S22: Speculation: Rumors? Tweets? Who Will Be the Dancing Stars?

[BoogieBurns]

Wanya Morris from Boyz II Men is dancing with Lindsay.

 

Okay, so now I have two 90's nostalgia votes. I love Wanya and Jodie equally! 

[Saylii]

I haven't heard anything at all about Emma. Maybe there is going to be a 13th contestant?

ETA: Emma posted on instagram that she is taking a break this season.

I have a feeling with the rise of Lindsay that spells trouble for Emma until Karina or Peta retire from DWTS. Emma's definitely the lowest one on the totem pole of the women now. I also think they might have held Emma back for Bachelor Ben and he decided not to sign for whatever reason.

If you have asked me two weeks ago with a gun held to my head, I would have sworn Geraldo had already been on DWTS.

Edited March 8, 2016 by Saylii

[kayma]

This is actually a good cast, in my opinion, and far better than last season. My tweeny heart had (has) a huge soft spot for Boyz II Men and Lindsay is back.

I'm excited that Mark has someone with potential and no obvious baggage.

I only know Ginger Zee from an episode of say yes to the dress, but she was charming. I'm hoping for good things from her and Val.

I hope Keo gets a chance to shine (and actually does).

I'm excited for Antonio simply because he seems so excited.

3 active athletes and a few others with some dance experience should make for entertaining dances. No one stands out as being a sure disaster or a sure winner, and no one appears to be as awful to watch as Paula Deen.

Here's hoping producers don't play too many games and let the cast speak and dance for themselves.

[blackwing]

I was scrolling through the cast photos and as soon as Marla Maples popped up, I knew who they were going to thrust her upon.  Poor Tony.  The producers must truly truly hate him.

[BoogieBurns]

Buzzfeed posted the casting information, but at the bottom there is a poll to see who the early favorites are. As of right now, it's coming up all Jodie. Look for yourself!

[Katydid]

I'm warming up to this group, I think. My initial reaction when I heard the line up was disappointment that there were no surprises. Usually the rumors are true for most of the stars, but there's typically a surprise or 2 that seem to come out of nowhere.

[Gardencrown]

 

If you have asked me two weeks ago with a gun held to my head, I would have sworn Geraldo had already been on DWTS.

I KNOW!!! :) Honestly, I wasn't altogether sure about Marla Maples either.

 

Is it just me or are those, generally speaking, the worst cast pictures ever? Many, many people look stoned and/or exceedingly uncomfortable. Mark looks like someone just shot his dog. Val looks plain goofy. Antonio and Von look...I don't know, odd? Not like themselves? I mean, come on, overall these are beautiful people (okay, maybe not Geraldo, who actually looks pretty good) -- the pictures just look awkward!

 

But -- despite the absence of Emma, which saddens me, and I fear she'll go the way of Tristan -- this is a more solid cast, I think, than we have seen in a while. No early favorites for me -- pretty much a blank slate.

[Buggin]

Even my husband asked if Geraldo had already been on the show, lol

Did they announce the troupe lineup yet?

[sab85]

Four of them were at the GMA reveal- three new guys (Kiril, Shannon, and Dennis) and Jenna, mugging away. 

 

Which seems a little weird- we know Sasha made pro (yay, Sasha!) but what reason would they have to dump Alan? And Haley has been in some promos but with her bf Derek off to Broadway we'll see...

[McManda]

Did they really dump Alan? That would be weird, just because he was a pretty big part of the DWTS Live tour. I figured he was on pretty good terms with TPTB. (Maybe they're going for tall, dark, and brooding and decided he didn't fit the bill? He was always very happy and bubbly and maybe that's not what TPTB want to sell.) I don't know I'd be able to pick the new guys out of any previous dances.

 

My favorite part of the GMA reveal was that everyone was introduced with "First Name, Last Name" ... Lara even mispronounced Chmerkovskiy pretty spectacularly but she copped out with "Mischa Barton and her partner, Artem". It made me laugh; everyone seems to be afraid of Chivintsev. Speaking of Mischa ... she looked super awkward about being there. (I hope the nerves go away, because for my sake I want to see Artem stick around.)

 

Oh, and also Sasha looking snazzy in his vest and tie. I don't know why I think that's any snazzier than a jacket and tie, but whatever.

Edited March 9, 2016 by McManda

[sab85]

Did they really dump Alan? That would be weird, just because he was a pretty big part of the DWTS Live tour. I figured he was on pretty good terms with TPTB. (Maybe they're going for tall, dark, and brooding and decided he didn't fit the bill? He was always very happy and bubbly and maybe that's not what TPTB want to sell.) I don't know I'd be able to pick the new guys out of any previous dances.

 

I know, I like Alan. Dude danced as the Skipper, not once, but twice, with that big, fake belly. And it's nice to have a few dancers that are happy and cherry and not all mood and angst. 

