Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Night and the show’s 20th birthday celebration, but the ratings rose immediately for the semifinals, which drew 7.22 million viewers.

The finale itself reached major milestones apart from its viewership records, capturing 53% of the available TV audience in the 18–34 age group, a feat that no broadcast channel had achieved since the Friends finale in 2004.

The episode even ranked as TV’s top entertainment telecast since ABC’s airing of the Oscars, with its 9.24 million viewers.

ABC also announced that Dancing with the Holidays will start after the conclusion of the dance reality show, which will premiere on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, at 8:00-9:00 p.m. ET/PT, featuring festive-themed routines, dazzling musical performances, and special holiday greetings.

Stay tuned for more updates.