Conner Leavitt is the first celebrity out of Dancing With the Stars Season 35, eliminated at the end of Night 1 on Tuesday, September 15. Night 2 airs tonight, Wednesday, September 16, at 8/7c on ABC, streaming live on Disney+ and Hulu. The eight female celebrities dance, and one more goes home.
There was also a problem with voting. Online voting went down at the start of Tuesday’s show, and roughly halfway through the episode ABC made the call to throw out online votes entirely for Night 1 only text votes counted.
DANCING WITH THE STARS – “Episode 2111A” – Bindi Irwin and Derek Hough were crowned Season 21 champions during the two-hour season finale of “Dancing with the Stars,” TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24 (9:00-11:00 p.m., ET), on Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images. (Photo by Adam Taylor/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
Here’s the full picture, plus exactly how to vote tonight.
Who went home on DWTS last night
Conner Leavitt and Adele Zaikman were eliminated.
Leavitt is a The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives cast member and the husband of Whitney Leavitt, who reached the semi-finals of Season 34 last year.
The exit is a rough one for Zaikman. She won the inaugural season of Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro on August 31 to earn her spot, and became the first pro eliminated in her debut season, two weeks later.
Leavitt scored 12 out of 30 on Tuesday, second-lowest of the night.
Night 1 scores and leaderboard
Each male celebrity danced to a No. 1 song from the year he was born. The judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough, and Bruno Tonioli were unusually harsh, handing out some of the lowest scores in the show’s history.
| Rank | Couple | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harry Shum Jr. & Jenna Johnson | 21/30 |
| 2 | Ezra Frech & Daniella Karagach | 20/30 |
| 3 | Tyler Cameron & Sharna Burgess | 17/30 |
| 4 | Connor Wood & Rylee Arnold | 16/30 |
| 4 | Taylor Hanson & Britt Stewart | 16/30 |
| 6 | Jackson Olson & Emma Slater | 15/30 |
| 7 | Conner Leavitt & Adele Zaikman | 12/30 |
| 8 | Guillermo Rodriguez & Witney Carson | 10/30 |
Guillermo Rodriguez took the lowest score of the night at 10, but survived a reminder that the public vote carries equal weight to the judges’ scores.
How to watch DWTS tonight
Channel: ABC Time: 8:00 p.m. ET / 7:00 p.m. CT, running two hours Streaming live: Disney+ and Hulu Next day: Episodes stream on Hulu and Disney+
This is the fourth season to air live simultaneously on ABC and Disney+, so streamers watch at the same time as broadcast rather than waiting.
After tonight’s episode, a new DWTS After Party aftershow airs live, hosted by Season 34 champion Robert Irwin.
From next week on, DWTS airs Tuesdays only at 8/7c. The two-night format is a premiere-week special.
COLOGNE, GERMANY – MAY 23: (L-R) Ekaterina Leonova, Diego Pooth, Patricija Ionel, Taliso Engel, Anastasia Maruster and Fabian Hambüchen perform on stage during the final show of the 18th season of the television competition show “Let’s Dance” at MMC Studios on May 23, 2025 in Cologne, Germany. (Photo by Joshua Sammer/Getty Images)
How to vote on Dancing With the Stars
Two methods, both free, both open only while the live episode is airing in your time zone.
By text: Text the celebrity’s first name to 21523. On Night 1 the codes were single first names TYLER, EZRA, HARRY, JACKSON, TAYLOR, GUILLERMO with CONNER L and CONNOR W used to separate the two similarly named contestants. Each successful text counts as one vote, within the nightly limit.
Online: Vote at ABC.com/vote or through the ABC app. You’ll need to sign in with an email address and complete a one-time verification. Once verified, you’re set for the whole season, and other people in your household can vote from their own accounts.
A note on last night’s outage: online voting failed at the start of Tuesday’s episode. About halfway through, the show announced online votes would be discarded for Night 1 and only text votes would count. Whether online voting is restored for tonight has not been confirmed check the on-screen instructions when the show starts, and use text as a backup.
Voting codes for tonight’s female contestants will be shown on screen during the broadcast. Confirm them there rather than guessing.
Tonight’s Night 2 lineup
The eight female celebrities competing:
| Celebrity | Known for | Pro partner |
|---|---|---|
| Tatyana Ali | The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air | Jan Ravnik |
| Giada De Laurentiis | Celebrity chef | Alan Bersten |
| Jenna Dewan | Actress and dancer | Val Chmerkovskiy |
| Amber Glenn | Olympic figure skater | Pasha Pashkov |
| Maura Higgins | Love Island UK, The Traitors | Mark Ballas |
| Ciara Miller | Summer House | Brandon Armstrong |
| Sarah Jane Nader | Love Thy Nader | Hailey Bills |
| Julia Stiles | Actress and director | Ezra Sosa |
Two pairings are worth watching. Jenna Dewan is a trained professional dancer, which puts her in the same bracket as past ringer contestants. And Sarah Jane Nader with Hailey Bills is only the third same-sex partnership in the show’s history, after JoJo Siwa with Jenna Johnson in Season 30 and Shangela with Gleb Savchenko in Season 31.
