‘SATC’ Star Jason Lewis on His ‘Challenging’ Experience on ‘Dancing With the Stars’

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Dancing With the Stars hasn’t done an elimination in its first week in a while and we’re guessing that Jason Lewis (Sex and the City) and pro partner Peta Murgatroyd were hoping that that tradition had continued.

On the dancing competition’s 31^st season opener, the first on streamer Disney+, the two danced the cha-cha, scoring a meager 18 points. After landing in the bottom two along with reality star Teresa Giudice (The Real Housewives of New Jersey) and pro Pasha Pashkov, the show’s judges unanimously voted to keep Giudice, ending Lewis’s quest to win the show’s coveted mirror ball trophy.

Despite being ejected, Lewis and Murgatroyd remained upbeat and positive while chatting with reporters immediately after the show. “It’s been wonderful, man,” Lewis says when asked about his DWTS experience. “This has been challenging. It’s been a little scary. This is an incredible group of people. I’ve been very grateful to be a part of this.”

“I had the best time,” Murgatroyd adds. “I obviously wish it could have been for much longer. I wanted to take him to the finals…but I’m just so happy to be back.” The two-time mirror ball champion says she’ll be seen during the season on the floor working with the show’s troupe, who are playing a more integral role to fill the extra time left from no longer having commercial breaks.

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How does the couple feel about the show re-implementing a Week 1 elimination? “They haven’t done one for so long,” Murgatroyd muses. “We have a lot of couples this season. I think they had to start chipping away at the block [right away], you know?”

“We’re all facing the same sword,” Lewis points out. “So, I don’t think it’s unfair. Everyone had the same options.” Lewis adds that while he may no longer be competing on DWTS, he’s going to continue to dance: “This was a fear space that I was apprehensive about. So why not keep going and let it bloom into something better?”

Disney+

Speaking of keeping things going… TV Insider also asked Lewis if he is open to reprising his role as actor Smith Jerrod on And Just Like That… the sequel to Sex and the City on HBO Max. (“I asked him the same thing,” Murgatroyd shared during the press conference.) Even though Smith’s ex-love Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall) is not likely to return, Lewis says he’d happily reprise his role if asked. “Anything for [showrunner] Michael Patrick King,” Lewis says.