“Dancing with the Stars” Season 35 premieres tonight at 8:00pm ET on ABC and Disney+ (streaming next day on Hulu). But this season is starting things a little differently. Instead of one big premiere night, the ballroom is opening with an epic two-night premiere event.
And yes, there will be an elimination tonight.
That might come as a surprise to fans who are used to the first episode being all about meeting the new couples and watching everyone get their first scores. This time around, the competition gets serious immediately. Yep, viewers will already have to say goodbye to one couple by the end of the first night.
Honestly, with so many couples competing this season, it seems like the show is wasting absolutely no time getting things moving.
Will Someone Be Eliminated on the “Dancing with the Stars” Premiere?
As noted above, the answer is YES. Shocking move for ABC, right? Yep, Season 35 is kicking off with two nights of live performances, and each night will feature its own elimination.
The 16 celebrity contestants will each “perform a song from the year they were born” with their professional dance partners, according to TODAY.
On night one, Tuesday, September 15, only the male celebrities will dance. At the end of the night, one male celebrity and his professional partner will be eliminated based on the combination of the judges’ scores (Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough, and Bruno Tonioli) and the public vote. Then, on night two, Wednesday, September 16, the female celebrities will take the ballroom floor, and another couple will be eliminated.
So, yep, that means two couples will be eliminated during the first week of Season 35.
It is definitely a different way to start a season, but honestly, there is something fun about getting right into the competition. With so many familiar faces and exciting new personalities in the cast, fans will have plenty to watch before the first elimination even happens. It seems like every couple has something different to bring to the ballroom.
Pro dancer Witney Carson, who is partnered with Guillermo Rodriguez this season, even addressed how unusual the format is when speaking with TODAY:
“I think it’s very scary that there’s an elimination both nights because that usually doesn’t happen… But at the same time, there’s a lot of couples and that’s just [the] competition. You have to vote people out, and I think people are going to have a really hard time doing that because every celebrity is so amazing.”
Who is Competing on DWTS Season 35?
There are 16 celebrity contestants competing for the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy this season, with each celebrity paired with a professional dancer. In a press release, ABC confirmed the full cast ahead of the premiere.
Here are all 16 couples:
- Tatyana Ali & Jan Ravnik
- Tyler Cameron & Sharna Burgess
- Giada De Laurentiis & Alan Bersten
- Jenna Dewan & Val Chmerkovskiy
- Ezra Frech & Daniella Karagach
- Amber Glenn & Pasha Pashkov
- Taylor Hanson & Britt Stewart
- Maura Higgins & Mark Ballas
- Conner Leavitt & Adele Zaikman
- Ciara Miller & Brandon Armstrong
- Sarah Jane Nader & Hailey Bills
- Jackson Olson & Emma Slater
- Guillermo Rodriguez & Witney Carson
- Harry Shum Jr. & Jenna Johnson
- Julia Stiles & Ezra Sosa
- Connor Wood & Rylee Arnold
With such a packed cast, the first two nights should give fans plenty of opportunities to see which celebrities immediately connect with the ballroom and which ones may need more time to find their footing.
But there won’t be much time to settle in.
By the end of tonight’s episode, one couple will already be leaving the competition. Then Wednesday’s episode will send another couple home. For fans who want to keep their favorite celebrities around, the public vote will be especially important right from the beginning.
And honestly, that makes the “Dancing with the Stars” Season 35 premiere feel a whole lot more exciting. It seems like fans are going to have to get attached fast because two couples will be gone before the competition even reaches its first regular week.
