Late last November, viewers watched as five stars, along with their professional dance partners, competed for the iconic Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy, with “The Bachelor” star, Joey Graziadei, ending up with the win. Here’s a recap and everything you need to know from this past season.

The cast this season ranged in ages, from 24 to 72, and were all from a wide range of professions. From television and movie personalities to professional and Olympic sports players, the cast this year was guaranteed to bring in a wide range of viewers. Here’s a quick rundown of the contestants this season and their placement.

In 13th place was con artist and entrepreneur Anna Delvey, who was partnered with rookie Ezra Sosa. In 12th place was actress Tori Spelling, partnered with Pasha Pashkov. Both of those pairs got eliminated in the second week. In 11th and 10th place were actors Eric Roberts, partnered with pro Britt Stewart and Reginald VelJohnson, who was partnered with pro Emma Slater, both eliminated in the fourth week. 

Next in ninth place was model Brooks Nader, who was paired with pro Gleb Savchenko; the pair got eliminated in week five. In eighth place was “The Real Housewives” star Phaedra Parks, whose pro was last year’s mirrorball champion, Val Chmerkovskiy. The following week on Halloween, “ The Bachelorette” star Jenn Tran and her pro Sasha Farber got eliminated, with Jenn placing seventh. Next in sixth place was NBA player, Dwight Howard, who was partnered with Daniella Karagach. 

Normally the following week would be an elimination, but instead, all five remaining couples were sent to the finals to compete for the mirrorball. Ultimately, NFL player Danny Amendola and his pro Witney Carson got fifth place with their Barbie freestyle and redemption tango. In fourth was Olympic artistic gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik and pro partner Rylee Arnold; they performed an Olympic-themed freestyle and a redemption quickstep. In third place was Disney star Chandler Kinney and her pro Brandon Armstrong, who performed the first all black dancers freestyle and a redemption jive. Clinching second place was Olympic Rugby player Ilona Maher and her pro Alan Bersten, who danced a “femininomenon” freestyle and a redemption jive. And in first place was “ The Bachelor” star Joey Graziadei and pro Jenna Johnson, who performed a tennis-inspired freestyle and a redemption cha-cha. 

Now let’s get into some of the must know details and a short recap. This season was full of “showmances.” Right off the bat, couple Brooks Nader and Gleb Savchenko were noted as the show’s “showmance.” Between the flirtatious comments during the rehearsal packages and their Tik Tok posts, it was clear the duo had good chemistry. By the time they had gotten eliminated, people had started noticing Jenn Tran and Sasha Farber’s intense relationship. Over the course of the season they had become very close; after Tran got eliminated, she moved in with Farber, supposedly until the show was over. It is now unclear if the pair still lives together, but they keep their fans engaged as they often post on social media together. 

There were also a few controversies this season, the first being the selection of con artist and entrepreneur Anna Delvey. Delvey had spent time in prison and is famously known for conning her way through her life. Her background and dry sense of humor once she was on the show caused stir from viewers, with many believing that she did not deserve a spot on the show and there could’ve been someone “better” in her spot. Others also questioned why they had allowed a convicted criminal on the show. While these comments did get to Delvey, she still enjoyed her short time there with Sosa. Once eliminated, she went viral for her answer to the question about what she will take away from this experience, simply stating “nothing.” This response also caused some controversy: some people said it showed her ungratefulness, while others argued it was just her sense of humor. Another controversy was the judges’ scores, specifically from longtime judge Carrie Ann Inaba. Her wide range of scores and hypocrisy raised some red flags. Many viewers speculated that she was favoring male celebrities; she would often turn her head when they made errors, but would call out female celebrities, specifically Kinney, when she made the same errors. She would also often give male celebrities higher scores, yet again leaning into the idea that she favored them. Many fans on social media have been pushing for her to be replaced for next season.

This season also provided viewers with many memorable dances. One of the most sentimental was on week five, “Dedication Night.” Viewers also got to see a touching dance between judge and former pro Derek Hough, and his wife Hayley Erbert, who last year was diagnosed with a cranial hematoma from a blood burst and had required an emergency craniectomy. This dance was Erbert’s return to the ballroom, and everyone  was moved by it. Stephen Nedoroscik also had an extremely emotional final freestyle. His dance to “Viva La Vida,” by Coldplay, highlighted Nedoroscik’s pommel horse talent and featured three of his fellow teammates. People all over social media in the following days posted how much this dance touched them and how moving it was to them. Another factor to that emotion was that Nedoroscik’s pro, Rylee Arnold, choreographed such a beautiful dance in only her second season on the show—all while being only 19 years old.

This season was also a record breaker. Each week, viewers broke viewing records, and the hosts would thank viewers for yet again breaking the voting records. The finale brought in nearly seven million viewers, a 16% increase from last year’s finale. 

Starting earlier this month, some of the cast has embarked on a Dancing with the Stars tour. Nedoroscik is the host and some of the celebrities making guest appearances throughout the tour. 

Overall, this past season has been one of the most interesting, eventful, and talented seasons yet!