Dancing With the Stars season 34 finale will have a major twist in the format

Dancing With the Stars season 34 is about to end with the highly anticipated finale going to premiere on Tuesday, November 25, 2025, on ABC with the five pairs of contestants competing for theLen Goodman Mirrorball Trophy.

The five contestants with their pro partners in the top five are:

Conversationalist Robert Irwin and Witney Carson; social media personality Alix Earle and Val Chmerkovskiy; actress Elaine Hendrix and Alan Bersten; Olympic gold-medalist Jordan Chiles and Ezra Sosa and TV personality Dylan Efron and Daniella Karagach.

However, there is a major change in the format of the Dancing With the Stars season 34. The three-hour episode finale would stream at 8:00 pm, with the stars going to compete in three rounds: the judges' choice round, instant dance round and freestyle round with no rules applied.

The celebrity contestants will perform in three rounds on the finale night of Dancing With the Stars season 34

Dancing With the Stars is shaking things up for its season 34 finale, executing the biggest format change the show has ever attempted.

During the November 18, 2025, semifinal episode of Prince Night, co-host Alfonso Ribeiro revealed that next week’s finale will feature three rounds of competition for the first time in Dancing With the Stars' history, as he said,

Next week, we're taking over all of ABC in primetime with our most demanding season finale in the history of the show. For the first time, we'll have three rounds of competition.

The new format, according to E! News, includes the highly unpredictable “Instant Dances,” where celebrities must learn and perform a dance to a surprise song live in the ballroom, along with the “Make-or-Break Freestyle,” a no-rules performance designed to win over viewers at home.

Co-host Julianne Hough added her own comment to the night, noting,

With all the incredible talent this season, you don't want to miss it.

The top five advanced to the finale following one of the most intense semifinal episodes of the competition, with multiple couples receiving perfect scores.

Carrie Ann Inaba raved at one point, telling Robert Irwin and Witney Carson after their jive routine to “Baby I’m a Star,”

That is how you tell everyone that you demand to be in the finale… That was insane—so clean, so sharp, so buoyant, so fun!

Alix Earle and Val Chmerkovskiy also impressed the judges, earning a perfect 30/30 score for their Viennese waltz to “Purple Rain,” while Derek Hough praised Alix’s growth, telling her,

We’ve seen you transform into a beautiful, beautiful dancer. I have no doubt that we’re going to see you in those finals.

Elaine Hendrix and Alan Bersten matched the energy with a fiery paso doble to “When Doves Cry” that made Bruno Tonioli rip open his shirt in excitement as he declared,

It was a regal performance… Majestic!

However, the night also saw The Real Housewives of Mormon Wives star Whitney Leavitt and her pro partner Mark Ballas getting eliminated after delivering two strong routines, a cha-cha to “1999” and a Viennese waltz to “Slow Love,” both getting a score of 29/30.

Leavitt handled the exit with maturity and gratitude as she spoke to Entertainment Tonight, explaining that it was her dream that felt unreachable to her, as she expressed:

You know, I already feel like a winner. It was definitely worth it, I would do it all again… I didn’t even think I was going to make it this far, every single week, I would talk to Mark, saying, ‘I don’t know, tonight might be the night, but I’m happy with what we’ve done so far.’ I’m so grateful to have made it so far. I don’t know what that is; maybe it’s the little kid in me that had all these dreams that felt unattainable, but now they feel within reach.

Stay tuned for more updates.