New Finale Format Unveiled for Season 34 of Dancing With the Stars

18 November 2025

The upcoming finale of Dancing With the Stars season 34 is set to break new ground as the show introduces a three-round competition for its celebrity finalists and their professional dance partners. On the November 18 episode, co-host Alfonso Ribeiro announced that the finale would include “Instant Dances” in which contestants must learn and perform to a surprise song during the live broadcast, followed by a high-stakes “Make-or-Break Freestyle” routine with no rules. (quoted from the show) The new structure is designed to turn the spotlight on adaptability, skill under pressure and raw creativity, rather than just the week-by-week improvement that has defined previous seasons.

Viewers and contestants alike are being primed for what the show calls “its most demanding season finale in history.” With the change, the typical one- or two-round format is being replaced by a pacing that brings both spontaneity and spectacle. Instant Dances challenge the celebs to perform choreography with minimal rehearsal time, testing not just their polish but also how quickly they can absorb direction and deliver quality under live conditions. The Make-or-Break Freestyle, meanwhile, offers an open canvas—no rules on style, theme or music—intended to let standout moments of aerial lifts, lifts, dips or storytelling flourish and sway the vote at the last minute.

This shift underscores the show’s recognition of how the competition has evolved. In prior weeks, several pairs had already secured perfect scores, signalling that technical excellence is approaching a ceiling. The new format thus aims to separate the top performers with innovative demands rather than incremental improvements. Judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli treated viewers to gushing commentary during the semi-finals. In one standout routine, Robert Irwin and Witney Carson earned a perfect 30 on their jive to Prince’s “Baby I’m a Star,” prompting Tonioli to call the performance “insane so clean, so sharp, so buoyant, so fun.” Alix Earle and Val Chmerkovskiy matched the feat with their Viennese waltz to “Purple Rain.” The decision to redesign the finale is thus both a reaction to the heightened level of competition and a strategic move to keep viewers engaged.

From a production perspective, the three-round format raises the stakes for planning, rehearsals and live coordination. Instant Dances require that a surprise element be kept under wraps until the broadcast, meaning contestants must prepare for multiple possible song choices and be ready to perform flawlessly when cued. The freestyle component adds further complexity, as unconventional choreography often means higher risk clever lifts or storytelling sequences might win big in the voting phase but also come with the gamble of black-swan mishaps. For viewers the promise is clear: expect a finale packed with unexpected turnarounds, high drama and creative leaps rather than the usual buildup to a final dance.

Contestants heading into the finale will now need to manage not only the physical demands of back-to-back performances but also the mental and emotional pressure of delivering in each round. Historically, Dancing With the Stars contestants have worked through multi-hour daily rehearsals, with shifts extending into evenings and weekends. Now they must channel that into performances that test both endurance and spontaneity. What used to be a one-night show has become a more immersive challenge.

For longtime fans of the show, this change may represent a refreshing twist on a familiar format. The dance competition genre globally has increasingly embraced real-time formats, judge-less segments and surprise elements. DWTS appears to be following suit, seeking to maintain relevancy and novelty as viewers’ tastes shift and social media amplifies standout moments in real time. The network has clearly signalled a willingness to innovate rather than rest on the show’s long-running reputation.

This new finale format also highlights how talent-competition shows are adapting to a content environment where watchability, shareability and breath-taking visuals matter more than ever. Live broadcasts want talk-worthy moments, and a three-round structure with sudden-death dynamics promises more than a standard award evening. It invites viewers to emotionally invest in each performance round and to feel that their vote matters across multiple stages rather than only in the final dance.

As the finale airs on November 25 on ABC, the buzz will centre not only on which pair wins but also how the format change plays out. Will contestants rise to the challenge, or will the surprise elements play havoc with the polished routines viewers expect? Will the no-rules freestyle give one pair the definitive edge, or will it produce a mishap that changes the leaderboard unexpectedly? The finale will test more than talent it will test adaptability, strategy and live performance resilience.

For the cast and crew behind Dancing With the Stars, this week is a heightened test of coordination. Set-up, staging, lighting and sound all must accommodate the new demands. A surprise song segment means timing must be impeccable, and the freestyle component often uses elevated staging and creative rigs. Viewers will see a faster-paced show with perhaps fewer commercial lulls and more performance throughlines.

In its essence this is more than just a format tweak it is a reaffirmation that the show will continue evolving. While the Mirrorball Trophy remains the goal, the path to winning it has shifted. For fans it means brace for something different, and for contestants it means bring not just the best routine but the best reaction, adaptability and narrative arc. The winning duo might now be the one who performs best under fire rather than simply the one who practiced longest.