“Dancing With the Stars” Season 34 is off to an impressive start, with viewership for the premiere episode climbing to 8.13 million viewers after just three days of viewing on ABC, Hulu, Disney+ and digital platforms, TheWrap can reveal exclusively.
The Season 34 premiere, which also scored a 1.79 rating among adults 18-49 according to live-plus-three-day Nielsen figures, scored the show’s best telecast since the 2020-2021 season, and soared past viewership for the Season 33 premiere in both measurements. The Season 34 premiere saw a 18% uptick in total viewers as compared to the Season 33 premiere’s viewership of 6.91 million, as well as a 58% increase from the 1.13 rating garnered by last season’s opener.
Additionally, the premiere outpaced the ABC show’s Season 33 average by 19% among total viewers, as well as and by 52% among adults 18-49.
On Disney+ and Hulu alone, “Dancing With the Stars” set a streaming record for the show’s all-time viewership high based on views after three days, though Disney did not provide exact viewing data.
In addition, fan voting kicked off with 21 million votes cast for the premiere, marking a 163% uptick when compared to last season’s premiere episode, which scored 8 million votes.
The premiere also stirred up attention on social media to become the No. 1 most social TV program of the night as it earned 2.7 million total social interactions. The social impressions for the Season 34 premiere rose 58% over the Season 33 premiere, which scored 1.7 million social impressions.
This season’s celebrity cast includes “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” stars Whitney Leavitt and Jen Affleck, Robert Irwin, Alix Earle, Hilaria Baldwin, Jordan Chiles, Dylan Efron, Scott Hoying, Elaine Hendrix, Danielle Fishel and Corey Feldman, among others. “Dancing With the Stars” is filmed in front of a live audience and produced by BBC Studios.
“Dancing With the Stars” returns for “One Hit Wonders Night” on Tuesday, Sept. 23 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and Disney+, and streams the next day on Hulu.
