Alfonso Ribeiro says the Dancing with the Stars finale may need extra time this season if a new premiere-week elimination format leaves six couples standing at the end. That could turn the close of the competition into a longer show than usual, and Ribeiro did not hide the scale of it: “That’s a big finale,” he said.
He was asked about the change on the red carpet at Monday night’s Emmy Awards, just as attention turns to the new season of DWTS ahead of its two-night premiere on Tuesday, Sept. 15 and Wednesday, Sept. 16. The setup is straightforward but unusual: one male celebrity and one female celebrity will be eliminated after each night, which means the field can move quickly before the season settles in.
The timing matters because the show has not used a premiere-week double elimination since 2018, and this one arrives before viewers have even had a full week to size up the cast. Ribeiro said the finale could need “a couple of extra hours” if six couples make it all the way through, adding that the show cannot fit six pairs into the endgame without more time. That is the practical problem behind the headline number: more finalists means more dances, more judging and more television to make room for.
That larger finale is also where the pushback starts. Some fans say the change cheapens the finish because it could dilute the pressure of reaching the end. Others see the opposite, arguing that more finalists would make room for more freestyle dances and give the finale a bigger payoff. The split is easy to understand, especially in a season where Jenna Dewan and Harry Shum Jr. are among the names bringing major dance experience into the mix, and Ribeiro has already warned that training does not necessarily carry over once the couples hit the ballroom.
He put it plainly last week on DWTS’ podcast: “It’s starting over, and you have to unlearn everything that you know.” That is the real shape of season 35, and it is why the premiere week matters so much. The men are set to dance first on Tuesday and the women on Wednesday, with one male celebrity and one female celebrity leaving after each night. If the format holds, the show will reach its finale with six couples, and the only question left is whether ABC makes room for the extra hours Ribeiro thinks it will need.
