Heavy/ABC Fans have criticized the timing of the season 32 finale.
The season 32 finale of “Dancing with the Stars” aired for three full hours on Tuesday, December 5. The lengthy episode covered a lot of ground, but once it was over, many DWTS fans noted their frustrations over how the pacing of the show played out.
Xochitl Gomez and Val Chmerkovskiy were declared the winners of the first-ever Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy. However, no time was available after the announcement to talk to them, runner-ups Jason Mraz and Daniella Karagach, or any of the other finalists. This did not go over well with viewers.
“That was a disastrous way to end the season — taking a commercial break before announcing the winner,” a “Dancing with the Stars” viewer bemoaned on Reddit. “They completely destroyed the moment and the momentum…We got credits running over the winners’ faces. What a MESS,” the Redditor continued.
Here’s what you need to know:
Gomez & Chmerkovskiy Were Announced as DWTS Winners in the Final Seconds of the Broadcast
As soon as the “Dancing with the Stars” finale wrapped, frustrated fans questioned the way the timing of the lengthy episode was managed. All of the couples danced twice, and rehearsal video packages were shown ahead of each performance. All of that is standard finale fare.
Retired pro Mark Ballas and season 31 winner Charli D’Amelio returned to perform, and there were a couple of group numbers as well. “Dancing with the Stars” viewers did not get to see much from previously eliminated season 32 contestants, although that has been standard in the past.
What viewers did see, however, was a full 30 minutes of what beloved judge Len Goodman likely would have called “messing about” before the show officially started. Fans made it clear they would have preferred to see more time allocated to the end of the finale.
the way dwts just rushed that ending to get one last commercial in is absolutely criminal 💀 #DWTS
One viewer questioned on Instagram, “You had 3 hours (plenty of time) to announce the winner and you wait until the last minute when the credits are rolling to reveal?”
Another annoyed fan responded, “Why do they do that? What a disservice to the winners!”
“Honestly, I think the first part of the finale was a mess. Having a 30 minute recap… I don’t know, the whole thing just felt put together in a rush,” added a fan on Reddit.
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“Dancing with the Stars” fans were vocal about this issue across multiple online platforms.
“They could have done away with the first half hour of the show completely… The moment we all wait for and it’s done in two seconds,” wrote another frustrated viewer.
“I understand announcing the winner at the end but then make sure you leave time to show it and let the others have their moments too,” read a comment on another Reddit thread.
“The 30 minutes in the beginning could’ve been scrapped entirely,” lamented a separate Redditor.
I HATE that they wait until the very last minute to announce the winners. Credits rolling before they even say who got the trophy. #DWTS #DWTSFinale
Someone else noted, “It makes me so mad. The purpose of a finale is to see the winners and the celebration and everyone’s reactions! So frustrating and they start the credits before they even announce the winner 😡.”
A Redditor also noted, “They really rushed the 5 to 1 countdown to. Wish it was produced better.”