Dancing with the Stars 34 premiere: Where is Carrie Ann Inaba?

Tonight’s premiere of Dancing with the Stars season 34 is going to feature a lot of great routines and allow us to get to know the new cast. However, there will be one notable omission from the proceedings.

In a post on Instagram today, longtime judge Carrie Ann Inaba noted that she will be absent from the first episode, and she went on to explain why:

“I wanted to share that I will not be at the show tonight as I am feeling quite under the weather. I’m resting up and can’t wait to be back next week in good health … In the meantime, I wish all the contestants the very best of luck. I’ll be cheering you on from home.”

Fingers crossed for a speedy recovery, and that Carrie Ann will be back in the Dancing with the Stars ballroom next week. She and Bruno Tonioli are the two mainstays of this franchise dating back to the early days, and we do think that this level of consistency and nostalgia appeals to longtime fans.

As of this writing it remains to be seen what will be done for the judging panel, but we would not be surprised if the series does bring in someone to serve as a temporary guest judge. (Given that Sasha Farber does not have a partner this season, could you bring him in last-minute? We’d rather someone with significant dance knowledge that some random celebrity who is just there to praise everyone on “entertainment.” We also do know that he is going to be around the ballroom tonight anyway…)

No matter what is going on with the panel tonight, we’re just glad to have DWTS back on the air, and to see a lot of people strut their stuff for the first time onstage.

Related – Get some dance spoilers for the premiere!

What are you most eager to see entering the Dancing with the Stars season 34 premiere?

Are you going to miss Carrie Ann on the panel? Be sure to share right now in the comments! Once you do just that, come back for some other updates.

This article was written by Jessica BunBun.