S19: Speculation!

[COESpiral]

From the picture of Sharna today it looks like her partner is Tavis Smiley.

[pumpkinspice]

that's who DWTSGossip is saying it is. I've never heard of him.

[PBGamer89]

None of the men are under 30, which is weird considering how many of the female stars are.

 

Color me shocked that the women have the advantage in that area. Alfonso is easily the men's best shot for a win, and even that's not a guarantee seeing as former pre-season male frontrunners like Charlie and Jaleel didn't even make the finals.

[COESpiral]

that's who DWTSGossip is saying it is. I've never heard of him.

 

Tavis Smiley is a talk show host and political commentator.  He's been on BET, NPR, and (I believe) currently has a talk show on PBS.  He's also the author of several books. 

[PBGamer89]

Some of the female pros have been saying "you'll never guess my partner" and damn, they were right. 

[smiley13]

I wish they had not brought back Sharna.  Having 13 means they could end up doing two double eliminations.

[Buggin]

I'm initially disappointed with the casting so I'm hoping they'll surprise me and it'll be a great season.

[jette]

Carlton!!! Alfonso Ribiero

has been on my celebrity wish list since Season 2. Can't provide proof 'cause TWoP is gone *sniff*

Hopefully he'll be just as spry seventeen seasons later...

Edited September 3, 2014 by jette

[BoogieBurns]

Tavis Smiley is a super letdown. His talk show is on PBS, and I can't imagine he has a huge fanbase. He is a smart guy, but snooze. Maybe, he'll cut loose on the show and I'll eat my words.

[ramble]

Does anyone else remember when Antonio Sabato Jr had a dating show? Good times. Actually, terrible, boring times. I wonder if they'll bring up his preoccupation with feet. Or was it hands?

I remember this, although I'm a little hazy on the details. I remember thinking it was sort of craptacular. I think his ex-wife showed up to compete & his mama helped make all the decisions.

[sunnyheart]

Some of the female pros have been saying "you'll never guess my partner" and damn, they were right. 

Ha! Yeah, it's kinda hard to guess when you've never even heard of the person before.

 

I'm initially disappointed with the casting so I'm hoping they'll surprise me and it'll be a great season.

Unless they plan on springing someone big on us, I plan to pass. The whole cast is ridiculously underwhelming. And I'm pretty freaking sick of a lot of these pros and their same old bag of tricks too.

[comosedice]

Who did ya'll think was going to sign up for the show? Dancing with the Stars has never been about really big celebrities. Who remembers the cast (pros and stars) from the first season? I didn't know any of the pros and I barely knew the stars, but the show became a hit from there. So, I think, the audience just wants to be entertained. The show has never needed superstars.

[sunnyheart]

Who did ya'll think was going to sign up for the show? Dancing with the Stars has never been about really big celebrities. Who remembers the cast (pros and stars) from the first season? I didn't know any of the pros and I barely knew the stars, but the show became a hit from there. So, I think, the audience just wants to be entertained. The show has never needed superstars.

I guess my disappointment mostly stems from the amount of people they've pulled from reality shows and other fringe entertainment. I don't have a big problem with models and barely known pop stars and C-level character actors, but I do object to YouTube celebs and reality show wannabes and the show is increasingly pulling from those sources.

 

But it also could be that, for me, the bloom is off the rose and I really don't care all that much anymore. I felt this way about SYTYCD when they futzed up the show with ridiculous changes and white bread contemporary dancers and I eventually just lost interest. I think that's where I'm at now with DWTS.

[ItsHelloPattiagain]

 

These names so far are so making me not want to watch.  No one interesting; fake reality "stars".  A Youtube "star"?  Really?  They must really be running out of people to get on this show.

Wonder who is short enough to dance with Grumpy Cat! ;)

 

[Buggin]

Sasha would probably be happy to have any partner, even a furry one!

Should be interesting to see if this cast draws in viewers they want. I'm already peeved Big Bang Theory is moving to Monday nights. I don't have cable or DVR so I'll have to decide which one I want to watch.

[Princess Sparkle]

If those pairings are accurate, I truly pity Tony once again - he always gets stuck with the worst partners!  But bless his heart, I think it's because he has the nicest temperament (and most patience) of all the male pros, so they can stick him with head cases/poor dancers and know he won't go ballistic, but I still feel bad for the guy.  I do always find it classy that he'll dance down to the level of his partner.

