Dancing With the Stars and High Potential returned to ABC on Tuesday, September 16, with Season 34 and Season 2, respectively. The longtime competition show and buzzed-about new procedural aired at 8/7c and 10/9c, respectively. But how did the shows do in the ratings?

It was a big night for DWTS, as the live show drew in 5.53 million viewers and a 1.07 rating in the adults 18-49 demographic. This brought the show up 6% in total viewers and 49% in ratings from the Season 33 premiere. It's also the show's biggest premiere night since Season 29 debuted in 2020.

Host Alfonso Ribeiro revealed during the episode that the show had received more than double the amount of votes compared to 2024's premiere. Per Variety, the Season 34 debut episode brought in 21 million votes, which was up 163% compared to the 8 million received in Season 33's premiere.

The Season 34 cast includes Robert Irwin, Dylan Efron, Jennifer Affleck, Whitney Leavitt, Corey Feldman, Hilaria Baldwin, Baron Davis, Andy Richter, Lauren Jauregui, Scott Hoying, Jordan Chiles, Elaine Hendrix, Danielle Fishel, and Alix Earle.

High Potential also had a great first night, bringing in 4.34 million viewers and a .34 rating in the adults 18-49 demographic. Although the latter was down from last season, the total viewers were up more than 20%, proving just how popular the Kaitlin Olson-led show became over the course of its first season.

Streaming helped bump the numbers up even more. After just one day of streaming on Hulu, the Season 2 premiere was up 51% in total viewers from the 2024 pilot episode's first day.

DWTS and High Potential's premieres aired one day before ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel's talk show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, due to remarks the late-night host made about Charlie Kirk. The ratings came in before the controversy.