2^0 + 2^5 (20 Years of Dancing with the Stars) - A New Series!

Hello everyone! 2025 has arrived, and it's super surreal. Embarking on a quarter of the new millennium has changed human society for the....well...you can decide on that for yourself. But that's not what I'm here to blog about.

It'd occurred to me that a show I'd gotten back into a couple of years ago is reaching 20 years this year. What show could it be? What show even reaches 20 years in the first place?

No. It's not the news. But this show has been newsworthy since its inception. A blend of high-stakes, skill, heart, and gyrations. Oh crap. That last one gave it away. Well, what the hey. There's no reason to hide it from your sights anymore. It's the ever so glam-tastic Dancing with the Stars!

To celebrate this momentous milestone of the show turning 20 this year, I wanted to write a series of blog posts under the umbrella term "2^0 + 2^5" (pronounced "Two to the Zero Plus Two to the Five") over the course of the year highlighting the show's evolution from another reality TV experiment to a captivating voyage profounding all generations. Strap on because we got a lot to discuss!

To think how a singular stage could create so many memories...

Now, why a mathematical term for the title? Well, in mathematics:

• Anything to the zero power is equal to one

• Two to the fifth power is equal to 32

• 2^0 = 1, 2^5 = 32

• 1 + 32 = 33 (The number of seasons Dancing with the Stars has done from its inception to its 20 year mark)

It's a nice tongue-in-cheek reference to the year 2025, the year in which Dancing with the Stars turns 20 years old, that also happened to logistically work season-wise. I was honestly trying to think of something evoking the lines of the phrase "It Takes Two to Tango" and just landed on that. (It's just how my brain works.)

Now, a 34th season could count toward the 20 years and would therefore make the equation wrong, but on a technical basis, the show premiered on June 1, 2005. Thus, the timespan would only encompass 33 seasons given the nature of the show. There's also a Juniors edition that occurred within that timespan, but that's considered a spin-off from the actual show. Regardless, I'm willing to cherish all Dancing with the Stars has done over 20 years (even those workout DVDs), but if the math is still not mathing in your head, consider a 34th season as a celebration for those 20 years for the sake of this series (and your mind).

The blog posts will be rolling out on a non-scheduled basis, but best be assured that they will be popping up over the course of the year. In the meantime, check out the "Top Chef and I" blog posts I got up on Top Chef contestants. They're a riot of fun, food, and fascination to read.