What time is Dancing with the Stars on tonight? The Oct. 20 episode is Dedication Night, and 10 remaining couples are set to perform routines built around people and places that shaped their lives. Kym Johnson is back as guest judge, while Val Chmerkovskiy is out for the week.
That lineup matters because the show is down to 10 couples, and the Dedication Night format puts each pair under a different kind of pressure than a standard week. Jenna Dewan will dance with Alan Bersten, giving the episode one of its clearest pairings to watch as the field tightens in Season 35.
Dedication Night on Oct. 20
Oct. 20 is the night the ballroom switches to Dedication Night, a recurring format built around personal tribute performances. The 10 remaining couples will use the episode to honor influential people and places from their own lives, which gives the live show a narrower competitive frame than earlier rounds in Season 35.
That structure also changes what viewers are actually watching for. The dance itself still matters, but the week’s scoring will sit beside the story each couple is trying to tell, and that tends to make the margin between safe and shaky smaller by the end of the broadcast.
Kym Johnson Joins the Panel
Kym Johnson returns as a guest judge for the episode, adding a fourth set of eyes to the panel for one night. For a live competition already carrying less room for error with 10 couples left, an extra judge means the scoring spread can become part of the week’s strategy, not just the performance result.
Jenna Dewan is one of the contestants moving into that format with Alan Bersten beside her. That pairing gives the episode a concrete anchor beyond the theme: a named couple, a fixed night, and a judging table that changes the feel of the live broadcast without changing the season’s stakes.
Val Chmerkovskiy Sits Out
Val Chmerkovskiy apologized after writing, "You almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night," in a since-deleted social media post after last week’s episode, but Studios still made him sit out this week’s show. The move turns a public misstep into an on-air absence, which is the kind of personnel shift that can reshape rehearsal routines as much as the telecast itself.
Last week’s episode was Super Bowl Night, when Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson received their scores, and Carrie Ann Inaba criticized Harry Shum Jr.'s illegal lift. This week does not add another layer of uncertainty to that sequence; it simply narrows the room to 10 couples, one guest judge, and a pro who is not on the floor.
For viewers, the practical answer is straightforward: the episode is Dedication Night, the competing field is down to 10, and the judging setup includes Kym Johnson instead of the usual panel only. If you are watching for lineup changes rather than sentiment, this is the week to pay attention to who performs cleanly under a tribute theme and who loses ground when the scoring table changes.
