‘Dancing With the Stars’ Ditches ‘Judges’ Save’ for Season 32 Premiere: Is the Rule Gone for Good?
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Fans will have to wait and see if couples can get a second chance during season 32 of Dancing With the Stars.
During the DWTS premiere on Tuesday, September 26, comedian Matt Walsh and his partner, Koko Iwasaki, get sent home after only one dance. However, viewers were confused when there was no mention of the “judges’ save” ahead of the elimination round.
TVLine initially reported that the “judges’ save” has been removed from the competition this time around. Us Weekly, however, can confirm that the save could return at any point this season.
The idea of a “judges’ save” was introduced during DWTS season 28. In order to keep more talented competitors on the dance floor, the three judges — Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and Derek Hough — were able to stop one pair from getting eliminated each season. Before his death this past April, Len Goodman served as the Head Judge and made the final call about who got saved if there was a tiebreaker.
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This wasn’t the only major change fans saw during the DWTS premiere on Tuesday. The coveted mirrorball trophy was renamed after Goodman, who died at age 78 following a battle with bone cancer. The big prize also got a complete redesign, and viewers got a first look.
“The Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy will now be lifted on Dancing With the Stars like the Vince Lombardi trophy is lifted at the Super Bowl,” the show’s executive producer Conrad Green told USA Today on September 20. “We wanted to make Len a permanent part of this show, to always remind people the importance he’s had to Dancing With the Stars and how much he meant to all of us.”
Viewers also got to experience the show’s new hosting duo of Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough after Tyra Banks announced earlier this year that she would not be returning in her cohost role.
Banks, 49, joined DWTS in 2020, replacing Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews. However, the model revealed in March that she was “really focused on business,” which forced her to leave the hosting gig.
“I think it’s time to graduate from the dance floor to the stock market floor. Mic drop,” Banks told TMZ at the time. “I feel it’s time for me to really focus on my business and my entrepreneurship. I think it’s time. I think my heart and soul are in my business and in producing TV.”
Ribeiro later told Us Weekly exclusively how Banks reacted to the news that he would be taking over as host.
“She was very happy for me, and she decided to leave,” he shared during a September 13 interview. “So, she was very happy that I was the person that, kind of, was moved up into her slot.”
At the time, Ribeiro also teased that he and Hough, 35, were going to be “amazing” together.
“Our connection is fantastic,” he gushed. “I think we’re going to be great together. The energy’s going to be great.”
New episodes of Dancing With the Stars premiere on ABC and Disney+ Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET.
