Dancing With The Stars Season 33 is over, and while I’m still theorizing about why the finale played out the way it did, there are happier moments to look back on. A good chunk of it involves Ilona Maher and Alan Bersten, who ended up with a second-place finish and the hearts of many who watch. Now, I wish these two had a show where they were siblings on the 2025 TV schedule, and their latest TikTok together proves it should happen.
After going viral for a dancing fail and that fantastic Dirty Dancing lift, it’s going to be hard not seeing Bersten and Maher together every single week. That said, I have no doubt these two are going to be friends for life, especially after watching how she calls out for him in this recent TikTok:
@ilonamaher The only way I can get Alan to stop chit chatting with everyone so we can take a pic @Dancing with the Stars #DWTS ♬ original sound – Ilona Maher
That red carpet call-out shows a level of comfort these two have that showed on Dancing With The Stars too. Alan and Ilona appeared to be having the best time out of everyone in Season 33 and created some iconic moments along the way. I’m sure years from now, I’ll still have nightmares about Alan’s donkey costume for the Encanto performance, and, honestly, I’m not mad about it.
Unfortunately, we don’t know if or when we’ll see Ilona Maher or Alan Bersten on our televisions again. I know a lot of people want Maher to do The Bachelorette, and Bersten would be a perfect sidekick to help her pick the perfect man. I’m not the biggest fan of the franchise, but if it means more Maher on television, then maybe I’d make an exception.
I would also love to see Ilona Maher do more reality television in general, and if Alan Bersten is along for the ride, that’s all the better. Could anyone else imagine just how fun these two would be on a show like The Amazing Race? That’s a competition that I not only see them being a perfect fit for, but I think they’d be front-runners to win the whole competition, given their shared skills in dancing and physical feats.
Overall, I must continue giving ABC props for Dancing With The Stars Season 33. With the exception of the Instant Dance Challenge, I think this was the most fun I’ve had watching a season of the dance competition in a long time. A large part of that was due to casting people like Ilona Maher and others who not only bought in and gave it their all but also made for an unpredictable finale in which no one really knew who was going to win.
For those who want to re-live all the fun, watching Dancing With The Stars Season 33 is now possible with a Disney+ subscription. I might be tempted to do so over the holidays to see Ilona Maher and Alan Bersten’s bestie energy all over again.