Dancing With the Stars is really making season 28 a game-changing season. Not only did the show implement live voting during the broadcasts, but there’s also a new twist with the judges. When the bottom two couples are revealed, the judges get to choose who to save and who to send home. “I think it’s great,” Alan Bersten told reporters, including HollywoodLife, about the live voting change. “I think it gives that immediacy of the voting and you don’t have to wait a week to see what happens. People get to see what they voted for right away and the judges are a lot more strict this year, and hopefully, the audience chooses their favorite more and more every week. I think it’s more fair all across the board just because the audience gets to choose their favorite and whoever they think is the best dancer and the judges are really judging.”
As for the format change where the judges pick between the bottom two, Sasha Farber said, “I personally think it’s a good system. I think it gives, like I said, someone who maybe doesn’t have the great votes, but is a great dancer. It gives them a chance, you know, to save them. Sometimes this happened in the past where, you know, um, a good dancer has left. So this gives the judges an opportunity to save great dancing and someone who’s great for the show.”
The first elimination featured Mary Wilson and partner Brandon Armstrong and Ray Lewis and partner Cheryl Burke in the bottom two. Carrie Ann Inaba chose Mary and Branton to stick around, while Bruno Tonioli went with Ray and Cheryl. The deciding vote came down to Len Goodman, who went with Ray and Cheryl.
Week 3 will be the highly-anticipated Movie Night. The couples will hit the ballroom once again to dance to a variety of songs inspired by the celebrity’s favorite movies in hopes of earning America’s vote. Dancing With the Stars season 28 airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC.