Conrad Green says where to watch DWTS live still comes down to the same 8 p.m. schedule on both coasts for Season 35. That leaves West Coast viewers watching after the East Coast airing, even though the show is filmed in Los Angeles.
Season 35 airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. for both coasts and simulcasts across ABC and Disney+, with new episodes on Hulu the next day. The live taping starts in Los Angeles at 5 p.m. PT, so West Coast viewers do not get the same live home-viewing window as East Coast viewers.
Conrad Green and ABC
Conrad Green said the issue is mainly a discussion with the affiliates who show the series across ABC and the rest of the country. In that conversation, he called it “a big issue for them is if everyone starts watching the show at 5 p.m. when” and framed the schedule as part of the network’s wider programming structure rather than a simple local adjustment.
That structure has been in place since Season 32 returned the show to ABC after Season 31 ran exclusively on Disney+ and began at 5 p.m. PT. Since then, the series has kept its 8 p.m. for both coasts pattern, even as Season 35 continues that approach across ABC and Disney+.
Los Angeles at 5 p.m. PT
The practical result is straightforward. Voting only takes place during the live taping, so West Coast viewers who want their votes counted have roughly 5 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. PT to act, before the episode reaches them at 8 p.m. PT.
That timing also gives West Coast viewers a wider spoiler window, since reactions and results can surface on social media before the local broadcast begins. A 2023 Reddit thread already captured that frustration when viewers complained they could not watch the premiere live, and another user wrote that the show does not air live on the west coast.
Season 35 on Tuesdays
The Tuesday 8 p.m. slot is the key fact for viewers planning around Season 35. If ABC keeps that schedule, West Coast viewers have to vote early, avoid spoilers, and wait for the delayed airing instead of watching the live taping unfold at home. For now, that is the viewing model ABC and Disney have chosen, and it favors a single national primetime window over a coast-by-coast live broadcast.
