Dancing With the Stars is back, and for the first time ever in its staggering 31 seasons, it’s only streaming live on Disney Plus! This season includes a wide range of stars, including ‘Bachelorette’ star Gabby Windey, ‘Jersey Shore’ star Vinny Guadagnino, singer-songwriter Jordin Sparks and Tik Tok star Charli D’Amelio alongside her mother Heidi D’Amelio, plus so many more.
Tyra Banks returns as host, along with her new co-host Alfonso Ribeiro, known from Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and winning DWTS back in season 19. Len Goodman, Derek Hough, Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli are back in the ballroom as judges to bring us another exciting season to the screen.
Night one, which premiered on Monday, September 19, featured couples dancing to their favorite party songs with scores ranging from the high tens to the low thirties. Vinny Guadagnino and his partner, first-time DWTS pro, Koko Iwasaki, scored lowest for the night with a 17 out of 40. The highest score of the night was seen from Charli D’Amelio and her partner, returning DWTS pro and champion, Mark Ballas. Television actor Jason Lewis and his partner Peta Murgatroyd were the first couple eliminated from the competition.
This season features many stars with groundbreaking achievements. Actress Selma Blair suffers from Multiple Sclerosis, MS; This disability impacts Selma’s nerves, muscles and speech. Television actor Daniel Durant is fully deaf in both ears. Selma and her partner, Sasha Farber, tied for third place for the night with a score of 28. Daniel and his partner, Britt Stewar,t placed fourth for the night with a score of 27.
RuPaul’s Drag Race star Shangela makes DWTS history this season as the first drag performer on the show. Shangela, whose real name is D.J. Pierce, is partnered with Gleb Savchenko. Pierce performs as Shangela but identifies as a man, and the duo is making history as the first male couple to compete in the U.S. franchise.
Night two, which premiered on Monday, September 26, was exhilarating as all of the couples stepped up their game to dance along to classic Elvis hits. Monday’s scores showed less of a gap, with the range from low twenties to low thirties. Real Housewives of New Jersey star Teresa Giudice and her partner Pasha Pashkov scored the lowest of the night with a 23 out of 40. There was a three-way tie for first place between couple Gabby Windey and Val Chmerkovskiy, couple Charli D’Amelio and Mark Ballas and couple Wayne Brady and Witney Carson. All three couples scored 32 out of 40. Teresa Giudice and her partner were eliminated from the competition at the end of night two.
The most shocking move of the night was watching Selma Blair do a cartwheel, landing straight into a split! In another DWTS surprise, fitness model Joseph Baena’s partner Daniella Karagach Pashkova unexpectedly tested positive for COVID-19 overnight, making her unable to perform with Baena. Troupe member Alexis Warr danced with Joseph in Daniella’s place, after only learning the routine that day. All of those in contact with Daniella tested negative but had to wear a mask as a precaution. This included Pasha Pashkov, Daniella’s husband and Teresa Giudice’s partner.
Night three, which premieres the following Monday, October 3, will be James Bond night. It will be very exciting to see what tricks are up these stars’ sleeves!