When And Where To Watch The ‘DWTS’ Season 28 Premiere

The big night is almost here and 12 new couples will take to the dance floor in the hopes of winning the Mirrorball Trophy on the long-awaited 28th season premiere of ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars.”

Those hoping to catch all the excitement of the show’s return after a nearly year-long hiatus (and a lot of changes both behind the scenes and on the dance floor) will be in luck during premiere night, as there are two different ways to catch the two-hour event, which airs live on ABC at 8 p.m. EDT and is set to also stream live on ABC’s website. Those who may have to miss out on the show on Monday will still be able to catch the can’t miss premiere the following day when it becomes available on ABC.com, the ABC app and Hulu.

The new season is set to be a crucial one for the long-running competition series and will have plenty in store for viewers due to some big changes that have occurred while the show has taken a break. In addition to viewers not learning the celebrity/pro partnerships until premiere night, they will also see some new faces among the cast of pros—while vets like Season 27 champ Sharna Burgess are sitting this season out.

However, according to an ABC press release, the changes will also include how voting works. For the premiere, the viewing audience will not be able to cast any votes, and only judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and Len Goodman will be able to score the routines. An elimination will not take place until Week 2 when public live voting will then be open during the broadcast, and those votes will be combined with the judges’ scores from the first two weeks to determine who is eliminated.

As a result of the changes to voting, and not being able to count on America’s votes early on if they’re with a fan-favorite pro since their partners have not been revealed, this batch of celebrities will have to give it their all during their routines. Hoping to impress with their dancing skills will be several different kinds of celebrities, including singers Lauren Alaina, Ally Brooke and Mary Wilson; Supermodel Christie Brinkley; Reality Stars Hannah Brown and Karamo; Actors Kate Flannery, Kel Mitchell and James Van Der Beek; Athletes Ray Lewis and Lamar Odom and former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer.

Of course, while the celebs may be able to breathe a sigh of relief that none of them will go home after just one dance, they will still need to prove themselves to America and the judges is they want to stick around after week two.

Be sure to catch all of the dancing action when “Dancing With the Stars” Season 28 premieres Monday, Sept. 16 at 8 p.m. EDT on ABC.