 

My favorite part of the GMA reveal was that everyone was introduced with "First Name, Last Name" ... Lara even mispronounced Chmerkovskiy pretty spectacularly but she copped out with "Mischa Barton and her partner, Artem". It made me laugh; everyone seems to be afraid of Chivintsev. Speaking of Mischa ... she looked super awkward about being there. (I hope the nerves go away, because for my sake I want to see Artem stick around.)

 

I caught that and it cracked me up. They attempted Sliwinska and Chmerkovsky but he was just "Artem." And Mischa has seemed very awkward and dry in all the media I have seen her do. If she doesn't have any hidden dance talent I wouldn't be surprised to see them go in Week 3, after (hopefully) Geraldo and Marla.

[Emily-D]

Another Jodie Sweetin fan here. Although my excitement for her being on is soured by the fact that she has the awful Keo for a partner. Had she Val or Artem as a partner I'd be delighted and fairly confident of her winning. Now I'll be surprised if she makes the final.

 

I agree that Mischa Barton looked awkward/nervous in her interview but I can't see her being the first out behind someone like Geraldo especially. She's arguably one of the biggest gets of the season, has had some huge personal problems post the OC (will maybe get brought up during the show) and brings nostalgia after being away from TV for such a long time with lots of people surely set to watch the premiere just to see her dance (notice she's probably had the most interviews/press interest from the media since the cast reveal). I can't see the producers allowing her to be eliminated straight away after trying to get her on for so long apparently. Along with Jodie I'm rooting for her and will probably throw a few votes her way early on, because I get the feeling that considering all her previous problems, a successful experience on this show could be huge for her both professionally and personally. An elimination in week 1/2 and a negative experience with people bashing her online could be the final straw for the girl. Having Artem as a partner (a miles better pro than Keo) I think gives her a fighting chance of coming off well to the viewers and sticking around for a little while. 

 

Surely Geraldo will be the first out! Who on earth would want to vote for him? I think the football players stand the biggest chances of winning as well. Not forgetting Nyle, whether he can dance or not you can guarantee he'll get the final with the Noah/Alek vote. I do like Nyle though and along with the two mentioned above I hope he can dance well.

[TeeMo]

I actually think Mischa has a good chance of being first out. I think that Jodie and Kim Fields have a greater nostalgia factor for the demographic that actually watches this show. The OC is not in perpetual reruns like Full House or the Facts of Life. It seems to me that the OC is not quite old enough for the nostalgia angle. Her seeming lack of enthusiasm so far also isn't going to help. Plus she has one of the newer male pros who wasn't even competing last season. Had she been paired with Val or Mark I think she'd have a chance to last a bit longer. I could be totally underestimating her notoriety though.

I think Geraldo will last longer than people think. He is certainly not someone I want to see on my TV but he is a super recognizable face/name and he makes an impression. I could see him lasting through week 3 at least.

My guesses for the early outs are Mischa, Marla and Doug. I am from the New England area so Doug Flutie is very well known here but I don't think that is the case around the country? With two other football players, I think he'll get lost in the shuffle.

[Emily-D]

Oh I agree that if Mischa has the same personality that she had on GMA but also dances badly, I think she could easily get eliminated first. If she was with a pro like Keo who hasn't shown any good teaching abilities, I'd be incredibly worried for her. But I think being with Artem should save her. No one who has scored a seven on premiere night has been the first eliminated since I've been watching, other than Martina and Tony (two weeks worth of scores where she got 5s and 6s in week two) & Sean and Karina (double elim he had the second lowest). Artem will probably help her get a score like 20/21 on opening night which should see her safe. You could tell he sensed her awkwardness in the GMA interview as well and tried to rescue it so you can bet he's well aware and will be drilling her about coming out of her shell before the premiere.

 

I don't think Doug Flutie will be an early out to be honest. Being a San Diego native, we know him very well here also and I feel like he'll appeal to the general audience on the show in a way that Von and Antonio won't. Kind of like Bill Engvall did in season 17. He does a lot of charity work as well.

 

I feel like Paige could be another early elimination as surely UFC fans won't bother tuning in the show. But then again, doesn't Paige apparently have tons of dance experience already or so I've read?

[TeeMo]

I totally agree that Doug's appeal will be Bill Engvall like. He is a super likeable guy. I just worry about people knowing who he is coming in but that doesn't always matter on this show, I guess. He also has the benefit of a great pro. Like I said, it is hard for me to get a sense of his larger popularity since I am in New England. I looked at his Instagram accoint today and he has less than 4000 followers so my immediate thought was "uh oh." It is good to know he is beloved in San Diego too! And social media popularity does not often translate directly to success on this show as Hayes and Bethany proved.

