How did 'Dancing With the Stars' hit new highs?

"Dancing With the Stars" has a new spring in its step.

- BY SAMANTHA MASUNAGA

Los Angeles Times photo illustration; photographs by ERIC MCCANDLESS Disney; JORDAN STRAUSS Invision

The competition show, now in its 34th season on ABC, is seeing ratings it hasn't reached in years. The semifinals show, which aired last month and featured a Prince theme, notched 7.22 million viewers, the highest for a semifinals episode since 2018.

Not only are more people watching, but they’re also voting in record numbers (fans cast 55.9 million votes, breaking the previous record set Nov. 11 during the show's 20th anniversary episode) and talking about the show on social media.

Crucially, the show is also reaching younger demographics.

Not bad for a two-decade-old show, particularly one that has seen firsthand the changes in the broadcast TV business.

Because of that, the show has had to evolve. I've watched “Dancing With the Stars” over the better part of 18 years and seen the many adjustments it has made, including cutting down its format from twice a week shows to just one, an all-athletes shortened season in 2018, exclusively airing season 31 on Disney+ and the introduction of theme nights to the ballroom, like Taylor Swift, Motown, Disney and “Wicked.” The show, which was once available only via broadcast TV, can now be watched on streaming platforms Disney+ and Hulu.

And of course, there’s been no shortage of colorful casting decisions over the years, whether with celebrities from other shows that air on ABC like “The Bachelor” or Disney Channel stars, Olympic athletes (particularly figure skaters and gymnasts), political figures like former Trump Press Secretary Sean Spicer and former Energy Secretary Rick Perry, or my personal favorite, astronaut Buzz Aldrin.