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The thirty-third season of Dancing with the Stars aired live on ABC and Disney+, premiering on September 17, 2026 and concluding on November 26, 2026. Across ten episodes the series balanced themed showcases, voting milestones and headline-making casting choices. This recap summarizes the hosts and judges, the celebrity lineup and professional roster adjustments, the standout episodes and how the final leaderboard shaped up.
Throughout the season the program leaned into spectacle and competition. Returning hosts Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough guided the live broadcasts while judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli anchored critiques. Guest judges included Rosie Perez, Gene Simmons and Mark Ballas, each bringing different perspectives and, in Simmons’s case, controversy. By season’s end, Joey Graziadei (The Bachelor) and professional partner Jenna Johnson were crowned champions.
Cast, firsts and behind-the-scenes shifts
The celebrity roster combined athletes, actors and reality stars. Notable entrants included Olympic artistic gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik and Olympic rugby player Ilona Maher, the first competitors from men’s artistic gymnastics and rugby sevens respectively to appear on the show. The casting also generated headlines when socialite-turned-convicted fraudster Anna Delvey joined the lineup; she competed while under house arrest and, with permission from ICE, traveled to Los Angeles wearing an ankle monitor — a first for the series. These unconventional elements kept the season in the news beyond choreography and scores.
On the professional side, the season saw roster changes: former troupe member Ezra Sosa was promoted to pro, noted as the first Latino professional featured in over a decade, and Witney Carson returned after a hiatus. Some regular pros opted out — Peta Murgatroyd took the season off after the birth of her child, and Artem Chigvintsev was absent amid legal issues. There were also last-minute logistics: a reported instance had a celebrity and pro learning their partnership roughly 45 minutes before boarding a flight, highlighting the fast-paced, unpredictable nature of production.
Episode themes, voting records and judging moments
Season 33 leaned heavily on themed evenings to vary the choreography and audience appeal. Weeks included Oscars Night, a two-night special with Soul Train Night and Hair Metal Night, Dedication Night, Disney Night, a Halloween-themed show titled Halloween Nightmares, the program’s 500th episode celebration and a semifinals round leading to the three-hour finale. Several episodes featured guest judges, which temporarily shifted the scoring to a 40-point scale when an extra judge was present.
Fan engagement registered historic totals: the week tied to the Oscars theme drew over 14 million votes, then a later hair-metal broadcast received about 15 million votes — the highest single-episode tally in the show’s history. Those numbers directly influenced eliminations, including two double elimination nights early in the season. The presence of guest judges produced memorable reactions: Rosie Perez was welcomed for the Soul Train-themed night, while Gene Simmons drew criticism for remarks perceived by many viewers as inappropriate and misogynistic.
Scoring, eliminations and finale structure
The judges’ scores combined with audience voting to determine eliminations, with certain weeks featuring special rules: some nights had no elimination (scores carried over), others used dance-offs or an Instant Dance Challenge that required competitors to choreograph a short routine with minimal preparation. The semifinals used cumulative scoring to seed the finale, where couples performed a judge-selected redemption dance and a freestyle. The finale culminated on November 26, 2026 with Joey Graziadei and Jenna Johnson winning, Ilona Maher and Alan Bersten placing as runners-up, Chandler Kinney and Brandon Armstrong finishing third, Stephen Nedoroscik and Rylee Arnold fourth, and Danny Amendola with Witney Carson in fifth.
Production highlights and troupe contributions
Beyond the competitors, the season showcased new troupe members and returning pros in ensemble numbers. Choreographers and guest musicians appeared on stage — routines often accompanied soundtrack premieres and cross-promotional moments with film music. The 500th episode in particular honored the show’s history with reinterpretations of past dances and an adrenaline-fueled live Instant Dance Challenge, reminding viewers of the program’s evolving format after more than three decades on air.
Legacy and reception
Season 33 combined competitive dance, casting surprises and strong viewer participation, delivering one of the more talked-about runs in recent memory. Ratings upticks culminated with the finale achieving one of the best audience numbers for the series in four years. Critics and fans debated artistic choices, guest judge behavior and the ethics of certain casting decisions, but the basic formula endured: live performance, judge feedback and viewer votes produced a tightly fought contest that rewarded consistency, star power and crowd-pleasing choreography.
In short, Dancing with the Stars season 33 balanced spectacle with sport, controversy with celebration, and produced a winner in Joey Graziadei alongside a season that will be remembered for its record-setting fan engagement and headline-making moments.