'Dancing With the Stars' Fans Actually Want a Break as Disney+ Broadcast Becomes Exhausting

Commercials usually cause grumbling among television viewers, but some Dancing With the Stars fans are complaining about not having them now. This season is the show's first on Disney+, which means two-hour episodes are really 120 minutes. That forced producers to find inventive ways to fill over a half-hour of additional time they didn't have before.

Through the first two weeks, audiences have seen the dance troupe perform short reprises of the main dances while contestants make their way up to the skybox. Co-host Alfonso Ribeiro's skybox interviews have also helped fill the extra time, while the production team prepares the ballroom floor for the next dance. The season also began with 16 contestants, the most since 2009.

"What we're going to do is use what would have been traditional ad breaks as a way to create more programming and to further engage our audience," Michael Paull, president, direct to consumer, Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution, told Variety before the season premiere. "So it's a pretty exciting task for the team because it's a very different format than what it had been historically. And I think people are going to be really excited by some of the ideas that they came up with to complete the story on the shows."