Dancing With the Stars Premiere Recap: Who Made the Best First Impression of Season 32? And Who Was Booted First?
Whew. Against all odds, Dancing With the Stars made it to Premiere Night.
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Even before Hollywood’s simultaneous strikes got underway this summer, Dancing With the Stars had gone through big changes of its own: Ahead of Season 32, Tyra Banks stepped down from her role as host, and Julianne Hough was named the new co-host alongside Fresh Prince alum Alfonso Ribeiro. The show also moved back to ABC after one streaming-only season on Disney+ (though Disney+ will still simulcast new episodes on Tuesday nights).
Meanwhile, longtime head judge Len Goodman retired from Dancing at the end of last season, then sadly passed away of bone cancer in April. And on the dancing front, beloved pros Mark Ballas and Cheryl Burke confirmed they had ended their runs as competitors on the show. All that before the WGA and SAG-AFTRA went on strike, throwing fall TV into chaos — including this very show, which employs one WGA writer and is therefore struck work. Until this past Sunday, when the WGA and AMPTP reached a tentative deal to end the strike, it was unclear if ABC would proceed with Season 32 at all, amid calls from the WGA to postpone new episodes.
But a deal was made (strike ends Wednesday!), ABC did proceed, and even Veep‘s Matt Walsh — who initially chose to sit out the competition until the writers’ strike ended — rejoined his Season 32 castmates for their first-ever performances on Tuesday night. Who fared the best in the ballroom? Who was eliminated first? And how did Alfonso and Julianne do in their co-hosting debut? Keep scrolling for our full recap of Tuesday’s premiere, then weigh in via our polls at the bottom!
SAFE: Xochitl Gomez and Val Chmerkovskiy
DANCE STYLE: Cha-Cha (to “Peanut Butter Jelly” by Galantis)
JUDGES’ SCORE: 18 out of 30
SAFE: Barry Williams and Peta Murgatroyd
DANCE STYLE: Foxtrot (to “It’s a Sunshine Day” by The Brady Bunch)
JUDGES’ SCORE: 16 out of 30
SAFE: Tyson Beckford and Jenna Johnson
DANCE STYLE: Cha-Cha (to “Never Too Much” by Luther Vandross)
JUDGES’ SCORE: 12 out of 30
SAFE: Alyson Hannigan and Sasha Farber
DANCE STYLE: Salsa (to “Never Gonna Not Dance Again” by Pink)
JUDGES’ SCORE: 13 out of 30
SAFE: Harry Jowsey and Rylee Arnold
DANCE STYLE: Cha-Cha (to “Rock Your Body” by Justin Timberlake)
JUDGES’ SCORE: 12 out of 30
SAFE: Jason Mraz and Daniella Karagach
DANCE STYLE: Cha-Cha (to “I Feel Like Dancing” by Jason Mraz)
JUDGES’ SCORE: 21 out of 30
SAFE: Jamie Lynn Spears and Alan Bersten
DANCE STYLE: Tango (to “Don’t Call Me Up” by Mabel)
JUDGES’ SCORE: 15 out of 30
SAFE: Adrian Peterson and Britt Stewart
DANCE STYLE: Salsa (to “Yeah!” by Usher ft. Lil Jon and Ludacris)
JUDGES’ SCORE: 18 out of 30
SAFE: Lele Pons and Brandon Armstrong
DANCE STYLE: Tango (to “El tango de Roxanne” from Moulin Rouge)
JUDGES’ SCORE: 19 out of 30
SAFE: Mira Sorvino and Gleb Savchenko
DANCE STYLE: Cha-Cha (to “Kiss” by Prince & The Revolution)
JUDGES’ SCORE: 17 out of 30
SAFE: Charity Lawson and Artem Chigvintsev
DANCE STYLE: Tango (to “Only Girl (In the World)” by Rihanna)
JUDGES’ SCORE: 22 out of 30
SAFE: Ariana Madix and Pasha Pashkov
DANCE STYLE: Tango (to “Love Myself” by Hailee Steinfeld)
JUDGES’ SCORE: 21 out of 30
IN DANGER: Mauricio Umansky and Emma Slater
DANCE STYLE: Jive (to “I Ain’t Worried” by OneRepublic)
JUDGES’ SCORE: 15 out of 30
ELIMINATED: Matt Walsh and Koko Iwasaki
DANCE STYLE: Cha-Cha (to “Poison” by Bell Biv DeVoe)
JUDGES’ SCORE: 12 out of 30
This elimination wasn’t totally unexpected, but man, it bums me out! Matt was so genial and self-deprecating, and his routine, though wobbly on the technique front, was one of the evening’s most entertaining. That said, his decision to step away from DWTS until the writers’ strike ended likely set him back in rehearsals, and dancing in Tuesday’s penultimate performance slot didn’t give him much time to connect with voters.
OK, your turn! How did you like Tuesday’s Dancing With the Stars premiere? Cast your votes in our polls below, then drop a comment with your full reactions!
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