The first season of Dancing with the Stars debuted on ABC on June 1, 2005. Six celebrities were paired with six professional ballroom dancers. Tom Bergeron and Lisa Canning were the hosts while Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman, and Bruno Tonioli were the three judges for this season.
The premiere drew over 13 million viewers, the second biggest summer debut ever for an American reality series after Survivor. The second week climbed to 15 million viewers, and the show climbed to the top of the ratings in the summer 2005 TV season, where it remained for the remainder of the season.
The season finale aired on July 6, 2005, where General Hospital actress Kelly Monaco and Alec Mazo were announced as the winners, while actor John O'Hurley and Charlotte Jørgensen finished in second place.
Due to controversy over Kelly Monaco winning over the consistently higher-scoring John O'Hurley, a special rematch episode was held on September 20, 2005, with the results announced on a September 22 telecast. This time, John O'Hurley and Charlotte Jørgensen were the champions, and sizable donations were made to both Monaco and O'Hurley's chosen charities.
This season featured six celebrity contestants.
Kelly Monaco returned for the All-Stars season, where she was paired with Valentin Chmerkovskiy.
The highest score each week is indicated in with a dagger (), while the lowest score each week is indicated in with a double-dagger ().
Color key:
Individual judges' scores in the charts below (given in parentheses) are listed in this order from left to right: Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli.
Each couple performed either the cha-cha-cha or the waltz. Couples are listed in the order they performed.
Each couple performed either the quickstep or the rumba. Couples are listed in the order they performed.
Each couple performed either the jive or the tango. Couples are listed in the order they performed.
Each couple performed the samba, as well as a group Viennese waltz. Couples are listed in the order they performed.
Each couple performed both the foxtrot and the paso doble. Couples are listed in the order they performed.
Each couple performed two dances, one of which was a freestyle. Couples are listed in the order they performed.
This was a special "rematch" broadcast that aired on September 20, 2005, with the results announced on September 22.
The couples performed the following each week: