The list of competitors is a who's who of asking yourself “who's that?”
ABC’s long-running reality competition series Dancing with the Stars has always been generous with the Stars part of the title, but the 19th season of the popular show is really pushing it.
The season premiere airs Monday night and the list of competitors is a who’s who of asking yourself “who’s that?” In fact, the hosts of the show, Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews, might be the two most recognizable faces among the group.
You will likely recognize the new judge that’s been added for this year as well. Joining the panel of returning judges Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli, and Carrie Ann Inaba is former dance partner and two-time champion of DWTS, Julianne Hough. That’s right, the show now has four permanent judges.
Hough posted a selfie of herself sitting in the front seat of her car to Instagram with a caption that read: “Been doing radio interviews for the premiere of #DWTS all morning in my car and pjs because the service in my house is so terrible”.
As for the lineup of participants that she will be judging, the producers have gone with three athletes this year, including Randy Couture, a former MMA fighter, Olympian Lolo Jones, and NASCAR driver Michael Waltrip.
Then there are the former stars, names and faces you’ll probably recognize from TV and movies that were popular decades ago, like Alfonso Ribeiro from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Lea Thompson of Back to the Future and Howard the Duck fame (or infamy) and Antonio Sabato, Jr. who’s best known for his roles on a couple of soap operas and a myriad of direct to video schlock-fests.
But you know DWTS is really reaching when they have to look to YouTube for their ‘stars’. Someone by the name of Bethany Mota is part of the lineup, having gotten her ‘stardom’ from the online video archive. She joins random names like Tommy Chong, fashion designer Betsey Johnson, Sadie Robertson of Duck Dynasty, and PBS talk show host Tavis Smiley in the quest for this year’s coveted Mirrorball Trophy.
Dancing with the Stars premieres Monday night at 8pm on ABC.
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