PureDWTS Season 28: What The Show Needs to Do to “Fix” Itself
After an 8 month hiatus (the longest in the history of the US version of the show), the next season of DWTS is upon us! Admittedly, I enjoyed the break – aside from the reprieve it gave me in my already-busy work/school schedule (I graduate in October with a bachelor of science in social media marketing…does this officially make me an expert blogger now? 🙂 ), it gave me time to ruminate on just how season 27 went so far off the rails, and what needs to be done to get DWTS back on track.
One opinion I heard quite a bit in the off-season? “Bobby is the reason why season 27 sucked!” While I agree that Bobby seemed to dry-hump my last nerve on a weekly basis last season, here’s a revelation I had…
…Bobby wasn’t the reason season 27 sucked. Bobby was simply a symptom of a much bigger problem: the show neglecting its core audience in favor of foolishly pursuing a wider, younger audience by tinkering too much with a formula that already worked pretty well on its own.
This isn’t something that happened overnight – I’d estimate it probably started about ten years ago, with season 9 (aka “the kitchen sink season with wayyyyy too many couples” – and also my first season here at Pure), and has simply gone through a cycle of snowballing and slightly receding since then. We had season 9 that threw a whopping 16 couples at us, absurd new dance styles and challenges, and the biggest ringer (Mya) and biggest ego (Donny) we had seen to date. Then we had the pared-down season 10, with only 11 couples and relatively normal dance styles. Season 11 brought our first truly “controversial” contestant – Bristol Palin, whose continued presence (and only mediocre performance) seemed to polarize even the most laid-back fans. Season 12 was a return to form, casting-wise, but was the first time we saw the invisible ABC family hand pulling the strings to keep a Disney kid (Chelsea Kane) in the game despite them simply not having the votes. Season 13 gave us a pro shakeup, but otherwise seemed relatively tame; season 14’s agenda seemed to include making William Levy “happen”, despite being a fair-to-middling dancer that was a relative unknown to the show’s audience. Season 15 was the dumpster fire many of us recall as the All-Star season; season 16, aside from its unexpected outcome, was also fairly tame in the grand scheme of things. So was season 17, which ended up being a pleasant surprise despite a cast that seemed pretty ho-hum initially. Season 18 saw the Meryl & Maks PR machine; season 19 gifted us with some great dancing and a cast that seemed to get along really, really well. Season 20 was “Val’s Rumer’s season” from the jump, and seemed to get extra nasty with the ringer finger-pointing. Season 21, aside from some shady partner-shuffling and Tamar being…well, Tamar, was relatively uneventful. Season 22 had a great cast, aside from there simply being too much competition; season 23 saw the rise of a previously-unknown-but-later-much-beloved star (Hinch), only to get felled in the end by a contestant that had been rather inconsistent throughout the season and conveniently was going on tour (Laurie). Season 24, which I like to refer to as “chock full o’ ringers”, was a good season, aside from being a bit of a thought experiment on what happens when you throw an ungodly number of female ringers in with a bunch of men that have absolutely no dance experience; season 25 was the last season I remember that was good on the whole, with great dancing and a generally quite likeable cast. And then the hammer dropped: ABC made the dumbfounding decision to pick up the defunct American Idol, hire Katy Perry to judge, and then fall all over themselves to cater to her demand for a whopping $25 million salary…and things start to get dicey REAL quick…
…2018 rolls around, and we’re told that we’re getting a paltry 3-week spring season of the show with just athletes, and it ends up being a pretty predictable (and snoozeworthy) endeavor. We’re treated to the delightfully un-manipulated DWTS Juniors airing concurrent with the fall season which is…a dumpster fire of epic proportions. Terrible dancers with obnoxious personalities defy logic with their staying power (Joe & Bobby), one ringer (Tinashe) quickly gets eliminated while production struggles to keep the other ringer (Alexis) in the game with a schlocky and painfully-forced showmance with her partner. The one really good male celebrity (Juan Pablo) is unsettlingly “juan-note” and just seems to do the same routine each week, and the full package of skill, personality, and fanbase (DeMarcus) gets injured and never quite gets his mojo back. By the time Bobby got his trophy, the wheels had completely fallen off season 27.
