Dancing with the Stars is a very popular television show that brings the excitement of ballroom dancing to your screen. The show features fourteen couples, where each pair consists of a professional dancer and a celebrity partner. Every week, these couples learn a brand new dance and perform it for three qualified judges, who rate each performance on a scale of 1 to 10. Throughout the season, couples get to explore various styles of ballroom dancing, including salsa, cha-cha, tango, and the quickstep.

In addition to the judges’ scores, fans and the public also get to vote each week. The couple with the least combined votes faces elimination from the competition. However, the first week doesn’t include eliminations, giving everyone a chance to continue and learn another dance. In recent years, the semi-finals week has also been elimination-free, allowing all remaining couples to advance to the finale, where they compete for the coveted Len Goodman mirrorball trophy—named in memory of beloved judge Len Goodman, who served from seasons 1-31.

Dancing with the Stars has just launched its 34th season! You can catch all the action by watching or streaming on Disney+, YouTube TV, Sling TV, and ABC. New episodes air every Tuesday night.

This year’s competing couples include: Jen Affleck and Jan Ravnik, Hilaria Baldwin and Gleb Savchenko, Jordan Chiles and Ezra Sosa, Baron Davis and Britt Stewart, Alix Earle and Valentin Chmerkovskiy, Dylan Efron and Daniella Karagach, Corey Feldman and Jenna Johnson, Danielle Fishel and Pasha Pashkov, Elaine Hendrix and Alan Bersten, Scott Hoying and Rylee Arnold, Robert Irwin and Whitney Carson, Lauren Jauregui and Brandon Armstrong, Whitney Leavitt and Mark Ballas, and Andy Richter and Emma Slater. All will compete for the prestigious Len Goodman mirrorball trophy.

The judging panel features Derek Hough, Bruno Tonioli, and Carrie Ann Inaba. Throughout the season, they typically bring in a fourth judge as a special guest to add even more expertise to the panel.

This season has drawn particular attention because well-known social media star Alix Earle is competing as a celebrity dancer. Partnered with Val, the two have already formed a strong bond and friendship that shines both on the ballroom floor and behind the scenes. They’ve been creating fun, silly posts together on TikTok and Instagram related to the show.

While Alix initially faced some backlash from the DWTS community after announcing her participation, she made an impressive comeback. She earned 13 out of 20 points in the first week and improved to 21 out of 30 in the second week. With her exciting and unique dancing style, fans are quickly falling in love with her performances.

Along with the new season’s launch, some controversies have already emerged surrounding this year’s competition. While learning a new dance with someone who has never done ballroom is challenging, two pros find themselves in the hot seat for making their dances  too Tik Tok-like and packed with lifts.

Rylee Arnold, who is in her third season as a pro, is facing the same backlash she received in her first season. Critics argue that her dances focus too heavily on “lifts” without enough actual dancing. Meanwhile, Ezra Sosa, who is in his second season as a pro after spending many years in the troupe, is also under scrutiny. Last season, he and his partner Anna Delvey were eliminated in just the second week. This season, his celebrity partner is Jordan Chiles, an Olympic gymnast. They opened the season as the first couple to perform in the competition, but when judges watched their dance, they felt there wasn’t enough ballroom technique being showcased. Fans have also expressed on TikTok that their routine contained too many flips and needs to be more challenging right now. Ezra seems determined to please both fans and judges, and he’s working to implement more traditional ballroom elements in his routine for this week.

Throughout the years, there has been ongoing controversy over trained celebrities who already know how to dance. Some notable examples include past winner Charli D’Amelio, who was well-known for dancing on TikTok and being a competitive dancer growing up. Another famous example is JoJo Siwa, who appeared on the popular show Dance Moms. However, we have two prime examples of this controversy this season with Whitney Leavitt and Hilaria Baldwin.

Whitney is known for being on MomTok and serving as the villain on the show The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. Fans of the show have done some investigating into her past and discovered that she was also a competitive dancer growing up, actually competing frequently alongside pro Whitney Carson. Additionally, people found out that she was a dance major in college, which gives her a significant advantage on a show where celebrities are supposed to be learning how to dance.

Hilaria Baldwin presents another controversial figure this season. She’s a wellness influencer married to the highly controversial actor Alec Baldwin. This season, people were amazed by her first dance and how skilled she appeared, prompting fans to dig deeper into her background. They discovered that she had competed against—and beaten—pro Emma Slater in the past. People are furious about this because while most competitive dance focuses on various styles, there are some ballroom classes at conventions. However, competing specifically in ballroom is entirely different, since celebrities are supposed to be learning these ballroom styles and techniques, not already mastering them. After all, having prior experience defeats the purpose of the show and diminishes the overall experience.

This is shaping up to be the most competitive season in quite a while, and personally, I think this season is going to be an exceptional one.