Conner Leavitt exits Season 35 on night one alongside his partner Adele Zaikman, who was eliminated in her first season as a pro dancer on the show.
Conner Leavitt didn't survive night one.
The husband of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Whitney Leavitt was the first man eliminated on Dancing With the Stars Season 35, going out after the show's two-night premiere kicked off Tuesday with eight male celebrities performing their debut routines. His pro partner, Adele Zaikman, goes down as the first person cut in her very first season as a professional on the show, according to Just Jared.
This season isn't running on the usual rules. ABC brought in 16 celebrities this time instead of the standard 14, split across two premiere nights, one for the men and one for the women. That means someone from each group goes home in week one, a departure from a show that traditionally waits until later episodes to send anyone packing.
The judges weren't gentle about it either. Harry Shum Jr and pro partner Jenna Johnson topped the men's leaderboard at 21 out of 30, with Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach close behind at 20. At the other end, Guillermo Rodriguez and Witney Carson scored just 10, with Leavitt and Zaikman landing at 12. Jackson Olson, Tyler Cameron, Connor Wood and Taylor Hanson filled out the middle of the pack, and Just Jared noted some of these numbers rank among the lowest the franchise has ever handed out.
Then there was the voting hiccup. Online voting went down early in the broadcast, and producers scrapped it for the night, telling viewers only text votes would count toward who stayed and who didn't. It's a wrinkle that added confusion to an already unusual format, though it didn't change the outcome for Leavitt.
Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough returned as hosts for the new season, with Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and Derek Hough back behind the judges' table. Each of the eight men danced to a chart-topping song from the year of their birth, a theme the show has leaned on before to squeeze some nostalgia out of the format.
Night two belongs to the women, with eight female celebrities set to perform and one of them heading home by the end of the episode. Whether the judges stay this stingy with scores, and whether the voting system holds up without another glitch, is what viewers will be watching for when the season moves into its second week.
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