Dancing With the Stars Season 35 Premiere Harry Shum Jr. Tops Night 1 as Conner Leavitt Is Eliminated

Dancing With the Stars returned for Season 35 on Tuesday night with an unusually eventful premiere: Harry Shum Jr. set the early scoring standard, Paralympian Ezra Frech followed closely behind, the show’s online voting system failed, and Conner Leavitt became the first celebrity eliminated. The episode was the opening half of a two-night premiere that split the 16-person cast by gender, with the male contestants competing on Sept. 15 and the female celebrities scheduled for Sept. 16.

ABC confirmed before the premiere that each contestant would perform to a No. 1 song from the year they were born, with one elimination at the end of each night. ABC’s official Season 35 announcement also confirmed the returning hosts, judges and two-night format. PEOPLE’s live recap later documented the scores, voting problem and elimination as they happened. PEOPLE live recap

What happened on premiere Night 1

• Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson led the eight male couples with 21 out of 30 for their cha cha.
• Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach finished one point behind with 20 out of 30 after a tango that drew one of the night’s strongest reactions.
• Tyler Cameron and Sharna Burgess scored 17 out of 30, placing third on the judges’ leaderboard.
• ABC.com online voting crashed during the live broadcast, so the show discarded online votes and counted valid text votes instead.
• Conner Leavitt and first-time pro Adele Zaikman were eliminated after judges’ scores and valid viewer votes were combined.
• Guillermo Rodriguez received the lowest judges’ score of the night, 10 out of 30, but survived the first elimination.

DWTS Season 35 Night 1 scores

Celebrity	Professional partner	Dance	Score
Harry Shum Jr.	Jenna Johnson	Cha cha	21/30
Ezra Frech	Daniella Karagach	Tango	20/30
Tyler Cameron	Sharna Burgess	Tango	17/30
Connor Wood	Rylee Arnold	Cha cha	16/30
Taylor Hanson	Britt Stewart	Quickstep	16/30
Jackson Olson	Emma Slater	Cha cha	15/30
Conner Leavitt	Adele Zaikman	Salsa	12/30
Guillermo Rodriguez	Witney Carson	Cha cha	10/30

Harry Shum Jr. sets the early pace

Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson closed the night at the top of the scoreboard with 21 out of 30 for a cha cha to Earth, Wind & Fire’s “Let’s Groove.” PEOPLE reported that the judges praised the pair’s chemistry and energy while also identifying technical areas to refine. Shum entered the competition with a dance background in freestyle and hip-hop, which made him one of the more closely watched contestants going into the premiere.

Frech and Karagach were the closest challengers at 20 out of 30. Their tango to Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone” drew a strong response in the ballroom, with the judges highlighting Frech’s control, frame and ability to adapt choreography around his prosthetic leg. The performance quickly established him as one of the premiere’s most compelling competitors.

Tyler Cameron lands third as the middle of the leaderboard tightens

Tyler Cameron and returning pro Sharna Burgess scored 17 out of 30 for their tango, putting them third. Connor Wood and Taylor Hanson followed at 16, while Jackson Olson opened the season with 15. The middle of the table was separated by only two points, leaving viewer support especially important once the show moved to the elimination.

The scoring also showed how little room there is for a weak technical night in the new season. Guillermo Rodriguez finished last with 10 out of 30, one of the lower opening scores in the show’s history, but the result did not automatically send him home because judges’ scores were combined with audience voting. Entertainment Weekly reported that Rodriguez’s cha cha was scored 4, 3 and 3 by the three judges.

Voting crash changes how the first elimination is decided

The biggest production issue of the night came away from the dance floor. ABC.com’s online voting system failed during the live episode. PEOPLE reported that co-host Julianne Hough first told viewers the system had crashed and directed them to text voting. Later, Alfonso Ribeiro said online votes would be thrown out for Night 1 and only valid text votes would count. PEOPLE’s report on the voting crash said the problem persisted through the live broadcast.

That mattered because the premiere elimination was based on a combination of judges’ scores and viewer votes. The show said the final two couples shown were not necessarily the bottom two. When the result was announced, Leavitt and Zaikman were eliminated, while Connor Wood and Rylee Arnold and Guillermo Rodriguez and Witney Carson were declared safe.

Why Conner Leavitt went home despite not having the lowest score

Leavitt and Zaikman scored 12 out of 30 for their salsa to Tag Team’s “Whoomp! (There It Is),” placing seventh of eight on the judges’ leaderboard. Rodriguez had a lower judges’ score, but viewer support changed the final ordering. ABC News confirmed Leavitt and Zaikman as the first couple eliminated from Season 35. ABC News elimination tracker

The result also ended a short but notable storyline for Zaikman, who earned her place as a professional dancer by winning the summer spinoff Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro. ABC’s episode guide says the spinoff winner would secure a pro slot on Season 35, making her immediate exit with Leavitt one of the premiere’s sharper twists. ABC’s The Next Pro page

What Night 1 tells us about Season 35

• The top of the field already has separation, with Shum Jr. and Frech emerging as the strongest male scorers on opening night.
• The center of the leaderboard is crowded, so small technical improvements or voting swings could change the order quickly.
• The voting crash exposed the risk of relying on multiple live voting channels, especially on an elimination night.
• The split-premiere format creates immediate pressure because contestants have only one dance before facing elimination.

Night 2 brings the female celebrities to the ballroom

The premiere continues Wednesday, Sept. 16, with the eight female celebrities making their first competitive appearances. ABC’s press release says the second group will also perform to No. 1 songs from the years they were born, followed by another elimination at the end of the episode. After the two-night launch, Dancing With the Stars returns to its regular Tuesday schedule at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+, with episodes available the next day on Hulu. ABC’s Season 35 premiere release

Conclusion

Season 35 opened with more than a routine reset. Harry Shum Jr. and Ezra Frech set the early performance standard, the voting system created an unexpected live-show complication, and Conner Leavitt’s elimination showed that viewer support can quickly overturn the judges’ order. With the female half of the cast still to perform, the full shape of the new season will not be clear until Night 2 is complete, but the premiere has already established a competitive leaderboard and an unpredictable voting dynamic.