Dancing with the Stars has revealed its season 19 cast, and it looks like a rather interesting group. The contestants are…
• Jonathan Bennett (Aaron Samuels in Mean Girls, Casey in Veronica Mars), partnered with newcomer Allison Holker
• Tommy Chong (76-year-old comedian), partnered with former champion Peta Murgatroyd
• Randy Couture (UFC fighter), partnered with former champion Karina Smirnoff
• Betsey Johnson (72-year-old fashion designer), partnered with former champion Tony Dovolani
• Lolo Jones (Olympian athlete in track and field and bobsled), partnered with newcomer Keo Motsepe
• Bethany Mota (YouTuber), partnered with five-time champion Derek Hough
• Janel Parrish (Mona in Pretty Little Liars), partnered with former runner-up Val Chmerkovskiy
• Alfonso Ribeiro (Carlton Banks in Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), partnered with Witney Carson
• Sadie Robertson (17-year-old star of Duck Dynasty), partnered with two-time champion Mark Ballas
• Antonio Sabato Jr. (actor and model), partnered with two-time champion Cheryl Burke
• Tavis Smiley (talk show host), partnered with Sharna Burgess
• Lea Thompson (Lorraine in Back to the Future, Kathryn Kennish in Switched at Birth), partnered with newcomer Artem Chigvintsev
• Michael Waltrip (race car driver), partnered with Emma Slater
It would appear the show is attempting to lure more recognizable actors this year in favor of athletes or musicians (perhaps due to criticisms in recent seasons about certain contestants having unfair advantages). They are also heavily promoting the stars of ABC Family shows, the sister network to ABC (which airs DWTS). The Pretty Little Liars fans were not mighty enough to get Brant Daugherty through to the quarterfinals, so it will be interesting to see how much success Janel Parrish will have.
Bethany Mota is the first YouTuber to appear as a celebrity on the show. She could go far if she mobilizes all her fans, and Derek’s choreography will help. The cast this year is quite a bit older, with almost two-thirds of the cast over forty. There are two septuagenerians, and of course Tony Dovolani gets one of them; he always gets landed with the less desirable partners.
The season’s designated heartthrob appears to be Antonio Sabato, but I worry because Cheryl tends to get lazy when paired with heartthrobs (see: Season 14’s William Levy). Surprisingly, the new pros all got celebrities who, at first glance, seem competent. Usually, professional dancers have to spend a few seasons earning decent partners.
Dancing with the Stars will return on September 15, with Julianne Hough joining the judges panel permanently.
Who will you be rooting for when Dancing with the Stars airs its 19th season? Who are your early picks to win?