…and here we go again. :D I’m happy to be back to live blog another season and hope you will be with me for the ride. My continued thanks to MJ for letting me do so, and a big hello to everyone who has been around in the past and any newcomers who will be joining me this go around. I have missed you guys.
Season eighteen (yes, eighteen) of Dancing with the Stars starts up Monday, March 17th. But for the last few months, the rumor mill has been going crazy with which stars and professional dancers will be a part of the show’s upcoming spring season. The rumors end today as ABC will officially announce the cast live this morning on Good Morning America.
Here a few tidbits about the upcoming season we do know for sure…
1. Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman, and Bruno Tonioli will all return as judges.
2. Tom Bergeron is back as our host.
3. Brooke Burke-Charvet is OUT and will be replaced by Erin Andrews. Andrews, a sportscaster, journalist, and television personality was on the tenth season of the show, where she ended her run in third place partnered with Maksim Chmerkovskiy.
4. Ray Chew will replace the Harold Wheeler orchestra and singers.
5. The show will once again be a single night event, with all dancing, guests, and results taking place on Monday’s.
6. Voting will be the same as it was last season.
I hope we get to find out who each celebrity is paired with as there have been some questions on which pros have signed on. We do know that Maksim is back, as well as his brother Val, Cheryl Burke, Peta Murgatroyd, and Karina Smirnoff. The questions regarding whether or not reigning champion Derek Hough will return as well as who may have graduated from the troupe will hopefully be answered this morning.
Now that we are up to speed on what we know and don’t quite know just yet, let’s see what kind of cast ABC has put together.
According to ABC, we are looking at the announcement to happen in about an hour from now but Lara Spencer just teased the cast includes a “golden group” and that could only mean one thing- Charlie White & Meryl Davis, the duo that won an Ice Dancing Gold medal at the just completed Olympic games. That’s a pretty decent get if true considering they were arguably the most talked about American athletes to come out of the Sochi games. We shall see!
Two new clues from Lara: – Someone in the cast will be racing for the win and a “he” who will have the force behind him. Hmm. Is the second one a male member of the Star Wars franchise? Is the first another Olympian? Could it be the heavily rumored Bruce Jenner, who was of course, a runner.
LOL. One of the GMA anchors just said that one clue is that it is going to be a “full house” … SNICKERS. Keep it subtle, ABC. That clue is obviously pointing toward Candance Cameron-Bure, who was all but confirmed to be doing the show recently. For those unaware, she played D.J. Tanner on the hit sitcom “Full House.”
Oh look, there’s Erin Andrews. I have to admit, it is going to be weird not seeing Brooke on a weekly basis. Even though I have thrown tons of snark at Brooke through the seasons, I personally don’t see swapping her for another co-host is an answer to this show’s dwindling ratings.
And we have another clue, one of the cast members knows how to score goals. And Erin accompanies the clue with an obvious hockey stick movement, so take that and run with it. We are getting close folks.
And here we go…
1. Danica McKellar – (The Wonder Years) actress.
2. Cody Simpson – singer
3. Billy Dee Williams – actor
4. Diana Nyad – swimmer
5. Nene Leakes – actress, reality-tv personality
6. James Maslow – actor, singer (Oh, and boyfriend to pro dancer Peta Murgatroyd )
7. Sean Avery – hockey player
8. Drew Carey – comedian, host (The Price Is Right)
9. Candace Cameron-Bure – actress (Full House)
10. Charlie White – Olympic Gold medalist
11. Meryl Davis – Olympic Gold medalist
Aren’t we supposed to have 12 celebrities? Hmm. Perhaps they will mention that. I hope they aren’t saving some major surprise for later with Bruce Jenner. The cast is decent enough and we don’t really need Kardashian drama this season. Pro partners to be revealed soon.
I may have spoken too soon. Robin Roberts just said that one more celebrity has to be revealed along with the professional partners. Oy.
Professional pairings:
Danica will be teaming up with Val.
Cody will be teaming up with Witney. (her first time as a pro)
Billy Dee will be teaming up with Emma.
Diana will be teaming up with Henry. (his first time as a pro)
NeNe will be teaming up with Tony.
James will be teaming up with his girlfriend, Peta.
Sean will be teaming up with Karina.
Drew will be teaming up with Cheryl.
Candace will be teaming up with Mark.
Charlie will be teaming up with Sharna.
Meryl will be teaming up with Maks.
The 12th contender is Olympic snowboarder Amy Purdy and she is teaming up with Derek.
ONG. TWIST. America is going to switch up the couples in the middle of the competition. That’s right, don’t get too happy with the partnerships because at some point, everyone will be getting a brand new partner. Not too sure how I feel about that. I guess it will be interesting to see how the stars and pros deal with pairing up with someone new but what happens once we get to the finale? Do the finalists pair up with their original partners who they started the journey with or their new partners? Lots of questions to be answered as the season progresses.
I will be putting up a POLL thread soon so feel free to vote on that and I’ll be back on here with my initial thoughts about this cast and more about that game changing twist.
Thoughts:
1. Amy Purdy is a double amputee, so that is going to be inspiring to watch. Of course, people are going to be quick to mention that she will get a massive amount of votes for that alone plus she is paired with Derek.
2. The skaters who won gold in Sochi should do very well here. Olympic figure skating helps out A LOT when it comes to dancing. It doesn’t hurt that each have decent partners, though Meryl lucked out more Maks than Charlie did with Sharna.
3. Diana is another lady who inspires. Many folks know about her swimming past and her record breaking swim in 2013 from Curba to Florida.
4. Danica and Candace bring that old school feel to the show as they are very popular sitcom stars. And both have great partners.
5. Cody will bring in some young eyeballs to the show and his partnership is perfect.
6. James will also bring in the youth and he should have hot chemistry with Peta since they are a couple in real life. Although if you think about it, it could potentially hurt them because the judges will expect the chemistry right from the start and they will need to live up to the hype.
7. I don’t expect too much from Billy Dee or Drew Carey in terms of dance quality but they are two popular names and each should bring humor and fun to the ballroom. Emma and Cheryl are good partners for them to have.
8. NeNe is a hoot and she considers herself a decent dancer. It should be interesting to see how she does. Maybe Tony found himself another possible contender? He doesn’t get too many of those.
9. Sean might turn out to be someone to watch closely. He is a crowded field of athletes this year but he has also dabbled in quite a few different career choices so many folks know him. And partnering with Karina is never a bad thing.
I am going to try my best to hold out as much judgement as I can on the twist. I think it will be a controversial decision once it occurs because fans like to vote for their team and it will be odd to see someone paired with an entirely new person. But I’ll wait and see what the producers have in store when it comes to that. Perhaps it will not be as jarring as it seems on paper.
All in all, I am pleased with this cast. We have had seasons of more “known” celebrities and yes, this season is stacked on athletes but at least ABC made an effort to hit all the boxes by touching on singers, actors, comedians, athletes, and a few folks who have “buzz.” I’m definitely looking forward to premiere night.
