Is "Dancing With The Stars" Healing America?

Something strange is happening on Tuesday nights: Gen Z is watching legacy TV. Yes, not many shows premiering in 2025 can say they have been on air for over 20 years and have a base demographic of 18-35. In fact, only one show can say this: Dancing with the Stars. What’s more? It’s Live. 

Growing up, the phenomenon of watching a live show, voting over the phone, and waiting to talk about it with your friends the next day was commonplace. Setting the clock for a certain time slot and rushing to the bathroom during an ad spot seemed to be a thing of the past. But now, it’s not only the format of one of the top shows in America; it may be just what America needs to heal our divide. Could we be unified with a show about Ballroom Dancing? 

For those unfamiliar, Dancing With The Stars premiered in 2005 as a BBC Studios production of the English dancing competition, Strictly Come Dancing. While the show amassed a following throughout the 2010s, it plateaued in viewership in the early 2020s with an average viewer age of 65, right in line with most other legacy network television shows' decline. The unique set-up of combining celebrities with professional dancers and watching their progress each week remained a fan favorite, but it wasn’t until 2025 that their demographic totally shifted, and in turn, has introduced an entirely new segment of America to classical dancing styles. 

So what changed? Due to tactful marketing moves like including themes for each week that will resonate with younger viewers like “TikTok night” or integrating it with other promotions like “Wicked” to mark the upcoming release of Wicked: For Good premiering in late November, Dancing With the Stars is riding the wave of the social media algorithms, especially by including a cast of notable influencers and reality TV stars like Alix Earle and stars of the hit Hulu show The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. Each couple must start their rehearsal week with a mandatory TikTok content creation hour where they create a handful of trending clips together to share on their massive social platforms each day leading up to the show… and it has been a hit. Clearly, the marketing team has done something right. 

But while this is certainly a clever strategy to redirect and resurrect the audience of this long-time network staple, the reintroduction of a show about the arts in culture shouldn’t be overlooked. We may indeed be watching the subtle rise of something that might be beckoning a respect for structure, technique, and classical artistry in culture once again. 

Dylan Ephron and Danielle Karagach

The approach towards artistry for decades now has been a post- and meta-modern position of self-expression and self-taught styling in different media. The pursuit of excellence that requires mastery and restraint is a rare message in today’s media landscape, which promises that if you shout loud enough, want something enough, or feel something deep enough, that is the final authority. But ballroom dance and its similar stylings performed on the show have reminded viewers that there are objective truths to self-expression: the grace and lines of the waltz and the fast-footwork of a quickstep aren’t quick to be learned. This week's viral recreation of a lift performed by Dylan Ephron (younger brother to actor Zac Ephron) and pro Daniella Karagach exemplifies just how much real artistry takes time, sweat, and a commitment to the hierarchy of form over impulse. 

In our age that strips the world of meaning, classical dances like these show that we restore meaning to the world through form. Certain shapes, movements, and stories have endured throughout history as a form of expression for a reason. Here, younger viewers are tapping into a folklore that has been lost in most other places in culture. Dance is a way of preserving our heritage that must be remembered. 

The show’s active effort to remove any political bias is also a breath of fresh air, and the ability to bond with viewers around a show from all political leanings and walks of life is a rare resurgence. Iconic TV host, Tom Bergeron, stepped down in 2019 after voicing concerns about maintaining this apolitical stance when former U.S. Press Secretary Sean Spicer was cast. Tom is missed dearly. 

Further, a viewer might expect that a Hollywood production built around the arts and a celebrity cast would follow the same patterns as many contemporary shows that center on cultural or ideological messaging. Instead, this show takes a different approach. Among the current roster of professional dancers, only a small number publicly identify as part of the LGBTQ community, while most partnerships reflect traditional pairings. All participants are treated with respect, yet personal identities are not the focus. The emphasis remains on craft, discipline, and the shared pursuit of beauty on the dance floor. Several families are integrated into the show, foremost of which are host Julianne Hough and her brother, judge Derek Hough, who is expecting a baby this December with his wife, DWTS veteran Hayley Erbert. Family has become an underlying theme for the show. While male dancers have been bullied for their passion for dance for decades, Dancing With The Stars presents these men as real athletes who are providing a strong frame in which their female partners can flourish. Like the alto and soprano in a song, the male and female dancers here complement one another on and off the dance floor, helping one another shine. 

Dancing With The Stars may shine as another reality series platforming big names and viral moments, but there is a shift happening far beneath the surface. This may be one of the most organic seasons yet, as the producers have stepped away from manufactured drama and editing, leaving fans to simply celebrate the technique, chemistry, and artistry and lean into dance. In an age of division, this show has brought back the community element of entertainment with an old-school experience in the modern age, and with over 50 million votes last week, the revival of this ballroom show has only just begun. With the three-hour finale taking place next week, America will be entertained, but also reminded that dance is a form of apprenticeship, hierarchy, mastery, and the best kind of self-expression and unity we desperately need.