Trivia / Dancing with the Stars

• Colbert Bump: While most of the contestants on the show were already well-known names beforehand, a handful of relatively obscure celebrities (i.e. Brooke Burke, Melissa Rycroft, Bindi Irwin) became more widely known thanks to the show.
• Creator Backlash:
  • In Week 6, they decided to show Bruno's role in Elton John's video for "I'm Still Standing", in which he's mainly in a speedo humping the air. His face got so red that it nearly threw off the transmission's color balance.
  • It was brought up again during Most Memorable Year Week in Season 21 (complete with Sasha prancing around in a replica of Bruno's costume from the video), though this time Bruno seemed a lot more comfortable about it.
  • Brought up once again during Movie Week in Season 28, as Karamo and Jenna danced the Jive to that same song. Bruno was also still at ease enough to joke along with the other judges, though.
• Dueling Shows: A rare Dual Wielding version; Dancing used to fight off American Idol with one hand and So You Think You Can Dance with the other. The latter is especially funny when you keep in mind all of the So You Think alumni that went on to become pros on Dancing. Nowadays, it fights mainly The Voice, which also occurs during both the spring and the fall.
  • Amusingly, Idol seems to have aligned with Dancing, as they have aired on the same network since the former's revival in 2018, barring the single season Dancing had as a Disney+ exclusive show.
• Dyeing for Your Art: The contestants will frequently talk about the amount of weight they've lost while doing the show. Since most of the contestants are celebs or athletes who are already in shape, it's usually not much, but occasionally there will be a huge transformation. Take Kirstie Alley, who has had weight problems in the past. When she Book Ended her time on the show by having one of her final performances be the cha-cha from the very first night, the costumers had to cut off over 3 feet of fabric (38 inches) off her dress from the first night to make it fit her; a full season roughly lasts three months. Another example, Wanye Morris of Boyz II Men in season 22 mentioned by the Week 2 episode (roughly 4 weeks from when partners start training) he had already lost 15 pounds.
• Promoted Fanboy:
  • Many celebs who are fans of the show eventually go on to do the show themselves. One notable case was Alfonso Ribeiro, who was a fan of the show since it first aired and waited ten years to have a shot at the Mirrorball until he finally got to compete in Season 19 and went on to win the whole thing. He subsequently got to be a guest judge on the original British version, Strictly Come Dancing, before becoming the host of the US show itself in Season 31.
  • In Season 21, Sharna, who was a huge fan of the Backstreet Boys as a teenager, was ecstatic to find out she was paired with Nick Carter. Many others also turned out to be fans of him, like Julianne, Peta, and even fellow Boy Band member Carlos PenaVega.
• Refitted for Sequel: Paige VanZant and Mark Ballas famously did an amazing cartwheel stunt during their jive dance. The former revealed this move was originally intended to be used in their salsa, but Mark was unable to dance with her that night, and Alan Bersten filled in. The stunt was removed and repurposed into the later jive.
• Romance on the Set:
  • Season 20 had Robert Herjavec and dance partner Kym Johnson whose frequent “ship teasing” aired segments turned out to be real. They continued to date after his run and eventually married and had twins together.
  • Former WWE Superstar Nikki Bella and partner Artem Chigvintsev, who teamed up in Season 25, later hooked up as well, though it was a year after her show run and almost a year after her and John Cena's engagement was called off. They had a son together in 2020 and got married in 2022.
  • Model and social media influencer Alexis Ren and partner Alan Bersten got together during season 27 and briefly dated afterwards.
  • The show's pro dancer couples Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Peta Murgatroyd, Val Chmerkovskiy & Jenna Johnson, and Sasha Farber and Emma Slater, all had on-and-off relationships with their respective partners until they got married.
  • Pro dancer Britt Stewart started dating her season 31 partner Daniel Durant during their post-season tour. They announced their engagement in December 2023.
• Saved from Development Hell: Dancing with the Stars: Juniors was announced in mid-2017, but pushed aside in favor of an abbreviated, all-athlete season. It was later announced to air on Sundays in the 2018-19 season.
• Throw It In!: As a live show, the couples can sometimes have an amazing ability to bounce back during a dance, such as Ralph Macchio catching Karina Smirnoff during a fall after his swinging coat knocked her to the floor, and Nick Carter literally bouncing back at the end of his week 2 jive after slipping and falling on his back.
• What Could Have Been: The show has a "wish list" of celebs that they would like to be on the show and have contacted in the past (some have had to decline for various reasons, but did the show later, such as Melissa Joan Hart, Kirstie Alley, Nick Carter and Jodie Sweetin). Some of the ones on the list include Bill Clinton, Lindsay Lohan, and having Portia de Rossi in the show's first same-sex couple.
  • Season 8 was to be the first season with a husband and wife competing against each other, in this case Ty Murray and Jewel. Unfortunately, Jewel could not compete because she hurt her tibias before the season started, and was replaced with Playboy model Holly Madison (she did appear as a musical guest).
  • Another celeb who was slated to compete that season, but ended up not doing so, was Nancy O'Dell, who was replaced by Melissa Rycroft.
  • Christie Brinkley Cook was supposed to appear in Season 28 as a contestant, but her breaking her arm five days to the premiere resulted in her daughter, Sailor, taking her place instead.
  • In Season 31 Selma Blair and Sasha Farber were set to dance a Cha-Cha to "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor during the Prom-themed night; however her withdrawal from the competition prevented that.
  • Damian McGinty of Celtic Thunder and Glee fame had been approached by the show, but ultimately ended up being cast in the sixth season of the Irish version instead.