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Season 35 of Dancing With the Stars is officially underway, with the second part of the two-night premiere just hours away.
The season got off to a rocky start when technical difficulties forced ABC to disregard all votes cast online during night one of the premiere. Only text message votes were counted.
Despite the glitch, the season’s first elimination went ahead as planned. The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Conner Leavitt and new pro dancer Adele Zaikman were sent packing after receiving one of the lowest scores from the judges and not enough viewer votes.
Scores from returning judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough, and Bruno Tonioli were encouraging, if on the lower side. But co-hosts Julianne Hough and Alfonso Ribeiro did remind viewers that the judges tend to score dances low at first so the pairs have room to grow throughout the season.
The standout performances of night one belonged to Paralympian Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach, who scored a 20 out of 30 on a moving tango to “Since U Been Gone” by Kelly Clarkson, and Grey’s Anatomy star Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson, who later received the top score of the night with a 21 out of 30 for their cha-cha to “Let’s Groove” by Earth, Wind & Fire.
Tonight, the women and their respective partners take the ballroom floor for the first time! The action kicks off at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+, with streaming available the next day on Hulu.
Get ready for another night of show-stopping routines, surprises, judge’s comments, and joy!
‘DWTS’ returns for the second night of its two-night Season 35 premiere (Disney)
Caitlin Hornik17 September 2026 00:00
Meet the couples: Julia Stiles and Ezra Sosa
Stiles, a beloved Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated movie star, will compete for the Mirrorball Trophy with Sosa.
The actor, 45, skyrocketed to fame for her breakout role as Kat Stratford in the 1999 romance 10 Things I Hate About You. After the movie, which co-starred the late Heath Ledger, she went on to star in projects like the Bourne franchise, Dexter, Silver Linings Playbook and Hustlers.
She previously showed off her dancing skills in the 2001 movie Save the Last Dance.
Next, she is slated to appear in thriller series Recap as well as holiday movie Unbearable Christmas.
Julia Stiles will put on her dancing shoes for this season of ‘DWTS’ with pro dancer Ezra Sosa (Disney)
Caitlin Hornik16 September 2026 23:47
Meet the couples: Jenna Dewan and Val Chmerkovskiy
The dance floor will be familiar for the actor as she started her career as a backup dancer for artists like Janet Jackson and went on to work with stars including Pink, Christina Aguilera and Missy Elliott.
Dewan, 45, will be paired with pro dancer Val Chmerkovskiy.
Jenna Dewan will return to her dancing roots on season 35 of ‘DWTS’ (Disney)
Caitlin Hornik16 September 2026 23:37
DWTS judge defends dance backgrounds of celebrities Julia Stiles and Jenna Dewan
Carrie Ann Inaba has defended the season 35 contestants who are catching flak for their previous dance experience.
“What’s difficult — and I don’t think people realize this — is when you go from being a jazz dancer or a hip-hop dancer or all the other forms of dancing [to ballroom], the weight placement is so different,” Inaba explained.
Caitlin Hornik16 September 2026 23:18
Meet the couples: Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas
Higgins has been eager to appear on DWTS since the show’s executive producer and casting head Deena Katz cast her in The Traitors. “[Maura] texts me every time she’s coming to L.A. She wants to have lunch. She’s been dying to do the show, and she’s fantastic. She’s great television,” Katz told The Hollywood Reporter.
“[Maura] is exactly what our show is, and she’s having a moment right now, so that was a no-brainer. And knowing what was going to happen with Traitors and seeing the buzz about her, she was fantastic.”
Irish reality star Maura Higgins will compete with pro Mark Ballas on season 35 of ‘DWTS’ (Disney)
Caitlin Hornik16 September 2026 23:02
Meet the couples: Ciara Miller and Brandon Armstrong
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter about having Miller on DWTS, executive producer and casting head Deena Katz said: “I already knew Ciara. She was on Traitors, and she’s wonderful. She’s stunning, she’s gorgeous; she’s all these things.
“And then the stuff that happened to her, it was a really of the moment thing that we all felt like it was the right time. We really wanted her on the show, but it was also the right time to announce her.”
Miller will be partnered with Brandon Armstrong, who has yet to win his first Mirrorball Trophy.
‘Summer House’ star Ciara Miller was the first celebrity to join the new season of ‘DWTS’ (Disney)
Caitlin Hornik16 September 2026 22:29
The women and their respective pros will take the ballroom floor for the first time tonight! Those pairs include:
Tatyana Ali with partner Jan RavnikGiada De Laurentiis with partner Alan BerstenJenna Dewan with partner Val ChmerkovskiyAmber Glenn with partner Pasha Pashkov Maura Higgins with partner Mark Ballas Ciara Miller with partner Brandon Armstrong Sarah Jane Nader with partner Hailey Bills Julia Stiles with partner Ezra Sosa
Caitlin Hornik16 September 2026 22:00
For season 35 of DWTS, the voting process remains largely the same as seasons past.
Voting can be done online at the official Dancing With the Stars site or by SMS text message during the live voting window (8 p.m. ET through the episode’s final competitive dance routine) for each episode.
Votes are not allowed during replays or later viewings.
Fans are allowed to vote for multiple couples. However, there is a maximum of 20 votes per couple (10 online and 10 via text message).
To vote via text, viewers can send the designated keyword to 21523 during the live broadcast.
Viewer votes combine with the judges scores to determine who stays and who gets sent packing.
Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough, and Bruno Tonioli return to judge DWTS’ (Disney)
Caitlin Hornik16 September 2026 21:31
Last night’s leaderboard and elimination
As a reminder of how night one went, here’s how the leaderboard looked:
Harry and Jenna: 21 Ezra and Daniella: 20 Tyler and Sharna: 17 Taylor and Britt: 16 Connor and Rylee: 16 Jackson and Emma: 15 Conner and Adele: 12 Guillermo and Witney: 10
Conner and Adele were ultimately sent home.
Conner Leavitt and Adele Zaikman were sent home after performing just one dance (Disney)
Caitlin Hornik16 September 2026 21:00
DWTS premiere night two just hours away
After last night’s competition kickoff and first elimination, DWTS returns for the second part of its Season 35 premiere!
The women and their respective pro partners will take the ballroom by storm tonight. They’re following the same musical theme as the men during night one, dancing to a song that topped the charts from the year they were born!
Caitlin Hornik16 September 2026 20:00