‘DWTS’: Bobby Bones Shares Theory About the Order Contestants Dance on Show

Bobby Bones has a theory about how producers decide the performance order on Dancing With the Stars.

During a recent appearance on the He Said, G Said podcast, Bones alleged that DWTS producers strategically decide when certain couples perform. “Here’s something I’ve never said anywhere. And the network would probably kill me for sharing this,” he began. “Yes, if they’re putting you at the top of the hour, that means they want you to be seen.”

Explaining his theory, he continued, “If they’ll put you at one, or they’ll put you at the top of the second hour on the two hour, people are flipping off of other channels if they’re watching linearly through television. And if they left one show and they’re coming over to watch you that second hour, you’re the first person they see. So, there’s strategy involved with who they put at the top of the show and who they’re putting at the very top of that next hour and who they’re putting at the end, as well.”

Bones clarified that the performance order doesn’t necessarily indicate bias among the DWTS execs, but it is simply about viewership. “Now, it doesn’t always mean they want them to win, but they’re showing them off on purpose,” he stated. “They do put you in places for that reason.”

Disney/Eric McCandless

Bones has a complicated history with the ABC dance competition series. His Season 27 win with partner Sharna Burgess stirred controversy, as he scored lower than several competitors throughout the season. After his win, the show changed its voting system better to balance fan votes with the judges’ scores.

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On the podcast, Bones claimed that DWTS has become more of a popularity contest than a true dance competition. “That show is all popularity. There’s a reason that you vote at the beginning of the show for dancers that haven’t even danced yet. So, as soon as the show launches, they put the number up to vote,” he said. “You’re not even watching them dance yet, so it’s not a dance competition. It’s literally a popularity contest.”

Bones said that DWTS should be more of a “growth competition,” stating, “Life is a growth competition, and life is, ‘Who do you like to be around?’ And that’s what that show is. So, you know, make a good show, get good ratings. And I think when people start to go, ‘Well, they’re not as good of a dancer,’ I think they actually lose what that show really is about. And that’s about growth from when they started, and if you like them more from the first time you saw them.”

Bones later shared his top picks to win DWTS Season 35, including Jackson Olson and Emma Slater, Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach, and Amber Glenn and Pasha Pashkov. “You have the two ringers, which is Harry [Shum Jr.] and Jenna [Dewan],” he added. “If they put both of them in the finals, we burn it down. That’s stupid. You shouldn’t have both of them in the finals. You can have one ringer in the finals. That’s okay. But you don’t want to have two professional dancers in the finals. That sucks.”

Dancing With the Stars, Season 35, Tuesdays, 8/7c, ABC and Disney+