The thirtieth season of Dancing with the Stars premiered on ABC on September 20, 2021 and streamed on Hulu[1] and concluded on November 22, 2021.
On August 26, 2021, during the virtual Television Critics Association summer press tour, it was revealed that Suni Lee and JoJo Siwa would be celebrity participants.
[5][6] Before the cast was officially revealed, TMZ reported that The Real Housewives of Atlanta star Kenya Moore,[7] NBA player Iman Shumpert,[8] and actor Brian Austin Green[9] would also compete.
[13][14] The season's fifteen professional dancers, announced on September 2, had all performed on the show before, with Lindsay Arnold and Witney Carson returning after pregnancies.
[16] For the first time in the series' history, one of the couples was same-sex:[17] celebrity participant JoJo Siwa and professional dancer Jenna Johnson.
[20] On September 26, professional dancer Cheryl Burke announced that she had tested positive for COVID-19 before the season's second episode and had to stay home and quarantine for 10 days.
[22] Rigsby tested positive for COVID-19 a few days later, though the two continued to compete, dancing together via live feed in their respective homes during week three.
This rule change has caused some controversy in the way it's been explained on the show, as many saw this as Len having an unfair advantage in determining which dancer is eliminated.
Color key: Individual judges' scores in the charts below (given in parentheses) are listed in this order from left to right: Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman, Derek Hough, Bruno Tonioli.
[22] Individual judges' scores in the chart below are listed in this order from left to right: Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli.
Due to both Cody Rigsby and Cheryl Burke testing positive for COVID-19 and being in quarantine, their dance was performed via live feed from their respective homes.
Individual judges' scores in the chart below are listed in this order from left to right: Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman, Julianne Hough, Bruno Tonioli.