Season 17

Season seventeen of Dancing with the Stars premiered on September 16, 2013 and ended on November 26, 2013. Tom Bergeron and Brooke Burke-Charvet returned as hosts and Carrie Ann Inaba Len Goodman, and Bruno Tonioli returned as judges. The Harold Wheeler orchestra and singers also returned to provide the music throughout the season (which turned out to be their last). This was also Brooke Burke-Charvet's last season as co-host. The cast was announced on September 4, 2013, during Good Morning America.

This is the first season since season one to not have a results show. Another change was the elimination of the sky-box area where host Brooke Burke-Charvet interviewed dancers after their performances. Instead, the couples were accommodated in a new seating area near the judges' table which had been shifted to the opposite side of the ballroom. A make-up room and rehearsal room were added where Charvet could chat with the couples before and after their performances.

This season also introduced a new format of voting. Each week the couples will perform, and the judges will give each couple a score based on several factors, including technical execution. Since there is no results show, those scores will be added to the public votes from the previous week, and the couple with the lowest combined score from judges and viewer votes will be eliminated from the competition toward the end of that week’s episode.

On November 26, Amber Riley and her partner Derek Hough were crowned the champions, making Riley the first African-American woman to win. Corbin Bleu and Karina Smirnoff became the runners-up, and Jack Osbourne and Cheryl Burke received third place. Hough received his fifth mirrorball trophy, a series record for a professional dancer.

Couples
The cast of twelve and their professional partners was announced on September 4, 2013 on Good Morning America.

All of the previously competing professional dancers returned for season 17 with the exception of Gleb Savchenko, Lindsay Arnold, and Kym Johnson (who took the season off to be a judge in season 13 of the Australian version). They were replaced by Tyne Stecklein, Emma Slater, and Sasha Farber. However, Savchenko and Arnold joined Henry Byalikov and Witney Carson in the Dance Troupe replacing Julian Tocker, Oksana Dmytrenko, Sasha Farber, and Emma Slater. The troupe was reduced to four professional dancers.

Scoring chart
For weeks with a fourth judge their scores are not added in this table.


 * Red numbers indicate the lowest score for each week
 * Green numbers indicate the highest score for each week
 * the couple had immunity that week
 * the couple eliminated that week
 * the returning couple that was the last to be called safe
 * the winning couple
 * the runner-up couple
 * the third-place couple

Average score chart
This table only counts for dances scored on a traditional 30-point scale (the points from the Switch-Up challenge in week 6, the dance off scores from week 8, Maksim's scores from week 10, and the samba relay points from week 11 are not included).

Highest and lowest scoring performances
The best and worst performances in each dance according to the judges' 30-point scale are as follows (Maksim's scores from week 10 are not counted):

Couples' highest and lowest scoring dances
According to the traditional 30-point scale (team dances and Maksim's scores from week 10 not included):

Weekly scores
Unless indicated otherwise, individual judges scores in the charts below (given in parentheses) are listed from left to right: Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli.

Week 1

 * Running order

Week 2: Latin Night

 * Running order

Week 4
Individual judges scores and votes in the charts below (given in parentheses) are listed from left to right: Carrie Ann Inaba, Julianne Hough, Bruno Tonioli.
 * Running order

Week 5: Most Memorable Year Night

 * Running order

Week 6: Switch-Up Challenge
Due to a technical error during the previous week in which incorrect voting numbers were displayed for the couples, the votes were subsequently thrown out, meaning that no couple was eliminated. Instead, the judges scores and viewer votes were carried over to the following week.

In the Switch-Up Challenge, all eight couples were divided into two groups of four. In a marathon-style, all danced to four songs they had not previously rehearsed and were scored on their ability to interpret the music, transition from one song to another, and stay on time.


 * Running order

Week 7: Team Dance Week
Cher was announced as a guest judge for week eight, when Len will be taking another week off. Each couple performed an individual, unlearned dance and a team freestyle. The teams were chosen by the highest scoring couples Amber & Derek (Team "FoxingAwesome") and Elizabeth & Val (Team "Spooky BomBom").


 * Running order

Week 8: Cher Week
Individual judges scores and votes in the charts below (given in parentheses) are listed from left to right: Carrie Ann Inaba, Cher, Bruno Tonioli.

All of the dance routines were performed to classic songs by Cher. In addition, after the individual routines were performed, the highest-scorers, Amber & Derek, received immunity and avoided elimination for this week. The remaining six couples competed in pairs for the Dance-Off challenge, with the winners receiving an additional three points that were added to their scores.

Week 9: Trio Challenge
Each couple performed one unlearned ballroom dance as well as a trio dance. Each couple chose one professional who was either previously eliminated or participates in the dance troupe to perform with them.


 * Running order

Week 10: Plugged/Unplugged Night (Semifinals)
Individual judges scores in the chart below (given in parentheses) are listed from left to right: Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Bruno Tonioli.

In a new twist to the competition, the couples performed two different dance styles to the original version (plugged) and an acoustic version (unplugged) of the same song. Also this week, "bad boy" of the ballroom Maksim Chmerkovskiy, returned to the show as a guest judge alongside Inaba, Goodman and Tonioli.

The unplugged versions of Corbin & Karina's Rumba and Amber & Derek's Viennese Waltz were performed by Kerli. Noah Guthrie performed the unplugged version of Bill E. & Emma's Argentine tango.


 * Running order

Week 11: The Finals
The four finalists dance for the coveted mirror ball trophy. Each couple will dance a judges' choice of a previous performance in hopes to improve their original scores, a samba relay, and a super sized freestyle. At the end of the night one couple will be eliminated. On the second night, the top three couples will perform a fusion dance (two dances fused together with the same song) chosen by the other competitors the night before, only having 24 hours of preparation.


 * Running order (night 1)

Bill E. & Emma were eliminated at the end of the night after receiving the overall lowest combined total points. Had they not been eliminated, they would have danced a Jive-Quickstep fusion the following night.


 * Running order (night 2)

Dance styles
Charleston and disco were introduced as permanent dance styles this season. The celebrities and professional partners danced one of these routines for each corresponding week:


 * Week 1: Cha-cha-cha, foxtrot or contemporary (Opening Night)
 * Week 2: Jive, Paso doble, rumba or samba (Latin Night)
 * Week 3: One unlearned dance (Hollywood Night)
 * Week 4: One unlearned dance
 * Week 5: One unlearned dance (Most Memorable Year)
 * Week 6: One unlearned dance & switch-up dance (Switch-Up Challenge)
 * Week 7: One unlearned dance & team dances (Team Dance Week)
 * Week 8: One unlearned dance & dance-offs (Cher Week)
 * Week 9: One unlearned dance & trio dances (Trio Challenge)
 * Week 10: Two unlearned dances (Plugged/Unplugged Night / Semifinals)
 * Week 11 (Night 1): Judges' choice, Samba relay & freestyle (Top 4)
 * Week 11 (Night 2): 24 Hour Fusion Challenge (Top 3)


 * Highest scoring dance
 * Lowest scoring dance
 * Danced, but not scored
 * Gained bonus points for this dance
 * Won immunity for the week