 

If Peta can capitalize on the camp of her partner, I could see them lasting awhile, regardless of how well he dances.  I'm curious to see what she can do with this.

 

Whitney landed one hell of a "get" for being such a new pro.  I'm guessing it's because she's the shortest pro (according to IMDB, her partner is only 5'5), but still.  I couldn't stand her on SYTYCD, but I enjoyed her on the show last season, so I'm glad she got him.  Hopefully, her choreography is good.  

[aradia22]

 

 

These names so far are so making me not want to watch.  No one interesting; fake reality "stars".  A Youtube "star"?  Really?  They must really be running out of people to get on this show.

Wonder who is short enough to dance with Grumpy Cat! ;)

I would totally watch if someone had to dance with a cat. I think Grumpy Cat is actually a girl if I'm remembering correctly. She can dance with Tony. ;)

[RomanKat]

If Peta can capitalize on the camp of her partner, I could see them lasting awhile, regardless of how well he dances.

 

As someone who has started to enjoy Peta purely on the level of camp, I'm not sure she's capable of not capitalizing.

 

ETA: That's probably why they were paired together.

Edited September 3, 2014 by RomanKat

[Katydid]

Well, that was underwhelming.  I was really hoping for a surprise or 2, but really the only one that I hadn't already heard about is Michael Waltrip, and he's not a draw for me.  I'll give it a chance because there are almost always some that I end up liking that I either didn't know before or didn't think I would like, but my pre-season excitement is at an all-time low.  

[shoregirl]

I am completely underwhelmed by the cast. A girl from YouTube? A girl from Duck Dynasty? Are we now at the point where the dancers are bigger than the actual "stars" ?

[truthaboutluv]

There have been seasons where the "star" power wasn't that big and it turned out to be pretty good imo. I think it really just depends on the chemistry between the cast and Pros and the performance level because sometimes the no-name stars end up truly surprising and shining. And I've said it before, ymmv, but I prefer the seasons that I go into where the win is not an obvious foregone conclusion and I get to be truly surprised by what the stars can do on Premiere night.

 

As for the pairings - man, they sure love saddling Mark with these young girls from "controversial" families. First it was Bristol and now Sadie. She seems more pleasant than Bristol but I only saw seconds of her on GMA, it will be interesting to see her work ethic on the show and see if the Duck Dynasty support is as strong as Pailn and she sticks around even if she's not that great. Of course I guess she may turn out to be good. Physically she certainly looks the part. 

 

Artem got a good one for his first season. Sure as Lea pointed out she hasn't danced ballet professionally in 32 years but hey, it still worked for Jennifer Gray and she's clearly still in very good shape. Alfonso could be fun but if talks and hogs camera time as much as he did at the announcement today, that'll get very old very quickly. It's interesting that the host said Jannel is being picked as the one to beat -  I mean I guess she has the PLL fans (I know it didn't work for Brandt though he made it to mid-season but Brandt was more a supporting player on the show while Jannel is a star), she's young and cute and has Val. Still she may not be that good of a dancer.

Edited September 4, 2014 by truthaboutluv

[CPP83]

I am completely underwhelmed by the cast. A girl from YouTube? A girl from Duck Dynasty? Are we now at the point where the dancers are bigger than the actual "stars" ?

 

 

 

The show debuted in 2005 and this is season 19, I think we reached that point about 10 plus seasons ago. DWTS burned through many of the more famous but desperate enough faces to appear on the show years ago, imho. Now they are really scrapping the bottom of the barrel, as it were.

 

I figured this season might be slim pickings for actual stars, but may just be one of the most lackluster based on actual star power. I'm terrified the "Carlton Dance" is going to remain a constant thing the show picks on, as they love to do.

 

To be honest I'm tuning in to see how the new pros do. Artem has been one I've loved forever, and this Keo kid looks pretty good too, though Alison's hire threw me for a bit of a loop, but I am certain she and Derek are going to be showcased together as front runners among most if not all of the pro dances this season.

