'DWTS' Celebrities Peta & Maks Criticize Finale Length: ‘It’s Excessive'

The recent Dancing With the Stars finale has sparked plenty of discussion, not all of it positive. Maks Chmerkovskiy commented on The Penthouse With Peta podcast, "Three hours, three dances, that's a lot of pressure. Not everyone is a Robert Irwin."

Peta Murgatroyd added, "The pros are completely drained. They are running on empty. Then asking them to perform a third dance in one day? It's exhausting."

Traditionally, the DWTS finale spanned two days. Contestants would perform two dances on Monday, followed by a third dance the next day, with the winner revealed afterward. Murgatroyd criticized the new format: "Three dances in one day overloads everyone unnecessarily. It diminishes the quality of the performance both for pros and celebrities. Everyone is pushed to their limit."

Summarizing her thoughts, Murgatroyd said, "It's simply too long." Her husband agreed, suggesting, "The finale should return to a two-day format."

Fans on Reddit echoed similar sentiments. One user wrote, "The finale felt underwhelming. They should shorten it to two hours and feature three or four couples." This fan also expressed dislike for the instant dance challenge, saying, "I really dislike that part of the show."

Social media reactions were equally critical. One X user commented, "Three hours is far too long for a reality competition. It's fine for an epic movie, but not for DWTS." Another noted, "Even with 5-minute dances, thats only about 75 minutes of actual dancing; the rest is filler."

Fans and guest judges, including Tom Bergeron, have voiced their ideas for improvements in the next season. While executive producer Deena Katz indicated that the results show may not return, the finale format could see adjustments. Only time will tell.

This story was first published by Parade on Nov 30, 2025, in their Entertainment section.

Author: Sophia Brooks