“Dancing with the Stars” season 35 will be a two-night event, premiering on Tuesday, September 15, and again on September 16. Fans are gearing up to see sixteen couples make their debut on the dance floor, with celebrity contestants consisting of professional athletes, reality TV stars, musicians, and comedians, to name a few.
However, unlike last season or the season before it, there are a few changes for season 35 that some fans and even the couples themselves are finding quite shocking, including a surprise double elimination during premiere week.
Premiere Week for DWTS Season 35 Will Look A Lot Different
GettyThe “Dancing With the Stars” season 35 premiere will kick off with a two-night event, but it will look very different than what fans have watched before.
According to Today, night one, which takes place on Tuesday, September 15, will feature only male celebrity contestants and their professional partners making their ballroom debuts. However, the night won’t end without an elimination, as one couple will be sent home based on a combination of viewers’ votes and scores from the judges, Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli, and Derek Hough.
Unlike a traditional season, viewers will only be able to vote for the couples competing on their respective nights, meaning night one viewers can only cast their votes for their favorite male celebrity contestant and his pro partner.
Night two, which will air the following night, September 16, will feature all the female celebrity contestants taking to the ballroom floor with their pro partners. Just like night one, viewers will only be able to vote for the couples competing that evening, with the female celeb receiving the lowest combined score being sent home at the end of the night.
Both premiere nights will see male and female celebrity contestants dancing to a No. 1 hit song from the year they were born.
The change is a significant one, as couples eliminated on either night won’t have the opportunity to show viewers just how much they can improve week after week. One of the most enjoyable parts about DWTS is watching celebs with little to no dance experience gain confidence and progress throughout the competition, so it could be a tough night for a few celebrities competing this season.
DWTS Season 35 Night One Male Contestants & Their Pro Partners
As mentioned above, night one of the DWTS season 35 premiere will only see the male celebrities on the ballroom floor. That means viewers will watch a total of eight dances that night. One of these couples will be eliminated that night.
The male contestants and their pro partners include: “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” star Conner Leavitt and Adele Zaikman, Paralympian Ezra French and Daniella Karagach, influencer Connor Wood and Rylee Arnold, Hanson’s band member Taylor Hanson and Britt Stewart, Savannah Bananas player Jackson Olson and Emma Slater, “Jimmy Kimmel Live” sidekick Guillermo Rodriguez and Witney Carson, actor Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson, and “Bachelorette” star Tyler Cameron and Sharna Burgess.
DWTS Season 35 Night Two Female Contestants & Their Pro Partners
On night two, the female contestants will show off their footwork with their pro partners. The ladies and their partners include: ” The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” alum Tatyana Ali and Jan Ravnik, actress Jenna Dewan and Val Chmerkovskiy, chef Giada De Laurentiis and Alan Bersten, Olympian Amber Glenn and Pasha Pashkov, “Love Island UK” star Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas, “Summer House” star Ciara Miller and Brandon Armstrong, actress Julia Stiles and Ezra Sosa, and, for the second time in DWTS history, two women are paired together: Sarah Jane Nader and Hailey Bills.
Again, one of these couples will be going home.
All Celeb Contestants Must Use Social Media According to a New Rule
According to a report from The U.S. Sun, another big change implemented in the new season is that all celebrity contestants must use social media during their time on DWTS.
“Following last year’s uptick in votes and all the records broken from the amount of votes that came in, the producers are emphasizing social media more so this season than any other year,” a source shared. “They spoke to prospective cast members about how social media would be a larger, and now mandatory, part of the process when choosing who to cast.”
The use of social media like TikTok is mandatory this season, and fans have seen all the season 35 contestants and their pro partners already making fun videos before the season kicks off, with most couples mainly creating content while in rehearsals.
The source added that it creates more engagement and could lead to more votes for that couple. In fact, fans pointed out that actress Julia Stiles set up a TikTok because of her casting.