When you take season 27 in the bigger context of what has been happening on the show the past ten years, it’s easier to see what went so horribly wrong: the show was likely going through its usual “make a stupid change, regret it, change it back the next season” cycle, and the arrival of the albatross that is American Idol simply put a brick on the accelerator: what probably would have been a relatively minor snafu turned into a flaming pile of garbage instead.
The news surrounding the new season seems to indicate that they knew they messed up with season 27, and to quote dear ol’ Tommy Bergeron “We hear you.” Do they, though? I’m seeing the same promise we hear season after season that they’re “going after bigger celebs” and “making format changes”– and I’m not sure that’s what the show needs. Hell, I’m fairly certain it’s not what the show needs – I think we need a “back to basics” season like season 10 to cleanse our palates. This show has never been about getting “big stars”; its early success was built on a bunch of has-beens and d-listers attempting to learn how to dance while giving us all a shot of nostalgia. Part of me wonders if we’ll lose a bit of the magic if they actually do manage to get a current A-lister on the show (I’m dubious that they’ll actually pull it off). As for format changes – the only changes I want to see are a return to simpler times, when they didn’t do wacky stuff like the dance-offs, immunity, live voting, etc. What I think we might end up with: a judges’ save, which doesn’t really do anything but piss off the fans. But as is DWTS is wont to do – they will probably make some nonsensical choices and call them “improvements”, and we will probably be eye-rolling and shaking our heads once we hear about all these super-duper top secret format changes.
All complaints aside, if this 8 month hiatus has done anything, it’s given me a clearer slate and a lot more of an open mind for the season to come. I’m willing to give it a fair shake – whether I continue to do so depends entirely upon these “changes” we’re being promised and how they manage to play out.
Thoughts? Feelings headed into the new season? I’ve got more content queued up for the coming days and weeks…stay tuned 😉
Great article. Everything you said I totally agree with. I would just add one thing and maybe this is just me. I think that another reason the show is in decline is the pros. Derek and Mark were absolute fan favorites and super creative choreographers. Both gone. Lots of people liked PEta and Max. Both gone. I think the producers underestimate the attachment people have to the pros.
Tony had his fan base. Tony is gone. Karina gone, Kym gone etc.
I think that having so many newbie young pros really hurts the show. Alan and Brandon are super nice but do people really care? Really connect with them?
Could not be more on the target, Courtney! TPTB have completely disregarded their original fanbase/demographic (which has also gotten older along with this series) and have seen the ratings follow suit. I wish they’d realize( and believe) that the “stars” of the show are the Pro’s and if they’d just give them a less calculated matching system and really had each Pro just go out and earn their titles, that’d maybe be interesting enough for us viewers? I concur with Herbie’s point as well, the loss of so many loved, original-ish Pro’s has hurt the show in a big way. I still feel bad for Sharna, she’d legitimately been up for the win a few times and this one will always feel tainted to me and to many others, NOT the way I wanted her to win her first mirrorball. The show has got to look at their top 3 seasons and study those successes and do everything they can to emulate those winners going forward. Since I’m a fan since episode 1 and as they’ve taken all this time off, if I weren’t invested in our Pro’s, I would not tune in this Fall. They’ve got THIS season to renew my faith and I pray they no longer allow our Judges to NOT do their jobs and let things go in a way that makes those of us who really love the show and tune in religiously, not want to get a gun and shoot our televisions when they allow people who should’ve been voted off week 2 get the win!!!
I agree @Herbie, people do get attached to the pros. But they also can’t expect them to stay on the show forever and not go on to bigger things. To be honest, I was glad Derek and Mark finally walked away. I loved their choreography. They took chances even if they knew they would get slammed by the judges. I was glad to see Maks leave to hopefully never come back. I can’t stand his ego and I’ve been wishing for years that Val would leave too. His ego is even bigger.