And yes, Paige has a ton of dance experience. Her parents own a dance studio, I think? She's danced for 13 years. Obviously not ballroom but it will still help. Plus she is young and super fit.

[smiley13]

I am excited to see Doug Flutie on the show.   

[anonymiss]

Geraldo was insufferable on Celebrity Apprentice so I'm not thrilled to have him here.

[katha]

I like Mischa and I felt bad for how last season went down for Artem, so I hope they do well. But she seems like a Bethany Mota personality type, introverted and not bubbly. And I'm not sure she's really appealing for the target demo? So she'll have to learn to be less awkward and reserved at least, to make an impression. Having a more popular pro might have helped her, but apart from Derek none of them are a guarantee of going very far. And even Derek couldn't work miracles for Bethany or Nastia. At some point the general audience has to support you. Apparently she knows Artem, though, so since she seems a bit like the nervous, insecure type, hopefully that she's familiar with him will put her at ease. And unless Artem gets too intense, he's capable and experienced enough to know how to teach her and present her well.

 

Peta and Nyle look good together, it will be interesting to see how she'll teach him. Hopefully the show won't get condescending and maudlin towards him, though I don't have high hopes on that front... Paige looks capable and I'm sure Mark is thrilled to have an UFC fighter, since he seems such a fan. Not a big fanbase, though, and she better not get overly invested into the competition aspect of it, that always puts the audience off. Lindsay and Wanya look cute together. Keo has been given a big chance with Jodie, will be interesting to see what he delivers. Don't have strong impressions of the rest of the cast yet.

[radishcake]

Hey guys! I have the cast & pro pages up for S22. If you notice any missing or think of a title better than the ones I have please shoot me a PM and we'll get it going! 

<3 I'm excited about this cast! Looks like a lot of fun people instead of a lot of drama foolishness! Yay! 

[McManda]

It's interesting that they got Antonio Brown and Von Miller in the same season, just because I think it's likely that they're going to split the footballers votes. (And also Doug Flutie, but he's not really the same demographic.) Usually a footballer pretty much guaranteed to make it into the finals, but with two active, popular ones this time around I'm not so sure that it's a given.

[BW Manilowe]

I actually think Mischa has a good chance of being first out. I think that Jodie and Kim Fields have a greater nostalgia factor for the demographic that actually watches this show. The OC is not in perpetual reruns like Full House or the Facts of Life. It seems to me that the OC is not quite old enough for the nostalgia angle. Her seeming lack of enthusiasm so far also isn't going to help. Plus she has one of the newer male pros who wasn't even competing last season. Had she been paired with Val or Mark I think she'd have a chance to last a bit longer. I could be totally underestimating her notoriety though.

I think Geraldo will last longer than people think. He is certainly not someone I want to see on my TV but he is a super recognizable face/name and he makes an impression. I could see him lasting through week 3 at least.

My guesses for the early outs are Mischa, Marla and Doug. I am from the New England area so Doug Flutie is very well known here but I don't think that is the case around the country? With two other football players, I think he'll get lost in the shuffle.

The OC may not be in "perpetual" reruns, but it's at least on the Pop TV network (the 1 which used to be the TV Guide Channel); I think it's on weekdays at 3PM Eastern. I think it's also on Hulu & Netflix.

There's something interesting about Mischa Barton & Artem being paired this season, according to People magazine. Artem apparently had a small part in a 4th season episode of The OC. He apparently played a guy who tried to hit on actress Melinda Clarke's character--apparently the mother of Mischa's character--in a bar. However, Mischa wasn't on the show any longer by this point because her character had been killed off.

http://www.people.com/article/mischa-barton-dwts-partner-artem-chigvintsev-oc-cameo?xid=socialflow_twitter_peoplemag

Edited March 11, 2016 by BW Manilowe

[BoogieBurns]

I think it's also on Hulu & Netflix

 

Haven't seen The OC on any major streaming services. I don't watch it, but my friend has all the DVDs and noted they can't find episodes elsewhere easily.

 

Mischa has less of a nostalgia factor, in my opinion. But she does have the "reformed trainwreck" type of story. She was Lindsay-Lohan-lite when it seemed like every starlet was getting arrested or heading to rehab. More of a tabloid girl than anything else. 

[kitcloudkicker]

I'm curious what they're doing with the troupe this season - there were the 3 guys and Jenna on GMA, but then on Twitter, Alan has said he's on as well. Darvina, who has taken over the DWTS360 Twitter says that Jenna is the only female dancer in troupe. But 4 guys and 1 girl seems an odd ratio to have for a ballroom show - I wonder what they plan to do with that?

[McManda]

It would be weird for them to randomly ditch Brittany and Hayley at this point, so I assume they'll still be around even if they haven't been formally announced as being part of the troupe. And I'd also guess that Emma will show up like Artem did last season; not formally in the troupe but still in the bumpers/additional dancers that they utilize.