Edited September 4, 2014 by CPP83

[LadyMustang65]

Except for the Duck Dynasty girl (can't stand that family and all their fakeness and homophobia), I'm looking forward to this group.  A few I hadn't heard of, but the rest I'm looking forward to, especially Lea, Lolo, Alfonso and Antonio. 

 

Was surprised but pleased to hear that Sharna will be back.  From what I was reading, though, there will be an elimination that very first week.  They're having the opening show on Monday and an elimination on Tuesday.  What I didn't see was whether the show will be on 2 nights/week for the rest of the season or just for that first week. 

Edited September 4, 2014 by LadyMustang65

[sunnyheart]

I am completely underwhelmed by the cast. A girl from YouTube? A girl from Duck Dynasty? Are we now at the point where the dancers are bigger than the actual "stars" ?

I think the pro dancers are the stars now. They certainly have more name recognition than the supposed "stars". You can really tell how excited fans are by the cast with the relatively few posts about the cast announcement. In the old days, we would all have been fangirl squealing and arguing over who got cheated in their pairing and sharing new cast pictures.

 

You guys have fun watching the Carlton Dance and the faux hillbillies yukking it up in the audience. I believe I am opting out for this season.

[truthaboutluv]

In the old days, we would all have been fangirl squealing and arguing over who got cheated in their pairing and sharing new cast pictures.

 

 

Hmm, guess I'm an oddity because I never did that. I mean there was always a celebrity or two I was excited about but fangirl squealing over the cast of DWTS...yeah no. Which is probably why I'm shrugging my shoulders over the reaction to this cast. Sure there's no current Olympic medal winners but other than that, I guess I don't see what is really that different with this cast and last season's. 

 

They had a nostalgic television star in Candace Cameron-Bure, this season we have Alfonso Ribero. Tommy Chong is pretty known to older generations, both Lea Thompson and Janel Parrish are on current ABCFamily hit shows, Betsey Johnson may be 70 but guaranteed you've seen some teenager/20-something walking around with her fashion, especially her purses. I'd be surprised if most people don't recognize Antonio Sabato Jr., Sadie Robertson's family's reality show was one of the highest rated shows on television and as a reality show star, she's no different than Nene, Rob Kardashian, etc. who've all been on. And then there are the athletes who we get every season.  

[sunnyheart]

Hmm, guess I'm an oddity because I never did that. I mean there was always a celebrity or two I was excited about but fangirl squealing over the cast of DWTS...yeah no. Which is probably why I'm shrugging my shoulders over the reaction to this cast. Sure there's no current Olympic medal winners but other than that, I guess I don't see what is really that different with this cast and last season's. 

I started watching DWTS in season one and I remember the very early days fondly. I don't think they've had a good cast in a very long time and really, after the crapfest that was the All-Star season, I should have stopped watching.  I agree with you that last season's cast wasn't much better than this cast. I stick by my earlier opinion that the show is increasingly picking "stars" from reality shows - I don't care how highly rated they are, they are still reality shows.  And now they are casting from YouTube?  Alrighty then!

[truthaboutluv]

I think the show is picking the cast they can get. Some seasons they luck out with a few decent names but the reality is that DWTS has always been seen as the place where C and D list celebrities go to try and revive their dead and/or dying career. And mixed in among them sometimes are a few popular athletes and reality stars. I mean Trista Sutter was on S1 of the show which means they've been casting people from the Bachelor/ette franchise as far back as the early seasons.

[sunnyheart]

truthaboutluv, you have a point. I think the truth of the matter is I'm sick of the show. So with that, I'm gonna skedaddle outta here!

[spanana]

I think the show is picking the cast they can get. Some seasons they luck out with a few decent names but the reality is that DWTS has always been seen as the place where C and D list celebrities go to try and revive their dead and/or dying career. And mixed in among them sometimes are a few popular athletes and reality stars. I mean Trista Sutter was on S1 of the show which means they've been casting people from the Bachelor/ette franchise as far back as the early seasons.