I also agree with everything said above. The problems started long before the complete and total disaster that was last season. Bobby winning should never have happened. I think part of the problem with that was everyone felt Sharna deserved to win, that it was her turn. She did her best every week, but I would like to believe that deep down inside she knows they shouldn’t have won. And this could very well happen again.
Don’t get bigger celebs. They don’t need to do it, and they could come with a lot of ego issues. Go back to celebs from the past, bring the nostalgia back. Do something about the blatant manipulation, get rid of the forced showmances. Get rid of the gimmicks. Stick to the ballroom dances.
Viewers want to see a dance competition and the progression a dancer can make through the season. That’s what made the show enjoyable to watch, that made it a hit and kept it around this long.
I’m cautiously optimistic about the new season. I know we get a lot of the same promises every year, but I think after the last couple of seasons TPTB must know they need to do something. I agree, though, that what they think they need to do may end up hurting the show more. I’ve never been in the camp that thinks this show needs A-listers, because I think you run into the same issue with Bobby and an overzealous fan base. I have to go back to when this series was in single digits to when I really enjoyed it, but of course it was still fresh and new back then. I actually love most of the current pros, but there was definitely something special about the group we had in throughout the first 10 seasons.
I’ve never liked them getting away from the ballroom dances and throwing in so many random styles, and having so many dance styles in the same week. I liked when there were just two dance styles each week until around week 6. I don’t like theme weeks every week, and wouldn’t mind a break from Disney night for awhile. I don’t know if I care to see a judges save or a dance off of the bottom 2 where the judges save who they want, because I think they’re part of the problem (or essentially how they’re told to score is the issue). I’d love to see more of a variety of celebs, and not just Disney stars, Bachelor(ette) cast offs, Housewives, gymnasts, football players, and figure skaters. And I hate the troupe being involved in the dances-always have. Alexis and Alan’s jive last year was ridiculous; I couldn’t even find them in it for half the dance.
The show will never be the same without Derek Hough. He was the SHOW.
Speaking of Bobby, I saw a tweet about something he supposedly said on his radio show so I went and searched and on his show’s facebook page, a video posted today called post show pre show, he mentions that a friend of his will be on the upcoming season and that he got this person on the show, he went on to say he didn’t know who to support his friend or Sharna.
And speaking of Sharna Kristyn Burtt posted an interview a week or so ago with Sharna and they talk the upcoming season of DWTS and it going back to basics “We’re taking it back to the ballroom”
Good points from everyone so far. I’ve gotta add that the one thing I would love to see them change would be to get rid of the Contemporary dance. There are no rules to it, so unless everyone does it, it’s extremely unfair. Go back to more ballroom/traditional dances, like in the early seasons of the show.
Not sure I would like a “judges save,” given that the judges have their favorites & blatently underscored or penalize some people for doing something, while letting another do the same thing & get away with it.
Looking forward to more blogs; I’ve missed them more than the show itself!
Don’t forget the real winner of last season, Milo Manheim. Bobby might be the official winner. I liked Bobby, but really.
I agree, Derek was a shining light of DWTS. Then Mark. I don’t see Maks as being that bad. He perhaps has an ego, but in interviews seems like a nice enough guy.
great post, Court, as always. I can see where a “judges save” is part of the coming “Improvements” – but sort of redundant seeing how they already have that in the “on crack” scoring. The only way this would be an “improvement” is if they announce every week who the two lowest scoring couples are, and the judges vote to save one of those two to come back next week.
I don’t much care about getting bigger a-list stars – in fact, the more a-list the worse for dancing, IMHO. The really big stars won’t need to dance to get votes LOL. My fave contestants have been the so-called has beens, or those I knew very little about (Frankie Munez, Noah Galloway, Ralph Maccio, Kelly Osbourne, The Hinch, Paige van Zant, Sadie Robertson etc etc etc).
looking forward to the new season and fingers crossed they don’t over-shoot with their “improvements” – in fact, I think we should look back and take a page or two from what made this show so successful to begin with
I think we were unhappy with the direction of the show long before Bobby Bones won. The judges are more of a problem than the fans. You can replace judges but not fans of the show.
