DWTS Season 7 Overview and Broadcast Details
DWTS season 7 premiered on March 22, 2008, on ABC and concluded on May 20, 2008, with 11 episodes. The show was produced by Mark Burnett Productions in association with Disney-ABC Television Group. The professional dance lineup included Alec Mazo, Cheryl Burke, Lacey Schwimmer, and Maksim Chmerkovskiy, among others. The season introduced a new format that combined celebrity contestant performances with weekly judge feedback and audience voting via phone and online platforms. For more information on the show's production and broadcast history, visit ABC Official Site.
The season featured a cast of 13 celebrities paired with professional dancers. Cast members included athletes, actors, musicians, and public figures such as Brooke Burke, who later became a co-host. The competition structure followed a weekly elimination format where judges scored routines on a 30-point scale, and the lowest-scoring couple faced a results show where one pair was sent home. The season drew consistent viewership, with the finale averaging approximately 20 million viewers, according to Nielsen ratings reported at the time. The season also highlighted the role of the professional dancers, many of whom went on to long careers on the franchise.
Cast, Professional Dancers, and Weekly Scores
The celebrity cast included figures such as Lance Bass, Maurice Greene, and Misty May-Treanor, each paired with a professional dancer for the competition. Weekly scores were determined by a panel of judges including Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman, and Bruno Tonioli, who evaluated technique, timing, and presentation. The scoring system used a cumulative approach, combining judges' scores and audience votes to determine the bottom couples each week. Detailed weekly score breakdowns were published by ABC and archived on entertainment data platforms such as Forbes.
Professional dancers on the season included Alec Mazo, who was paired with Jennie Garth, and Cheryl Burke, who danced with partner Tony Dovolani. Lacey Schwimmer and Maksim Chmerkovskiy also returned for their second season on the show. The professionals choreographed routines across multiple genres, including the cha-cha, jive, and quickstep, with each couple performing two dances per week during most episodes. The season also featured a "Fusion" week where couples combined two distinct dance styles into a single routine, increasing the technical difficulty of the choreography.
Winner, Finale, and Legacy
Brooke Burke and her professional partner Derek Hough were crowned the champions of DWTS season 7, winning the Mirrorball Trophy on May 20, 2008. The finale featured a three-night event where the final three couples performed their favorite routines from the season, with the winner determined by a combination of judges' scores and audience votes. The season finale also included a special performance by the cast and professional dancers, highlighting the choreography and entertainment value that defined the show's format.
The legacy of DWTS season 7 includes the continued careers of several professional dancers, particularly Derek Hough, who became one of the most recognized names in the franchise. The season also reinforced the show's role in promoting dance education and charitable causes, with portions of the proceeds supporting organizations such as the Dizzy Feet Foundation. The format and scoring innovations from this season influenced subsequent seasons and contributed to the show's long-running presence on American television, as documented by entertainment industry sources like Deadline.