The full cast of “Dancing with the Stars” was announced yesterday on Good Morning America, and Season 35 is shaping up to be another spectacular combination of celebrities, athletes, reality stars, musicians and… people you may need to Google.
The new season premieres September 15th on ABC and Disney+, and here’s who will be putting on the sequins:
Julia Stiles
Yes, the Julia Stiles. 10 Things I Hate About You, Save the Last Dance and now… possibly the cha-cha.
Jenna Dewan
She's already a professional dancer, which has caused some backlash. Apparently, showing up to a dancing competition knowing how to dance is controversial now.
Tatyana Ali
Ashley Banks from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. This is one of the names where most people immediately go, “Oh yeah!”
Taylor Hanson
Yes, THAT Hanson. The “MMMBop” guy. Somewhere right now, someone is realizing that Taylor Hanson is no longer 15.
Ezra Frech
A Paralympic gold medalist, so he already has the athletic credentials. Now he's got to learn whether the cha-cha is harder than the long jump.
Amber Glenn
Olympic gold medalist in figure skating. So technically, she already knows how to spin dramatically while wearing sparkly clothes.
Connor Wood
Podcaster and comedian, also known as “Fibula.” Because apparently Connor wasn't enough.
Sarah Jane Nader
From Love Thy Nader. If you know who that is, congratulations. You are officially more informed about reality television than we are.
Tyler Cameron
From The Bachelorette Season 15. He was also a model and television personality, so he's basically been training for this moment his entire adult life.
Giada DeLaurentiis
Celebrity chef. We assume her first dance will somehow involve pasta.
Harry Shum Jr.
From Glee and Grey's Anatomy. This one makes sense. The man has rhythm in his résumé.
Conner Leavitt
From The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. He's also Whitney Leavitt's husband, which should make family viewing night extremely interesting.
Guillermo Rodriguez
From Jimmy Kimmel Live! Honestly, we're just happy Guillermo is here.
Maura Higgins
From Love Island and Traitors. Reality TV fans probably know exactly who she is. The rest of us are nodding knowingly.
Ciara Miller
From Summer House. Another reality star, because apparently one reality show wasn't enough.
Jackson Olson
From the Savannah Bananas. Yes, the Savannah Bananas. If you haven't seen them, they're basically baseball mixed with entertainment, dancing and enough energy to power a small city.
And that brings us to the big question:
Is it time to rename “Dancing with the Stars”?
Maybe something a little more accurate would be:
“Dancing With Some People That Some of You May Have Heard Of.”
Or perhaps:
“Dancing With the Stars, Former Stars, Reality Stars and That Guy From That Thing.”
Then again, that's a little long for a TV graphic.
Regardless, Season 35 premieres September 15th.
And somewhere between the paso doble, the foxtrot and the inevitable emotional rehearsal packages, we're sure at least one contestant will remind us that dancing is much harder than it looks.
Especially when you're wearing pants that appear to have been designed by a disco ball.