@KarenG, that’s a good idea. Let everyone know who the bottom2 are the judges save one of them. They get their save, the audience gets one of the bottom out.
@Linde, my favorites too have been nostalgic ones that haven’t been heard of in a while or the ones that I knew nothing about. Having a-listers would mean paying them more money to do the show, probably guaranteeing them a certain amount, and the egos would come in to play. Not with all, but we all know it would happen.
For me, Sharna’s win will always have an asterisk after it. For me it wasn’t a deserved win. Sharna is a great choreographer. She should have won with Hinch. Not with a goofball like Bobby.
This show could be so good again. I’m giving it a chance to see what happens. I don’t want to walk away, but if it’s another season with a Bobby win, I’m done.
I’d prefer dance-offs between the bottom two couples like on Strictly Come Dancing rather than a judges’ save. Dance-offs give the bottom couples a chance to improve and fight for their survival on the show and helps a slightly superior dancer stay over someone who isn’t as good. While the judges do decide who stays and who goes home after the dance-off, the audience still has a chance to vote for their favorites to stay in the competition so it’s not like their votes don’t matter.
I know it’s probably unlikely but I think the judging panel needs a Craig Revel Horwood type who isn’t afraid of giving scores as low as 1. Len is usually the voice of reason but he’s been giving a lot of leeway lately to dances that don’t deserve more than 4. The DWTS dances are really, REALLY overscored compared to the Strictly dances.
I’m hopeful for changes like less contemporary and jazz and more Latin and ballroom focus but I’m also dreading this upcoming season because I know Bones is going to be appearing a lot since he’s the most recent “winner” and works on another ABC show.
I was wondering if Courtney has more insight into the turnover behind the camera? How new producers and a director wanting to “shake things up” has affected the trajectory of the show the last few years?
They really want to make a big change get rid of the judges I know a lot of people including me who are beyond tired of them also I’m not a fan of Erin Andrew’s it’s just so awkward listening to her sometimes I always thought it would be interesting if Tom had a male cohost
Also a few new pros and no troupe members allowed in all of the dances
DWTS needs to take notes from Strictly Come Dancing And start incorporating a dance off with the bottom two couples and have the same voting system like strictly
I would love for Shirley Ballas to come on as a judge.
Also, just a thought, but is Erin Andrews really needed anymore? Several times the past few seasons, the interviews and scoring occurred on thr dance floor with Tom instead of in the balcony area with her. Tom can certainly host the show on his own.
I also don’t think the show needs “big stars”, but just a good variety of “familar faces” whether by nostalgia or current projects/news stories.
I’d be fine if they got rid of Erin. I loved her as a contestant, but not so much as a co-host. With not having a results show, and so much packed into the two hours we get as it is, I’d be okay if they just had Tom do a quick interview and have them either get their scores onstage (or even backstage would work). Some of her interviews just go on forever. I wish we could have had Louis Van Amstel as a judge, but he’s judging the Dutch version this fall. Karina would be someone else I’d love to join the judges table.
I do think they need to not be afraid to have the judges score the couples more appropriately. Seeing Bobby get the same week 1 score as Milo, and only 3 points less than Tinashe (and 2 points behind Juan), was pathetic. I also hope there’s no stupid gimmicks-no immunity for one couple, or a live vote where only the East coast vote matters, or having only the bottom 6 couples have to perform a second dance for scores (which made zero sense last year).
Great post-and congrats on your upcoming freedom!! 🙂
Reading through the comments, I see a lot of “judges save/do the dance-off from SCD”…which I think can work to some degree. However, you have to make sure the right couples fall into the bottom 2 and we know that’s not always the case (e.g., Joe going from the bottom in points into the top 6 once votes were factored in. And I’m sure Bobby was never in the bottom 2.) That part is really on the judges and they HAVE to start being unafraid to get real with the scores.