 

This.  I'm with people in the sense that there is absolutely nobody I'm really excited about this season.  Alfonso is the only name that even gave me a whiff of excitement.  Which is not to say I don't know who these people are so much as on paper it's not a cast I find all that interesting or appealing.  But I don't really understand the whole idea that DWTS is only now getting into casting bottom of the barrel people and particularly reality stars.  We've had reality stars in the cast since the absolute first season.  The only real big difference to me this season is that the producers are still trying really hard for younger demos.  YouTube stars!  And that sort of thing.  But my other takeaway is also that after 19 seasons the show is just having a hard time finding people that want to do it.  I'm sure they have asked most everyone in Hollywood with the same people passing time and time again.  So I'm sure the show has gotten much harder to cast, which is why I also think you will see an increasing push that the pros are the actual celebs--which in many cases they are.

Edited September 4, 2014 by spanana

[dizzyizzy01]

 

And now they are casting from YouTube?  Alrighty then!

The majority of the "stars" cast has never been all that famous to begin with, but short form videos (e.g., youtube) is a huge platform of entertainment now with hundreds of millions of viewers across the world.  Not my thing, but they are just as big "stars" as most of the other cast.

[Etta Place]

The new cast list is positively geriatric. Instead of switching partners for a week, they're going to spend a week getting hip replacements.

[janerazor]

Alfonso can do the Carleton dance exactly once and then no more. Once might be pushing it. Otherwise, I'm looking forward to watching him.

Also pretty excited about Lea Thompson. She hasn't been a professional dancer for like 30 years, so I don't think anyone can claim ringer for her.

I am hopeful for Randy Couture. I actually had him on my wish list for a long time. I would think an MMA fighter would have the skills for dancing, but I recall that Chuck Lidell was pretty bad. (That other professional wrestler--Chris something?--I thought was good and eliminated before his time.)

I don't want to hate on a 17-year-old, but Sadie showing up on DWTS just feels so calculated. The Robertson clan has gotten some heat lately, and this likely is supposed to bring the awshucks back to their public persona.

 

Edited to add: 

Expect Betsy Johnson (people are complaining about the obscurity of the Youtube girl but not her?) to go first because probably too old to dance well and as said probably the least known person in the lineup.

 

Betsey Johnson is hardly obscure. She's been a hugely influential fashion designer since, when?, late '60s/'70s? She may very well be out first because of age and not being able to dance, but I would put her as one of the more well-known members of the cast.

Edited September 4, 2014 by janerazor

[tricksterson]

First Candace Cameron Bure now someone from Duck Dynasty?  Why are they sucking up to the religious right?

 

Expect Betsy Johnson (people are complaining about the obscurity of the Youtube girl but not her?) to go first because probably too old to dance well and as said probably the least known person in the lineup.

[spanana]

I agree Betsey Johnson is far from obscure.  Plus the woman is flexible, even for being the older woman.  I just don't expect her to last long because I don't really think fashion designers have big voting fanbases.  Plus she's got a show at NYFW in the next week, so I'm sure her energy is going more into that than DWTS rehearsals.

 

Plus while this cast has some oldies, we've also got a 17 and 18 year old with Sadie and Bethany.  

[aradia22]

 

Betsey Johnson is hardly obscure. She's been a hugely influential fashion designer since, when?, late '60s/'70s? She may very well be out first because of age and not being able to dance, but I would put her as one of the more well-known members of the cast.

Nope. Not obscure. But hardly a great fashion designer. Also, her company went bankrupt not too long ago. I remember the stores were selling anything you could pry up including furniture and lighting fixtures. Last I heard they were making a comeback. I also vaguely remember her appearing on ANTM in the early days.

[designing1]

 

Instead of switching partners for a week, they're going to spend a week getting hip replacements.

 

Per TMZ, Betsey Johnson recently had a hip replacement (OK, this story was on their site the other day but a search no longer turns it up). On the other hand, here she is from September of last year -- which perhaps led to the alleged surgery.

 

I wasn't planning on watching anyway, but this miserable cast seals the deal.

Edited September 4, 2014 by designing1

[Mrs. P.]

I remember not having a clue who Gilles Marini was when the cast for Season 8 was announced, and he wound up being one of my all-time favorites - at least until All Stars. I keep hoping lightning will strike again.

[Uke]

I wonder what reasons stars are giving for declining casting's invitation. There's plenty of c-list, d-list stars, faded stars from 70s, 80s, 90s shows that could be asked. Maybe they don't want to stand up to the increasingly nasty and/or vulgar "critiques" of the judges? Maybe they see the show veering more towards SYTYCD contemporary-type dances requiring a lot of gymnastics instead of waltzes, foxtrots, etc that may seem more their speed?

