Dancing With the Stars: How to Stream the Next Episode, Start Time, and Who’s Still Competing
Season 34 of Dancing With the Stars turned wicked on October 21, serving up showstopping routines, surprise twists, and a shock cut that sent one duo packing — here’s how the ballroom drama unfolded.
Wicked Night on Dancing With the Stars delivered exactly what you think it would: big vocals, green lighting, and a little chaos at the end. We got soaring scores, a surprise save, and one very on-brand guest who knows a thing or two about Oz.
Quick look ahead
Week 7 is Halloween Night, airing Tuesday, October 28 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. As always, it airs on ABC and streams at the same time on Disney+, with episodes landing on Hulu the next day (Wednesday). After that, the themes roll out like this: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Night on November 4; a 20th Birthday Party episode on November 11; Prince Night for the semi-finals on November 18; and the finale on November 25. We started with a full house; after five eliminations, nine pairs are left heading into Week 7.
Wicked Night recap
Episode 6 (October 21) leaned hard into Wicked, complete with director John M. Chu joining the usual judging trio of Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough, and Bruno Tonioli. Unsurprisingly, the show doubled as promo for Chu’s next film, titled Wicked: For Good. That synergy worked in the ballroom’s favor: two couples hit near-perfect totals, and one routine snagged the season’s first run of perfect 10s… from everyone except Hough.
That honor went to Whitney Leavitt (from Secret Lives of Mormon Wives) and her partner Mark Ballas, who danced to Popular from the 2024 movie and posted a 39/40. They shared the top spot with Jordan Chiles and Ezra Sosa, who also landed on 39/40.
On the other end, Andy Richter and Emma Slater finished at the bottom by score, but viewer votes dragged them out of danger. The cut instead fell on singer Scott Hoying and Rylee Arnold, who were eliminated. A heads-up for anyone trying to do the math: there was no boot on last week’s Dedication Night, so those scores carried into Wicked Night; the elimination came from the combined scores and votes here.
The leaderboard
- Whitney Leavitt & Mark Ballas — 39/40
- Jordan Chiles & Ezra Sosa — 39/40
- Robert Irwin & Witney Carson — 36/40
- Elaine Hendrix & Alan Bersten — 36/40
- Danielle Fishel & Pasha Pashkov — 36/40
- Alix Earle & Val Chmerkovskiy — 35/40
- Dylan Efron & Daniella Karagach — 32/40
- Jen Affleck & Jan Ravnik — 32/40
- Scott Hoying & Rylee Arnold — 28/40 (eliminated)
- Andy Richter & Emma Slater — 27/40
Who has gone home so far
Season 34 kicked off September 16, 2025, with Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough back as hosts. No one went home premiere week. In Week 2 (One-Hit Wonders Night), two pairs were dropped after what Ribeiro called record voting for the show: a former NBA star with Britt Stewart, and actor Corey Feldman with Jenna Johnson. Week 3 (TikTok Night) sent home Fifth Harmony alum Lauren Jauregui and Brandon Armstrong; she did not hide her frustration after. Week 4 (Disney Night) said goodbye to Hilaria Baldwin and Gleb Savchenko after steady mid-tier scores that just did not translate to votes. Week 5 (Dedication Night) had no elimination.
Hilaria later blamed the social media tide for her exit. Her explanation was blunt:
"I’m very new to TikTok... there’s a lot of mean girls. People were voting for all the other couples except us to drown out my fan base."
Money talk: what the celebs actually make
Everyone is chasing the Mirrorball, sure, but the checks are not nothing. Per longstanding reporting, contestants pull in $125,000 when they sign on, which covers rehearsals and the first two weeks on air. From Week 3 on, pay shifts to a per-episode bonus that scales up the longer they last. Former champ Kaitlyn Bristowe has said the final four all get the same payout for the finale, and that you can nudge the initial signing number a bit. The top end, based on prior reporting, lands around $295,000 if you make it all the way to the finale.
Bottom line
Wicked Night did what theme nights are supposed to do: it gave us a showcase routine (Whitney and Mark), a legit tie at the top (Jordan and Ezra), and a little drama at the cutoff. The carryover-score wrinkle from last week is a very production-y tweak, but it matters. Next up: fog machines, capes, and jump scares for Halloween Night.
What did you think of this week’s dances? Drop your takes below. Dancing With the Stars returns Tuesday, October 28 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and Disney+, with episodes hitting Hulu on Wednesdays.