Additionally I feel they need to go back to the formula they used to determine elims from S18-25. Reverting back to the S17 formula of elims (last week’s votes/this week’s scores) just caused nothing but messiness-and when you think about it, S17 was another season of “shocking” elims.
As for the pros-one shift I noticed over time was that they publicized the newer pros less. May be indirectly due to the lack of results shows, and something having to give? In the early days of the troupe they’d be highlighted on the results shows, in S16 and S21 they did a whole number showcasing the new pros. Alan and Jenna came in with some visibility from filling in for injured pros, but Brandon didn’t really have any of that-and wouldn’t be surprised if that was another factor that factored into Tinashe’s elimination. The pros’ star power is starting to eclipse the celebs, and coming in without any kind of fanbase doesn’t help. The OG pros are on their way out, they gotta help the new generation develop a fanbase somehow.
That said-looking forward to the new season and seeing if TPTB learned anything from S27…or not.
I hope they can fix voting to be a little better. In my mind, it should be one vote to eliminate somebody, and scores should play a big role in who gets eliminated. This is a list of people that were unfairly eliminated in my mind. An asterisk denotes my favorites.
Season 13: David Arquette*
Season 14: Gavin DeGraw*
Season 14: Roshon Fegan*
Season 15: Joey Fatone*
Season 15: Drew Lachey
Season 15: Helio Castroneves
Season 15: Sabrina Bryan
Season 15: Apolo Anton Ohno
Season 17: Brant Daugherty*
Season 18: Cody Simpson*
Season 18: Charlie White
Season 19: Jonathan Bennett*
Season 20: Redfoo
Season 20: Willow Shields
Season 21: Hayes Grier*
Season 21: Andy Grammer*
Season 24: Bonner Bolton*
Season 26: Johnny Damon*
Season 26: Chris Mazdzer*
Season 27: John Schneider*
Congratulations Courtney on your upcoming Bachelors in Science. As someone who has watched the show and started commenting on PDWTS with, I believe, the All-Star season, this site has become family in that weird community, internet way of things.
I won’t return to season 28 unless the show returns to what made it so watchable and captivating. Namely a dance competition with the organic journey of it’s celeb/pro couples as the centerpiece. I don’t really care about big, over the top production numbers or faux couple romances.
It’s the human and and candid views into the week by week challenge of two strangers forming a unique, watchable and compelling bond while teaching/learning Standard/Latin ballroom, an extremely underrated style of dance.
The show used to be magical. Hopefully they can somehow find their way back to that.
I dont know who mentioned it but if a friend of Bobby’s is participating this season, if he’s not getting ahead of himself, probably a country music icon…
A friend of Bobby’s on the show? So he can go on his radio show and get all of those that voted for him to vote for his friend making it a strong possibility that the season ends on the same note? No thanks.
If they put one of Bobby’s friends on the show, then they really don’t get it.
I’ll be happy when legit rumors start up-hopefully in the next couple of weeks. Really excited to see who will be a pro this year, too.
Bobby has many “friends” I imagine. He meets lots of different people from being a broadcaster, but I think when Bobby says it’s a friend it’s someone who has met Bobby before and a few times… I couldn’t see a repeat of last season that would just spell cancellation. If this happens to be true though this celebrity will not and should not mention Bobby.
Bobby has many “friends” I imagine. He meets lots of different people from being a broadcaster, but I think when Bobby says it’s a friend it’s someone who has met Bobby before and a few times… I couldn’t see a repeat of last season that would just spell cancellation. If this happens to be true though this celebrity will not and should not mention Bobby.
one of Bobby’s friends? hmmm my first thought is Andy Roddick or Brooklyn Decker. They’ve been really good friends for years. I remember when I used to listen to Bobby’s old show yearssssss ago (back in like 2012/2013) before he crossed over to country radio and became huge, he would always talk about Andy/Brooklyn and mentioned several times how they would be good on dwts. and I know Andy was in the rumor mill in the past.