It’s the end of an era, Dance Moms fans. Tonight’s Season 6 finale (possibly the series finale, as well) marks the final regular-episode appearance of the series’ breakout star Maddie Ziegler, her little sister Mackenzie and their oft put-upon mother Melissa Gisoni.
• RELATED: We talk So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation with new judge Maddie Ziegler!
The finale, aptly titled One Last Dance, sees the Ziegler sisters taking part in their final competition as members of the Abby Lee Dance Company. But Abby’s hardly feeling sentimental toward her longtime favorites. Or at least one of them. She pits Mackenzie against a talented new competitor named Ari, sending Melissa into tailspin. But Melissa is Melissa and she refuses the other mothers’ suggestion that she talk it out with Abby and redirects her frustration in a way that Lifetime’s release says results in her “ending her time with the ALDC like she never would have imagined.”
The Dance Moms Season 6 finale, “One Last Dance,” premieres Tuesday, May 3 at 9/8CT on Lifetime.
But take heart, Ziegler/Gisoni fans — the trio also will appear in a series of follow-up specials on consecutive Tuesdays through May 24.
The first, titled Hello and Goodbye, is a reunion show hosted by former Queer Eye star Jai Rodriguez. The hour will follow Melissa, Maddie and Mackenzie’s last days with the team, rehash Season 6 drama and feature a performance by the junior elite team. Melissa’s longtime costars will also get the chance to air any lingering grievances — so much for a fond farewell — and the new moms will talk about the future of the ALDC. Which may or may not equate with the future of Dance Moms.
Dance Moms: Hello and Goodbye premieres Tuesday May 10 at 9/8CT on Lifetime.
• RELATED: Host Jai Rodriguez previews the Dance Moms Season 6 reunion specials!
On Tuesday, May 17, Dance Moms: The Girls Say Goodbye features Maddie, Mackenzie and their junior elite teammates hanging out, playing games and taking questions from diehard fans. Jai Rodriguez hosts and Todrick Hall stops by to perform with the girls before they all get the chance to say a final goodbye.
Dance Moms: The Girls Say Goodbye premieres Tuesday, May 17, at 9/8CT on Lifetime.
On May 24, Maddie and Mackenzie sit down with Abby Lee Miller to talk about their years at ALDC and the ups and downs of their Dance Moms journey before the girls bid their longtime dance coach goodbye. The trio will answer fans’ final questions and the Ziegler sisters will fill fans in on their post Dance Moms plans — including Maddie’s appearance on So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation and her feature film debut in The Book of Henry.
You can check out our exclusive interview with Maddie about taking a seat at the SYTYCD judges table here.
Dance Moms: The Final Curtain premieres Tuesday, May 24 at 9/8CT on Lifetime.
So what say you, Dance Moms fans? Are you sad or relieved to see the Ziegler girls fly the ALDC coop? Will you still watch Dance Moms if it goes on without them? Will you watch Maddie on So You Think You Can Dance? What do you hope is next for Big Mac? Share your thoughts and remarks in the comments section below.
Watched the last few episodes, Melissa really showed her true colours. Just nasty!
I’ve seen enough. “Grown women” behaving badly… it’s not much more than a verbal wrestling match. It was a pleasure watching the dancers learn, grow, and mature, but watching the adults’ behavior deteriorate from week to week was silly and painful. Ultimately, for me, the catfight-to-dance ratio became toxic. It was a cruel death.
Congratulations and best wishes to the young ladies! Nicely done.
I agree, the screaming and bullying directed at Brynn was absolutely disgusting to watch. She’s an amazing little dancer, even Maddie admitted that she was intimidated by her because of her technique and lines. But unlike Jill, Jessalyn, Kira, Melissa and even Holly, Maddie seems to respect Brynn for her abilities. What really disappointed me was to see Kendall being such a miserable little brat, mirroring her mother’s crappy attitude and jealousy. The girls always seemed to be able to put the mama-drama aside and be friends, but Kendall took it to a whole new level with her jealousy. I shouldn’t be surprised though, she’s always been jealous, and made snide smartass little comments, even when she was 8 years old.
But, like a horrific car-wreck, people (me included) can’t help but watch even when every sense of being tells you to just turn away…I really do wish Maddie luck, and Mackenzie too, and it was nice to see Abby wish them well. I KNEW her anger had to do with Maddie’s new gig at SYTYCD Juniors, or whatever it’s called, and really I can’t blame her, those shows are her direct competition and it’ll take viewers away from DM because she won’t be involved.
