Andy Richter is finding new life on Dancing with the Stars and experiencing a career renaissance.

By Noah Smith

As season 34 of America’s favorite dance competition gets underway, one celebrity has captured the hearts of millions of Americans nationwide. Andy Richter, the comedian and former sidekick on The Conan O’Brien Show, has been this season’s sweetheart and has America on his side. 

Richter is partnered up with Emma Slater, who is known for dancing with older celebrities. When asked about her partner, Slater said, “[Andy] is such an angel.”

While the pairing has been among the lowest scorers on a weekly basis, they have made it past the halfway mark of the show because of the fan voting system. In order to be eliminated, a pairing must receive the lowest combined total of the professional judges’ scoring and a fan vote online. 

The fans support Andy because of his charm, humor, and down-to-earth persona. Richter made it clear from the beginning that he was “out for fun” and has built upon that motto ever since. From week to week, fans see a man who’s having fun and someone who’s trying his absolute hardest.

Andy isn’t the first older celebrity to make it past the halfway mark of the show. He joins fellow comedian Jerry Springer and Astronaut Buzz Aldrin as older people who made it to the halfway mark. The achievement is a testament to each of their epic personalities and extreme willpower.

Doubt remains for Richter’s time on the show. On Wicked night last week, Andy admitted, “There will not be an episode of this show where I don’t think I’m going home.” Many fans think that while the Andy apocalypse has been a show, it is his time to go, and his dancing hasn’t improved enough for him to seriously compete in the future.

Even if this week or the next is his final week on the show, Andy has proved a point, both to America and to himself, that anything is possible if you try hard and don’t take yourself too seriously.