 

The age ranges seem pretty well distributed 2 in their 70s, 6 in their 40s-50s, 3 in their 20s-30s, 2 teens so it doesn't seem like they're trying to push for the youth viewers. I looked at couple of Bethany's videos-I would guess the majority of her fans are pre-teens/tweens (I don't know, maybe 14 and under?). I watched Duck Dynasty for the 1st time last night. Sadie barely appeared during the 2 hrs and the show doesn't seem like something youth would tune in for.

 

I guess I'm just confused by the casting.

Edited September 4, 2014 by Uke

[CED9]

There are a lot of ex-stars who don't buy into the nostalgia factor, and don't want to constantly relive their youth.

On that note, I wish one of The Facts of Life ladies would do the show.

Edited September 4, 2014 by CED9

[spanana]

I wonder what reasons stars are giving for declining casting's invitation. There's plenty of c-list, d-list stars, faded stars from 70s, 80s, 90s shows that could be asked. Maybe they don't want to stand up to the increasingly nasty and/or vulgar "critiques" of the judges? Maybe they see the show veering more towards SYTYCD contemporary-type dances requiring a lot of gymnastics instead of waltzes, foxtrots, etc that may seem more their speed?

I think a lot of it is the show really requires a lot of celebs.  You have to be willing to put yourself out there on national television doing something you have no idea how to do (usually) and then allow yourself to get judged and then you are at the mercy of a viewer vote.  I think a lot of celebs just aren't willing to put themselves out there in an environment they have so little control over.  Nobody wants to look like an idiot in front of millions of people on a weekly basis, or very few.    There's either the fear that they will suck and make a fool of themselves in that regard or the fear that viewers won't vote for them and they will go home because "America" doesn't like them.  Both fears are probably pretty equal for many in the business.

 

The only thing that may be interesting is that the pre-season polls are all over the place in terms of who people think are the frontrunners, based I guess on where the poll is located and the demos that visit said site.  So I really have no clue how voting will pan out.   The two people I've seen pegged as possible frontrunners the most are Janel and Alfonso.  Janel I guess for having a fanbase and a strong theatre background.  I don't think she has any real dance training to make her a true "ringer", but evidence points in the direction that she knows how to move/perform.  Alfonso's dance history is well documented and people seem excited to see Carlton.  People also seem to think Bethany's fanbase will be a lot to contend with as well.

Edited September 5, 2014 by spanana

[Serendi]

Not to mention that you work your ass off and are at risk of injury.

[Turkish]

I don't have a problem with Youtubers being on the show in theory. It's a fast growing medium and they are about as famous as anybody else on the show. Bethany Mota in particular has 7 million YT subscribers and just won a Teen Choice Award so she's just about as well-known as any of the young Disney/Nick actors or popstars they have had on in previous seasons.

[msburg]

,

I remember not having a clue who Gilles Marini was when the cast for Season 8 was announced, and he wound up being one of my all-time favorites - at least until All Stars. I keep hoping lightning will strike again.

I totally agree with this!  I am unwilling to write this cast off until I've seen them dance at least once.  While recent seasons have been inundated with C and D listers , now with a step below that in YouTube stars, I love seeing how the partnerships between stars and pros develop.  I find myself rooting for the pair as a whole rather than a star alone.  It's why I really enjoyed Rob K and Cheryl, Jack and Cheryl, Louie and Kelly O, Emma and Bill and even Maks and Meryl last season.  It's why certain relationships make me cringe (Maks and every other partner besides Mel B, Tony and some of his clunkers).  It's why Karina has grown on me over the years and why I've softened on Mark lately.  They've learned to put the partnership first.  And it's why I've never really warmed up to Derek -- while he admittedly brings out the very best in his partners, I still feel like it's all about him.

[Kromm]

I have to say it's hilarious that the show finally made the leap from "sort of ringers" to someone like Alfonso Ribeiro, who was a professional dancer who starred in a Broadway show ABOUT being a dancer (and was a backup dancer on that infamous Michael Jackson Pepsi commercial).

 

I know the show will harp on his main specialty having been Tap, but it's hardly all he knew.