Nader is also the younger sister of Season 33 contestant Brooks Nader.
The full Season 35 cast
Sixteen couples, tying Seasons 9 and 31 for the largest cast the show has ever had.
| Celebrity | Known for | Pro partner |
|---|---|---|
| Tatyana Ali | The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air | Jan Ravnik |
| Tyler Cameron | The Bachelorette runner-up | Sharna Burgess |
| Giada De Laurentiis | Celebrity chef | Alan Bersten |
| Jenna Dewan | Actress and dancer | Val Chmerkovskiy |
| Ezra Frech | Paralympic gold medalist | Daniella Karagach |
| Amber Glenn | Olympic figure skater | Pasha Pashkov |
| Taylor Hanson | Hanson frontman | Britt Stewart |
| Maura Higgins | TV personality and model | Mark Ballas |
| Secret Lives of Mormon Wives | ||
| Ciara Miller | Summer House | Brandon Armstrong |
| Sarah Jane Nader | Love Thy Nader | Hailey Bills |
| Jackson Olson | Savannah Bananas second baseman | Emma Slater |
| Guillermo Rodriguez | Jimmy Kimmel Live! | Witney Carson |
| Harry Shum Jr. | Actor and dancer | Jenna Johnson |
| Julia Stiles | Actress and director | Ezra Sosa |
| Connor Wood | Comedian and podcaster | Rylee Arnold |
Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough return as hosts. Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough, and Bruno Tonioli return as judges.
One more thing about this season’s pros: Witney Carson is competing while pregnant with her third child, roughly four months along at the time of the announcement. She’s the first pro to enter a season of DWTS while pregnant, and the first to compete this far into a second trimester. Gleb Savchenko is not returning this season. Sharna Burgess is back after a five-year absence.
Why there are two eliminations this week
The double elimination is the season’s biggest format change, and it’s the first time the show has done it in premiere week since 2018.
With sixteen celebrities instead of the usual fourteen, ABC split the cast by gender men Tuesday, women Wednesday with one elimination each night based on judges’ scores combined equally with viewer votes.
Mark Ballas, a two-time Mirrorball champion competing this season with Maura Higgins, pointed out the obvious problem: splitting the cast in half means contestants aren’t competing against the full field, which makes it an uneven playing field.
DWTS 2026 FAQs
Who got eliminated on Dancing With the Stars last night?
Conner Leavitt and his professional partner Adele Zaikman were eliminated on Night 1 of the Season 35 premiere, Tuesday, September 15, 2026. Leavitt is a Secret Lives of Mormon Wives cast member and the husband of Season 34 semi-finalist Whitney Leavitt. He scored 12 out of 30.
What time is Dancing With the Stars on tonight?
Dancing With the Stars airs tonight, Wednesday, September 16, 2026, at 8:00 p.m. ET / 7:00 p.m. CT on ABC, running two hours. It streams live at the same time on Disney+ and Hulu.
What channel is Dancing With the Stars on?
ABC. It also streams live on Disney+ and Hulu, and episodes are available on demand on both platforms afterward.
How do you vote for Dancing With the Stars?
Two ways, both free and both open only during the live broadcast in your time zone. Text the celebrity’s first name to 21523, or vote online at ABC.com/vote or in the ABC app after a one-time email verification. Voting codes appear on screen during the show.
What is the DWTS text number?
- Text the celebrity’s first name to that number during the live episode. Each successful text counts as one vote, subject to the nightly limit.
Why did DWTS online voting go down?
Online voting failed at the start of the Season 35 premiere on September 15, 2026. Roughly halfway through the episode, the show announced that online votes would be discarded for Night 1 and only text votes would be counted. ABC has not confirmed whether online voting is restored for Night 2.
Who is on Dancing With the Stars Season 35?
Sixteen celebrities: Tatyana Ali, Tyler Cameron, Giada De Laurentiis, Jenna Dewan, Ezra Frech, Amber Glenn, Taylor Hanson, Maura Higgins, Conner Leavitt, Ciara Miller, Sarah Jane Nader, Jackson Olson, Guillermo Rodriguez, Harry Shum Jr., Julia Stiles, and Connor Wood. It ties Seasons 9 and 31 for the largest cast in show history.
When does Dancing With the Stars air each week?
After premiere week, DWTS airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on ABC, streaming live on Disney+ and Hulu. The two-night premiere on September 15 and 16 was a one-off format.
Who won the highest score on DWTS Night 1?
Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson led with 21 out of 30, followed by Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach with 20. Guillermo Rodriguez and Witney Carson received the lowest score at 10 out of 30 but were not eliminated.
Why are two people eliminated in week one?
With sixteen celebrities instead of the usual fourteen, ABC split the premiere across two nights by gender and is eliminating one contestant each night. It’s the first premiere-week double elimination since 2018.
Scores and results are from the live broadcast. Voting procedures may change always confirm the on-screen instructions during the episode.
