HOLLYWOOD—Fall is upon us and you know what that means, “Dancing With the Stars.” The new cast for the upcoming 19th season was revealed on Thursday, September 4.
This year the reality competition series is looking to up the ante with Julianne Hough joining as a fourth judge. It will be interesting to see Julianne judge her brother Derek’s routines week after week. She’s proven to be tough as nails, but let’s see how consistent she remains.
This year’s talented cast of celebrities include “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air” star Alfonso Riberio, “Duck Dynasty” star Sadie Robertson, race car legend Michael Waltrip, Olympic curdler Lolo Jones, “Mean Girls” star Jonathan Bennett, “Back to the Future” star Lea Thompson, soap star Antonio Sabato Jr., “Expendables” star Randy Couture, “Pretty Little Liars” star Janel Parrish, comedy legend Tommy Chong, fashion designer Betsey Johnson, YouTube sensation Bethany Mota and radio personality Tavis Smiley.
This year’s dancing pairs include Alfonso Riberio and Witney Carson, Sadie Robertson and Mark Ballas, Janel Parrish and Val Chmerkovskiy, Lea Thompson and Artem Chigvintsev, Betsey Johnson and Tony Dovolani, Randy Couture and Karina Smirnoff, Antonio Sabato Jr. and Cheryl Burke, Tommy Chong and Peta Murgatroyd, Jonathan Bennett and Allison Holker, Tavis Smiley and Sharna Burgess, Lolo Jones and Keo Motsepe and Bethany Mota and Derek Hough. We have two new dancers joining the cast this season. For all those Maks lovers, he won’t be in the ballroom this season.
This is indeed an interesting group this season. No major big names, but no clear frontrunners at the moment, but many bets are already being placed on “PLL” star Janel Parrish and Olympic runner Lolo Jones. I think viewers can start to make predictions after we see the first two weeks of competition.
The new season of “Dancing With the Stars” kicks off on Monday, September 15 at 8 p.m. on ABC. Let’s get dancing!
By LaDale Anderson
