TV & Streaming

After being seated in the lead-up to the live show, the audience was introduced to Chuck, who later revealed his full name, Chuck Dukas. Ahead of the show and during each commercial break, Chuck broke down the ins and outs of what to expect from a DWTS taping, keeping everyone engaged and eager to win special giveaways.

He labeled each side of the set as the right and left sides of the room, encouraging opposing zones to be the loudest, proudest set of audience members in the studio. Those who impressed Chuck won a merch shirt, but the real treat of the night was his infectious, lively energy that most certainly kept the audience intrigued throughout the two-hour taping. 

“Rules” is a strict term, but yes, there’s a few things the DWTS crew asks of its audience members during the live show. First, as each segment of the episode returns from commercial break, spectators seated in the lower-level seats are asked to stand up and applaud. The audience is encouraged to clap and cheer as loudly as they can during each lead-in, and they’re even asked to stand on their feet and clap for roughly three minutes at the very beginning of each episode.

Something that cameras have caught over the years is not a phone in sight in the crowd — and THR can confirm, that’s intentional. Guests are instructed not to be on their cellular devices while cameras are up, but that rule fizzles out when the show cuts to commercial.

The DWTS cast is always in the spotlight, but the true unsung heroes of the franchise are those who work behind the camera. The swiftness at which each production member working on the behind-the-scenes elements of the show moved should be studied. Whether it was transporting an uncountable amount of faux corn fields onto the stage for Andy Richter’s Paso Doble or literally dumping dirt onto Alix Earle and Val Chmerkovskiy before their near-perfect Tango, the crew did it all on Halloween Night, executing their tasks in just enough time to make sure the ballroom looked TV perfect by the time commercial break ended.            

With each commercial break came Chuck, ready to work the crowd and keep onlookers on the edge of their seats. The hype man took time to speak with plenty audience members, and there was a common theme amongst most who got a chance to get on the mic: they were fans of Alix Earle.

At one point, a woman speaking with Chuck explained that she was a mom from Utah, which led some to believe she might have been a fan of one of the Mormon Wives stars. But no — she was there cheering on Alix. During another moment, Chuck asked another fan who they were rooting for, to which they replied, “Alix Earle!” as she walked by, to which she jumped up and down after the viewer expressed their support. 

The DWTS cameras always make sure to showcase the A-list talent in the ballroom, but it’s a different feeling when you’re in-studio and you look over to see the season 32 winner of the show seated a few chairs away from you. Most of the celebrities in the audience weren’t seated at the same time as the rest of the guests, and instead got settled in their chairs right before showtime.

On the left-hand side, beside the judges’ panel were most of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives cast, while on the right side sat season 31 winner Charli D’Amelio alongside a mini High School Musical reunion with Ashley Tisdale and Kenny Ortega. Xochitl Gomez was also sitting on the opposite side of the room, across from the Mormon Wives.

DWTS fans have long questioned whether Emma Slater is yelling at her partners during her performances on the show. Sometimes, it appears she’s talking mid-performance, and THR can confirm she is communicating something mid-dance. It’s likely a tactic for Emma to count her partners through or give choreography signals during each dance, but fans were right: Emma certainly does audibly speak throughout each dance.

Elaine Hendrix suffered an injury during rehearsal that sent her to the hospital on Tuesday, preventing her from being present at Halloween Night. The judges ultimately scored her based on footage of her Argentine Tango from rehearsals. After the number was shown, the audience rose to their feet and gave Elaine a standing ovation.

It was a devastating moment when the hosts revealed that The Parent Trap actress wasn’t in the ballroom, and it was heartbreaking to also see Alan Bersten solo for the night, with his spirits clearly down. However, that did not slow down the support the crowd showed for Elaine and sent her on her way for a hopefully speedy recovery.

Making his rounds with the audience, Chuck came across one DWTS audience member who revealed they skipped class to attend the live show. It was a hilarious moment in the studio that Chuck went on to reference throughout the night jokingly, and he even suggested that when the cameras returned from commercial break, they be centered in on the mystery school-skipper. 

There was no mistaking Jen Affleck’s supporters in the crowd, who were notably dressed for the Halloween Night occasion. Jen’s husband, Zac Affleck, and the rest of her hype squad wore blonde wigs, white dresses and ice blue trench coats, matching that of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives’ first season trailer. It was a homage to the reality series that landed Jen a spot on DWTS, and there’s no denying the audible encouragement her friends and family offered her throughout the night. 

The fake Mormon Wives cast cheered each time Jen and her dance partner, Jan Ravnik, entered the stage, most notably when they arrived for the dance marathon. Their applause was met by Jen, who encouraged them to keep cheering, which trickled over to the rest of the right side of the crowd. Jen Affleck’s crew certainly brought the energy that translated into quite a lively “Dance Monster-thon.”  

The dance marathon was an exhilarating experience to witness live. The television stream could cut to different couples at different moments in their routines, but in-the-flesh, it was hard to keep eyes on all the various duos dancing on the ballroom floor at the same time. But that’s not to say it wasn’t exceptionally entertaining. At one point, you could look up and see Alix swinging upside down from Val’s shoulders, cut just a few seconds later to Daniella Karagach being catapulted into the air by Dylan Efron. 

The final few minutes when the remaining couples — Alix and Val; Whitney Leavitt and Mark Ballas; Jordan Chiles and Ezra Sosa; and Robert Irwin and Witney Carson — were even more intense. As the contestants broke out of their limited boxes after the first half of the dance marathon, cameras did, in fact, miss Jordan tumbling across the ballroom floor. The telecast chose to highlight Dylan and Daniella’s elimination from the marathon, but the audience certainly felt the impact of her incredible stunt.

Plus, the audience booed when couples were kicked out of the dance marathon. There wasn’t one couple in particular that the crowd had an affinity toward, and despite online uproar over Whitney and Mark winning the special segment, guests didn’t indicate that they disagreed with the judge’s decision. 

As Halloween Night came to an end, Chuck teased that he had a big surprise for the most energetic fan in the audience. He later revealed that the supporter would secure two VIP tickets to the season 34 finale, which went to a woman seated in the balcony. 

Finally, at the very end of the night, following Jen and Jan’s elimination, Andy Richter’s fans sang “Happy Birthday” to commemorate his 59th birthday. It was a sweet moment that further exemplified how avid his fanbase — deemed the “Fandy’s” — truly is.