The Ziegler stories about aldc team maddie ziegler show the stories on the show what happens on last season melissa has a new member of the ziegler family Jill and kendall part of this family to melissa Mackenzie is will be a super star he is grown up so fast
Try that again, but in real sentences this time….
Can I just say this – Jill, you and Kendall are NOT MEMBERS OF THE ORIGINAL TEAM!!! The original team consisted of Maddie, Mack, Paige, Brooke, Chloe and Nia. Even Vivi-anne wasn’t an original member, Abby put her on the team after the fact, and Kendall replaced Vivi, hence, not an original member!!! This entire season has had me screaming like a lunatic at Jill and Kendall LOL. Not sure how much of it you’ve watched Lori, but those two were out of freaking control….but who really pissed me off was Jessalyn, and Holly. Considering the fact that Jojo has never won an overall, or for that matter, I don’t think she’s ever even won her category much less placed in the top 3, yet Jess had the audacity to slam Brynn and treat Ashlee like a piece of shit on the bottom of her shoe. Holly….she’s disappointed and angered me to the point where I lost sleep (I know, totally pathetic, but that’s what happens when you watch the show before going to bed LMAO). She did absolutely nothing, sat back and let ALL the mothers tear apart a 12 year old talented little girl, and for being a teacher, that made me want to throw up. If any of her students pulled that crap, I’m hoping that as a teacher, she would have stepped in and said something. Nia’s come a long way the last two seasons and can hold her own in every routine that she’s been given, so luckily for her, she hasn’t been the object of Abby’s wrath, and I’m really proud of her. Jill’s horrible attitude and coping skills (or lack thereof) have rubbed off on her precious little princess, and that’s just sad. How many times did Kendall run out of the class in tears in past years? Those pale by comparison to this year, and if Kendall were my kid, I’d kick her ass and ground her until she was 30 for being such a disrespectful little brat. But you can hardly blame the kid, look who her mother is….
Back to the topic lol. Sorry, I’ve missed this forum to rant on, none of the other discussion boards are nearly as good!! I’m on the fence about the Ziegler’s leaving, I’m happy that Maddie has more opportunities, she’s worked hard for them. A few weeks ago, on the episode when Melissa finally told Abby they were leaving, Abby said something about how she better not hear about Maddie working on that new SYTYCD show for kids, and what do you know, what’s her next gig? I’d be willing to bet that’s where some of the animosity is coming from, Abby should be happy for the girls, this is exactly what she’s trained them for, to work professionally as a dancer, or actor, or whatever they can get. I’m sure that she’s genuinely heartbroken to be losing the girls, if she loved anyone other than her mother and that ugly-ass dog of hers, it was Maddie and Mackenzie, and even Melissa. But of course, the coward that Melissa is, won’t talk about it, I’m sure she fudged something in the contracts somewhere and knows she screwed Abby over somewhere, and won’t admit it. Kind of off-topic but not really, is there any new developments with Abby’s lawsuit?
I love the newer moms (jess) and the interactions among them. I like how the moms change their loyalties. What will Jill do now? I have also watched every episode and have tapes of the first three seasons. I do not miss the original group. Christi was mean and sneaky but without her Kelly was OK. It is a group performance – Abby the Moms the Girls. I will watch as long as the show is on. If no one likes Abby, how come she received so many get well wishes?
Agreed. The show used to have an element of winking humor when Christy and Kelly were doing their thing and when Cathy and Vivi were a regular part of the show. In the last few years, the vibe has just been ugly and mean-spirited and so little about fostering the girls’ talent. It became impossible to watch … at least for me.
I actually miss that wackadoo Cathy lol, kinda sad ain’t it?
I just don’t think the show has been the same since Paige, Chloe, and Brooke have gone, and with Maddie and Mackenzie gone too, I think either the show is going to fizzle out altogether or it will start all over again from the beginning with the new “minnies” team. Remember Dance Moms “diehard fans,” the show is called Dance “MOMS” for a reason; it features the girls dancing, but the program has technically gotten its popularity from the Mothers of the show.. the way that they argued and fought with each other and with Abby. That’s what really made the show entertaining. With Melissa gone, (even though she didn’t argue as much as the pros), as well as Kristy and Kelly (who I believe were the pros), all that’s left is Holly and Nia from the original team. Jill has been there for quite awhile, but her and Kendall were in and out in the beginning of the show. I have seen every episode since the start of the series, I’ve watched the girls skills develop over the years, but I just don’t think the program is as entertaining as it used to be without the original members.