'Dancing With the Stars' Dedication Night Airs Tonight: 10 Couples, Kym Johnson Guest-Judging, and a Suspended Pro

It is the most emotional night of the Dancing With the Stars season, and this year it arrives with a judging-panel guest, a substitute partner and a suspension still hanging over the ballroom. Dedication Night — Week 6 of season 35 — airs tonight, Tuesday, October 20, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC, streaming live on Disney+ and on Hulu + Live TV, with the episode available on Hulu the following day, according to ABC's October 14 release as reported by the USA Today Network and NorthJersey.com. The 10 remaining couples will, in ABC's words, deliver heartfelt performances honoring the influential people and places that have shaped their lives.

The field is 10 because of last week. Guillermo Rodriguez, the Jimmy Kimmel Live! personality, was eliminated during Super Bowl Night with his partner Witney Carson, according to the USA Today Network's week-by-week elimination list. The season's earlier exits, in the same listing, were Conner Leavitt and Adele Zaikman and Sarah Jane Nader and Haley Bills across the two premiere nights, Giada De Laurentiis and Alan Bersten in Week 2, Taylor Hanson and Britt Stewart in Week 3, and Ciara Miller and Brandon Armstrong in Week 4. Whether tonight ends with another elimination is, notably, unconfirmed: the Democrat and Chronicle noted that Dedication Night in season 34 ended without an elimination and that ABC has not confirmed whether tonight will have one — that question is speculation until the live show answers it.

Kym Johnson returns — as a judge

Guest judge Kym Johnson is a familiar face in this ballroom. The Australian-American professional, a former champion on the show, won Mirrorball trophies with Donny Osmond in 2009 and Hines Ward in 2011, according to NorthJersey.com, and she joins the judges' table for Dedication Night per ABC's release. The night also brings special guests into the performances themselves: Alfonso Ribeiro joins Tatyana Ali's tribute dance, former Mirrorball champion Xochitl Gomez appears in a special performance, and six-time world Irish dance champion Lochlan Howard joins Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas for their Ireland-themed number, according to NorthJersey.com and the Providence Journal.

The suspension: why Val Chmerkovskiy is sitting out

The week's biggest storyline is an absence. Pro Val Chmerkovskiy has been suspended for one week and will not perform tonight, after a social-media post about judge Carrie Ann Inaba, according to BBC Studios and reporting by USA Today, People and Page Six. The sequence, as People reported it in detail, is this: after Inaba's criticism of the October 13 performance by pro Jenna Johnson — Chmerkovskiy's wife — and her celebrity partner Harry Shum Jr., Chmerkovskiy posted, then deleted, a TikTok status alluding to Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars, writing that fans almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom. He apologized to Inaba publicly on October 15, saying he had also reached out privately, and the suspension he revealed on October 17 followed. People reported that the suspension was the result of the apology post triggering a BBC Studios investigation under its protocols, and was not the result of an HR complaint filed by Inaba, contrary to some reports.

BBC Studios, the show's producer, said in a statement shared with The Hollywood Reporter and quoted by USA Today: the well-being of everyone who works on Dancing With the Stars is non-negotiable, the post was inappropriate and did not reflect the values expected of anyone connected with the show, and Chmerkovskiy would not participate in this week's show. In his own later statement, quoted by People and Page Six, Chmerkovskiy said Carrie Ann certainly didn't deserve to get caught in the middle of his bad judgment, and that he did not want to become a distraction from the week or from his partner's work. Reports indicate he is expected to return for next week's Horror Movie Night episode, per NorthJersey.com — a one-week suspension, with no permanent dismissal announced.

His partner dances on without him. Jenna Dewan will perform tonight with Alan Bersten — himself eliminated earlier this season alongside Giada De Laurentiis — in a Viennese waltz to Unchained Melody by The Righteous Brothers, dedicated to Dewan's mother, Nancy, according to ABC's song list as reported across the USA Today Network.

Tonight's dances, and the dedication everyone will be watching

The full Week 6 list, per ABC as reported by the USA Today Network and USA Today's For The Win: Julia Stiles and Ezra Sosa dance a contemporary to Can't Take My Eyes Off You by Frankie Valli, dedicated to Heath Ledger, Stiles' co-star in 10 Things I Hate About You — Ledger, who went on to play the Joker in The Dark Knight in 2008, is the dedication most likely to define the night. Tatyana Ali and Jan Ravnik dance a Viennese waltz to (You Don't Know) How Glad I Am by Nancy Wilson, dedicated to James Avery, Ali's Fresh Prince of Bel-Air co-star. Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas dance a paso doble to I'm Shipping Up to Boston by Dropkick Murphys, dedicated to Ireland. Amber Glenn and Pasha Pashkov dance a contemporary to Breathe Me by Sia, dedicated to Glenn's sister Brooke.

The rest of the card: Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson dance a foxtrot to Stop This Train by John Mayer, dedicated to Shum's wife Shelby. Tyler Cameron and Sharna Burgess dance a contemporary to Supermarket Flowers by Ed Sheeran, dedicated to mothers. Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach dance a contemporary to Bloodline by Mon Rovia, dedicated to Frech's mother Bahar. Connor Wood and Rylee Arnold dance a Viennese waltz to Piano Man by Billy Joel, dedicated to Wood's father Pete. Jackson Olson and Emma Slater dance a quickstep to L-O-V-E by Nat King Cole, dedicated to Olson's mother Laura. And Dewan and Bersten, as noted, waltz to Unchained Melody for Dewan's mother Nancy.

How to watch and vote

Tonight's episode runs two hours, from 8 to 10 p.m. ET, live on ABC and Disney+, per NorthJersey.com, with next-day streaming on Hulu. Voting opens at the start of the live broadcast and closes shortly after the final competitive dance; viewers can vote at the show's official voting page or by text during the live simulcast, up to 10 votes per couple online and 10 by text, according to NorthJersey.com and the Palm Beach Post. However the scores land, Dedication Night is built to be the season's emotional peak — this year, with a champion back at the judges' table, a title contender dancing with a substitute partner, and a tribute to Heath Ledger in the running order, it has the storylines to match.

More premieres and finales from the TV desk: Hulu's Phony premieres today, and everything else airing this week in our TV section.