Dancing With the Stars Season 35 premiered this week on ABC and Hulu, with 15 celebrity-and-pro couples competing for the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy, nearly a year after Robert Irwin and Witney Carson won Season 34.
The first night of competition featured eight performances and ended with the season’s first elimination. Reporters inside the ballroom noted several moments that didn’t make it to television or the live stream on ABC and Hulu.
Taylor Hanson draws the loudest crowd
Taylor Hanson, of the band Hanson, danced a quickstep that judge Carrie-Ann Inaba said would have earned approval from the late Len Goodman, with other judges also flagging him as a potential contender. In the ballroom, his supporters were reportedly louder than the reaction for any other dancer, pro or judge. Online, some fans speculated that a surge of votes from Hanson’s fan base was behind a crash in ABC’s voting system during the premiere.
A packed cheering section for Harry Shum Jr.
Harry Shum Jr., known for Glee and Crazy Rich Asians, danced a cha-cha with partner Jenna Johnson. Watching from near the stage were his Grey’s Anatomy co-stars Adelaide Kane, Trevor Jackson and Chris Carmack, along with Shum’s wife, Shelby Rabara, and their seven-year-old daughter, Xia, who wore a flapper-style outfit. Fellow Grey’s Anatomy actors James Pickens Jr. and Alexis Floyd had also attended the show’s premiere party in Hollywood on September 10.
Familiar faces from Mormon Wives
Demi Engemann, who left The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives partway through Season 4, returned briefly to support Conner and Whitney Leavitt, appearing alongside fellow cast members Mayci Neeley and Mikayla Matthews. Their attendance wasn’t announced on air the way it was in Season 34, but fans picked up on it after the three appeared with Whitney in a TikTok video. With Mikayla having announced she’s leaving the show and Mayci reportedly undecided about returning, some fans have speculated about a possible new lineup forming.
A Broadway reunion before the cameras rolled
Before Monday’s taping began, Whitney Leavitt spotted her Season 34 dance partner, Mark Ballas, across the room, and the two embraced. The pair finished sixth last season and later co-starred in Chicago the Musical on Broadway, with Leavitt playing Roxie Hart and Ballas playing Billy Flynn. Conner Leavitt was eliminated on the premiere’s first night; Ballas is paired this season with Maura Higgins, who makes her ballroom debut on night two.
Ezra Frech’s early frontrunner performance
Paralympian gold medalist Ezra Frech, competing with partner Daniella Karagach, scored 20 out of 30 for a tango danced to Kelly Clarkson’s
