Dancing with the Stars is a wildly popular reality TV show, but I have to admit I'm watching it for the first time. The series (which is streaming with a Disney+ subscription) is inspiring to watch for newcomers, but there are certain things that are already getting on my nerves a bit. For viral hits night it was the judges refusal to give one-word critiques, but lately it's been about the way the contestant are introduced before their dances.
Alfonso Rubeiro has a ritual before filming each new episode, and clearly his system works because he's great at his job. My issue with his hosting isn't with his performance, but the script he's required to follow. Namely the way he introduces each celebrity ahead of their dances. Hear me out
I Can't Handle The Way The Hosts Introduce The Contestants
Before each performance, the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star sets them up by introducing them by their profession. This is presumably in the contestants' contracts, but it still feels so clunky. For instance, he refers to Bachelorette alum Tyler Cameron as a "our TV personality and host", while Connor Wood is always "our stand-up comedian & podcaster." This leaves me trying to guess who is about to appear on our screen, rather than the celebrities simply being referred to be their names. Overall, this script just feels super technical, and for some reason it's become my biggest pet peeve when tuning into Dancing with the Stars.
This complaint might be small potatoes for hardcore DWTS fans, who didn't love what former host Tyra Banks brought to the table in the long-running competition series. Alfonso and Julianne are great at their jobs, but the script that they must use to talk about each contestant drive me nuts... especially since episodes are two hours long.
As someone who writes for a living, I get that creating a copy for TV isn't the easiest thing. I also get that these titles were likely agreed upon by each contestants' team. Still, I think that calling Maura Higgins a "Traitors finalist" would be less clunky than calling her a "Television personality & model" every week. Or better yet, we can simply refer to them by their names instead. After all, their names are what fans use to vote for their favorites every week. So why not shorten the script and make it less awkward?
I'm not saying that I'm going to actually change anything with this story, but I simply had to take to the computer and rant a bit about this specific part of every DWTS episode. I'm having a fun time overall, and love finally getting memes like the "Thanks Alfonso" one that's currently circulating online. I just wish I could make an edit or two on the show's script.
Dancing with the Stars airs new episodes Tuesdays on ABC as part of the 2026 TV schedule.
