(Spoiler alert: Please do not read on if you haven’t watched Monday’s “Dancing With the Stars”)
“Dancing With the Stars” returned for Season 24 on Monday, with an episode that also turned out to be the ABC competition series’ 400th.
Following an opening dance number, the season’s 12 celebrity contestants were introduced to their professional partners and performed their first routines for judges Carrie Anne Inaba, Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli and Julianne Hough.
Early frontrunner Normani Kordei, a member of the pop group Fifth Harmony, kicked off the show by performing a quickstep routine with her partner, last season’s winner Val Chmerkovskiy, and earned a 27 out of 40. She was followed by former Olympic figure skater Nancy Kerrigan, who performed a Viennese waltz with Artem Chigvintsev and earned a 28 out of 40.
Former “Saturday Night Live” cast member Chris Kattan was paired with Witney Carson for a cha-cha and was given a 17, the lowest score of the night. Professional bull rider/model Bonner Bolton and pro partner Sharna Burgess also performed a cha-cha, earning a total of 22 points.
Spanish actress and comedian Charo earned a 21 out of 40 for her salsa routine with Keo Motsepe, a score she took strong objection to. Host Tom Bergeron was forced to physically hold her back from confronting the judges after their scores were revealed.
ABC’s latest “Bachelor” Nick Viall was paired with returning pro Peta Murgatroyd for a cha-cha set to DJ Snake and Justin Bieber’s “Let Me Love You.” Despite some criticism of his technique, the judges scored the routine 24 out of 40.
One of the biggest frontrunners coming into the season was “Glee” alum and former Beyonce back-up dancer Heather Morris, who was paired with Maks Chmerkovskiy for a Viennese waltz. The duo, whom Goodman called a “match made in heaven,” earned a 28 out of 40, tying for the highest score of the night.
Former Chicago Cubs catcher David Ross was paired with Lindsay Arnold for a quickstep, earning a 28 out of 40. Ross was followed by “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Erika Jayne, who earned a 24 for her salsa with partner Gleb Savchenko.
NFL running back Rashad Jennings set off a bit of a tiff between Hough and Goodman after Hough called his cha-cha routine with partner Emma Slater the “best of the night.” Regardless, he earned one of the highest scores of the night with a total of 31 points.
“The A-Team” star Mr. T was partnered with Kym Johnson for a military-inspired cha-cha, which the judges gave a 20 out of 40.
Following in the footsteps of her 2016 Olympics teammate and Season 23 champ Laurie Hernandez, gymnast Simone Biles closed the show with a tango routine with partner Sasha Farber. The judges uniformly raved about the routine, giving it the night’s highest score of 32 out of 40.
One of the 12 couples will be eliminated on next Monday’s episode after fans of the series get a chance to weigh in. The duo with the lowest-combined total of judges’ score and audience votes will be sent home.