Season 31 of “Dancing With the Stars” has premiered, and it will be a doozy. After airing on ABC for many years, the show finally jumped to Disney+, where viewers could enjoy two uninterrupted hours of live programming. Two hours of television airtime equals 86 minutes, so the producers needed material to occupy 34 more minutes.
Two of the season’s most significant obstacles are “how do we fill that time editorially,” as one executive put it, and “how do we deal with losing those minutes that we used to utilize for a reset?” Conrad Green, the show’s executive producer, told the magazine Variety before the launch. New co-host Alfonso Ribeiro will use the skybox for interviewing celebrities and dance teams to pass the time.
To be able to “clean the stage and move items about,” Green remarked, “we needed to bring back one portion of the set.” “Therefore, we reinstated the skybox, and with it came the necessity of recruiting a co-host. The addition of Alfonso has been invaluable. He is not only a show veteran but also a true fan. Many dancers consider him a friend, and he adds humor and genuine interest in the celebs and their stories, as well as a deep understanding of what makes the program work.
Professional dancers Mark Ballas and Louis van Amstel, who have both taken breaks in previous seasons, returned on Monday for the show’s opening.
After his grandmother’s recent death, Wayne Brady is dedicating this season to her memory, and viewers saw him dance in the opening. After receiving the first 8 of the evening, the veteran artist was emotionally overcome. At a later time, when Selma Blair, diagnosed with MS in 2018, danced, nobody in the audience could keep a dry eye. She broke down in tears, as was her custom because she felt an overwhelming range of emotions.
When the voters’ and judges’ scores were tallied, Teresa Giudice and Jason Lewis were eliminated from the competition. Ultimately, the judges decided to spare Giudice while sending Lewis packing. Scroll down to know the scores of some contestants:
Jordin Sparks and Brandon Armstrong
Song: “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me) by Whitney Houston
Dance: Cha Cha
Score: 26/40
Sam Champion and Cheryl Burke
Song: “Hold Me Closer” by Elton John & Britney Spears
Dance: Foxtrot
Score: 20/40
Heidi D’A’melio and Artem Chigvintsev
Song: “Lady Marmalade” by Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Mya, and Pink
Dance: Cha Cha
Score: 24/40