There are only two judges on the Dancing with the Stars season 34 premiere because longtime judge Carrie Ann Inaba was absent due to illness. ABC chose not to bring in a guest judge to replace her, so only Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli served as judges for that episode. This resulted in contestants being scored out of 20 instead of the usual higher total, marking the first time in the show's 20-season history that the judging panel had just two judges for a performance episode. Carrie Ann Inaba is expected to return in subsequent episodes.