Set originally in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and later in Los Angeles, California, the show was primarily filmed at the Abby Lee Dance Company (ALDC) studios.

The show features Miller as an extremely strict dance team coach who, over the series, relied more and more on criticism—sometimes personal—to motivate the girls, with an emphasis on hard work and competition against teammates.

[5] A promo for the new season was released in February, revealing that the show would be set around Miller's diagnosis of Burkitt's Lymphoma while returning "back to her roots" with a new team.

[7] Miller and executive producer, Bryan Stinson, have both announced season 9 of Dance Moms, but there has not been further information among that point.

Several members of the Abby Lee Dance Company (both on and off the show) have come forward about Miller's violent tactics, which include forcing students to leap whilst holding a 5-pound sack of potatoes, remarking "if you gain 5 pounds, you'll feel that heavy."

The episode features the young dancers performing a burlesque-style routine and wearing sequined, flesh-toned bra tops and tights in an effort to make them appear nude.

[37] Kelly Hyland was arrested in early January 2014 on charges of assaulting Miller during a dispute backstage at a dance competition held in New York City during filming for the show's fourth season in November 2013.

This caused Adriana Smith, the mother of Dance Moms season 8 dancer Kamryn, to share on Instagram that she and her daughter left the show because of their experience with Miller.

The following day on June 3, 2020, another Dance Moms mother, Camille Bridges, accused Miller of treating her daughter Camryn differently because of her race and that the environment was "extremely hostile".

"[45] Miller has since deleted her Black Lives Matter post and on June 4, 2020, she issued an apology to "Kamryn, Adriana, and anyone else I've hurt."

It was announced that on June 5, 2020, Lifetime decided to sever ties with Miller as a result of the allegations of the racist remarks she made.

Ray, Siwa, and Hilliker made their debuts on the show before joining the ALDC Elite Team on Dance Moms.

The series followed Miller as she assisted various dance studios across the United States, improving them in areas such as choreography, decor, and staffing.

[citation needed] In April 2020, it was announced that another spin-off Abby's Virtual Dance-Off would be set to debut during the summer of 2020.

The 12-episode show would consist of taped submissions from dance contestants, with Miller judging via video conference, in keeping with social distancing practiced during the coronavirus pandemic.

[53] In June 2022, Kelly Hyland and Christi Lukasiak announced their podcast Back to the Barre, which would recap an episode of Dance Moms each week.

[citation needed] It was announced in April 2023 that Miller would be hosting a podcast titled Leave It On The Dance Floor.

[citation needed] In September 2023, Miller announced that she would be participating in a new reality competition series, in the vein of Big Brother, on the Brandon TV streaming app.

The reunion features Brooke and Paige Hyland, Chloe Lukasiak, Kendall Vertes, Kalani Hilliker, and JoJo Siwa, as well as their respective mothers Kelly Hyland, Christi Lukasiak (who makes a short, virtual cameo appearance), Jill Vertes, Kira Girard and Jessalyn Siwa.

[56] On April 17, 2024, Christi Lukasiak announced via Instagram post that following the premiere of the reunion special, she is hosting her own show, titled Dance Moms: Epic Showdowns.