Bobby Bones won season 27 of Dancing With the Stars, and eight years later he’s spilling behind-the-scenes production details about the reality show—and his intel is honestly fascinating. Speaking on the He Said G Said podcast, Bobby revealed how the celebrity performance order is decided each week. In other words: should fans read into certain pairs kicking things off at the top of the show, while others go last?
Because during [the live show] if they’ll put you at one or they’ll put you at the top of the second hour … people are flipping off of other channels if they’re watching linearly through television, if they left one show and they’re coming over to watch that second hour, you’re the first person they see.” He added, “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.” So basically, if you’re dancing at either 8 p.m. ET (when people are most likely to tune in), it’s because the network wants you to be seen. Bobby went on to explain that producers are definitely picking fan favorites for these slots and “showing them off on purpose,” finishing his musings with “I’ve never actually talked about that, but they do put you in places for that reason.” Will definitely be paying attention to the dance order going forward!
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