Dancing With the Stars just had its first elimination of season 35—and fans are saying the same thing.
During the first night of the two-night premiere, all of the male celebrities and their professional dance partners performed for the first time.
In the end, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Connor Leavitt and his partner, Adele Zaikman, were the first couple eliminated after scoring a 12 out of 30 for their Salsa to Tag Team‘s “Whoomp! (There It Is).”
Fans were surprised by the elimination, given that Zaikman was cast on this season after winning DWTS‘ spinoff series The Next Pro, which featured 12 talented up-and-coming dancers competing through a grueling audition process for a coveted spot as a professional dancer on season 35.
After Zaikman was eliminated in the very first episode, just weeks after being crowned the champion of the inaugural spinoff series, fans took to social media to question the purpose of the new show.
“What was the point of The Next Pro to put said next pro with a contestant doomed from the start? Surely they didn’t think Conner was that famous to get far,” one fan wrote on Reddit. “What was point of having us get familiar with Adele just for her to go home night one?”
“I just find it funny that the entire show was to put the best dancers through pro bootcamp and see who comes out on top just for Adele to give us the worst choreography the shows had in a hot minute,” another fan said.
“They invested so much time and money into [The Next Pro] and didn’t get their money’s worth at all,” a third fan added.
RELATED: ‘DWTS’ Season 35 Premiere Sees One of the Lowest Scores in Show History
Others noted that first-time pros tend to be eliminated early in their first season and that Zaikman will have more time performing with the dance troupe and in group numbers this season to prepare for her second time around.
Zaikman’s The Next Pro castmates also made an appearance during the premiere, with Selena Hamilton, Allen Genkin, and Erik Linder joining her to perform a Salsa bumper to “Dai Dai” by Shakira.
It’s currently unknown if The Next Pro will be renewed for a second season.
The female DWTS Season 35 celebrities and their professional partners will dance on the second night of the premiere on Wednesday, Sept. 16, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and Disney+.
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