 

Also, I seem to recall that Lea Thompson was a ballerina, and a serious enough one that she actually worked professionally as one.  (EDIT - Yup, I should have known that would have already been talked about upthread)

Edited September 7, 2014 by Kromm

[peggy06]

What a lackluster cast. I haven't been watching long, so I don't have favorites among the pros to get me watching. In fact, last season was the first full season i watched, and that was ONLY because of the talent on display from Week One. Right off the bat you had three really good dancers in Davis/White and Danica McKellar. They were the dancers that kept me in. Reading the resumes of this cast, I don't see much comparable. Perhaps Lea Thompson if she has kept up with dance over the past 30 years. And Alf9onso, aparently, is a professioanl dancer. It isn't fun IMO to watch bad dancers or novelty contestants. I guess I will watch a couple of episodes, but ti sure seems like a sad comedown from some pretty great shows last season.

[dangwoodchucks]

If they were going to cast from Youtube, they should've gotten Steve Cash and the Talking Kitty. That would've been fun.

[BoogieBurns]

If they were going to cast from Youtube, they should've gotten Steve Cash and the Talking Kitty.

 

Or Jenna Marbles. Or Franchesca Leigh. 

 

There are talented youtube folks if we are considering that a "star". I'm a blogger, maybe I can be on DWTS next season!

[kitcloudkicker]

I had never heard of Bethany Mota either (and I went to her channel and it mostly made me feel very old, especially the video where it's just her wandering around her house, showing off branded product placements in the weirdest, most boring commercial ever - no seriously, how is that 5 million views worth of interesting?) but she's got the cover of Seventeen this month, and ranked higher than Leonardo DiCaprio on this Variety poll of celebs teens recognize. (Though yes, lower than Jenna Marbles, who besides the Fine Brothers and Michelle Phan were the only ones on that list I had ever come across before.) 

 

I'm kind of interested to see how she does. It's sort of the Wild West of new media, I mean, I pretty much only watch Dancing with the Stars on YouTube, dances get uploaded almost immediately, with enough time to vote even (though maybe not by phone?) I imagine the appeal of her for teens is like a relatable friend or slightly older sister who gives you advice, and if her demographic already feels like they are "friends" they might be more inclined to vote? 

 

I will say though, even though I actually have come around to liking Derek, I fear her brand of perky "cuteness" will mesh with his mugging nature and end up being a giant pile of insufferable. 

[Kromm]

Bethany Mota is far from the highest profile YouTuber.  The reason she's got attention is because when YouTube went looking for faces to promote their "product" on broadcast TV, Mota was one of the handful of attractive faces they chose.  That's no slam on her, just a fact.  Her marketability snowballed after they did that.

 

[kitcloudkicker]

Oh I don't think she's "the most" anything - but she's clearly something, in a market that can no longer be written off as "just the internet." I mean, that commercial clocks her at 5 million subscribers, so if she was launched from that she already had a decent springboard. (And trust, I'm not defending her. One, this is clearly a PR move to promote her new perfume, or whatever (though really, no fault in that, that's the business). And two, she seems to have gotten her start doing haul videos, which is one of the teen internet fads that gets me sucked into Google rabbit holes of "Whaaaaaat the hell is this, I'm horrified by the vapid consumerism, but kind of get how this could spring out of teen girls sharing tips and figuring out how to be people?" And then I read way too many thinkpieces overanalyzing the whole phenomenon.) 

 

Long story short, Teen Internet and New Media is kind of fascinating to me, even when I don't really get it, it's interesting to me to see it crash into a network show, moreso than with a reality star. Even when that New Media personality is one of the blandest ones that could have picked. (That's what makes it MORE fascinating. She seems so bland! But so popular! Why are there even 10 people watching videos of her put on Neutrogena® face lotion, let alone 5 million? It reminds me of the criticism of Twilight that the main character had no personality so that all the girls reading it could picture themselves as the lead.)

 

Anyway, I still think this season belongs to Alfonso, and I stand by that I think he & Witney and Janel & Val are going to be the most fun to watch. And I'm interested to see what Allison and Keo can do. (I'm dreading that Keo and Lolo will get a, "Will the dancer seduce the virgin?" edit, which will be profoundly irritating).