Prince Night semi-finals reach new heights

Don’t you just love Prince? The Prince-themed semifinal episode of “Dancing With the Stars” season 34 reached another season high with 7.22 million total viewers, according to the network, and a 1.5 rating among adults 18 to 49.

The November 18 episode became the highest viewed semi-final episode in seven years (November 2018) in terms of ratings and is up 28% compared to last season’s penultimate episode. Among adults, the rating nearly doubled, with last year’s episode earning a 0.79; This year’s episode is the show’s best penultimate broadcast in nine years (November 2016).

Interest has also grown dramatically among younger viewers, with a 1.68 rating among adults 18-34, the best performance in the younger demo in 10 years and the strongest for a penultimate episode in 14 years. Additionally, fan votes rose to a new high of 55.9 million votes.

The episode also marked the first time Zac Efron was in the audience to support his brother, Dylan Efron. In a shock to many, Whitney Leavitt Carson and Mark Ballas were eliminated, sending Dylan and partner Daniella Karagach to the finals, along with Alix Earle and Val Chmerkovskiy, Elaine Hendrix and Alan Bersten, Robert Irwin and Witney Carson, and Jordan Chiles and Ezra Sousa.

The final of “Dancing With the Stars,” produced by BBC Studios, airs on Tuesday, November 25, with the final five couples dancing three time for the first time ever. Each pair performs a jury dance, an instant dance and a freestyle routine.

This season has continued to see great success since it launched in September with the biggest premiere in five years and a 49% viewership increase from the year before. Additionally, premiere votes are up 163% from last season’s premiere episode, and are increasing every week.

“DWTS” airs Tuesdays on ABC and Disney+ at 8 p.m. ET and streams the next day on Hulu.