 

That would make 4 women and 4 men - the 3 new guys plus Alan and then Jenna, Hayley, Brittany, and Emma. I think that's a little on the bloated side, but my opinion doesn't matter much, and anyway, it would be much harder to trim down the women.

 

I'm not keen on Alan as a pro (but at the same time I'd be interested to see what he can do over, say, Keo), but I'm glad they didn't dump him. He's definitely grown on me and a troupe-r.

Edited March 14, 2016 by McManda

[kitcloudkicker]

Yeah, it's odd, but Brittany allegedly said in a Periscope that she's out for the season, and Emma's statement about "taking a season off" made it sound like she's out completely. Haley is in the background of the promos they've been showing, if you look for her, but here's where Darvina is claiming Jenna + men https://twitter.com/dwts360/status/708917305770643456

I kind of hope she's mistaken, as that seems like it will just result in a lot of Jenna. (I don't dislike Jenna, but it seems like a lot. Also what will they do with all the guys? More "Pony" dances?)

[McManda]

In general I don't really care for most of the women-based troupe dances (especially now that they're all choreographed by Mandy Moore). I don't know, they seem to be much more on the bump-and-grind club grove than ballroom dancing and I don't find that all that great to watch. Maybe less will be more. At risk of sounding like Len, I miss the proper ballroom dances.

 

That sounds completely double-standard of me though, because I won't lie and say that I would mind more Pony dances. Shallow me thinks the version they did on the Live tour was everything I wanted Magic Mike to be. (I was mostly disappointed with Magic Mike, tbh.) But I also feel like outside of the very obvious pandering to the female audience with strippers it's less likely that they go straight up club vibe with the male-based dances. There have been some great paso inspired male dances, for example. I'm still in love with Derek's S18 paso-ish Macy's Stars of Dance with Kathryn McCormick.

 

Or maybe they'll just use the troupe less? That wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.

[Snarklepuss]

I just saw the cast.  This is the first season in a looooong time that I'm going to sit out based on the cast.  I only know a few of them and I don't really have any burning desire to tune in for any of them.  Even the return of Peta can't change that.  For a "working stiff" with several other shows on my DVR, it's a big commitment.  I'll probably get curious later in the season when they've thinned the herd a bit and I can just enjoy the dancing.

[BoogieBurns]

If they do the switch-up this season. I really hope Jodie is with Artem. That's a really good pairing in my head.

[Catgyrl]

Final Troupe lineup (per Alan's twitter):

 

Alan Bersten, Jenna Johnson, Hayley Erbert, and newbies Dennis Jauch, Kiril Kulish and Shannon Holtzopffel (male). I must say - the guys are super-hot!!

Edited March 15, 2016 by Catgyrl

[McManda]

I must say - the guys are super-hot!!

 

From my quick Google-fu, Shannon and Dennis are matching up with TPTB's vision for tall, dark, and handsome. I'm not so sure about Kiril ... but that's just because his Google photo must be old (or maybe I'm getting old?) and looks like it's from when he was 16. He's young, but not that young!

 

EDIT: I take it back ... Kiril fits in just fine. But this is his default Google image (and I've found out was from 2009, when he was 15) so I was mostly confused.

 

For anyone not wanting to spend the time searching ...

Kiril Kulish (via instagram)

Dennis Jauch (via instagram)

Shannon Holtzapffel (via instagram)

 

and the "official" photo announcement from ABC's DWTS instagram.

Edited March 15, 2016 by McManda

[kitcloudkicker]

Kiril is a Tony winner, as one of the original American Billy Elliots. That's probably why the old Google image, safe to say that's probably what he's been most known for in his career so far. I'm interested in seeing what he can do. At least this answers why Haley's been in the promos, and makes more sense than claims that Jenna's the only female in the troupe - I like Haley as a trouper, so good to see her back.

[Catgyrl]

McManda - I, too, was thrown off by Kiril's Google pics. And when I first saw the official photo, I thought Dennis was Henry Byalikov. Thank you for posting the links! I'm doing this from work and had to get off the computer quickly.

[Uke]

Kiril  seems to have a pretty impressive resume: http://kirilkulish.com/about.html

[Thadeeeyus]

Kiril  seems to have a pretty impressive resume: http://kirilkulish.com/about.html

 

Doesn't the troupe seem like a step down with this resume?  At any rate, I'm going to be looking at some youtube videos of this guy. Thanks for the heads up!

[Uke]

Doesn't the troupe seem like a step down with this resume?  At any rate, I'm going to be looking at some youtube videos of this guy. Thanks for the heads up!

 

I thought the same thing. Then again, DWTS will give him a ton of contacts.