It’s 2024, which means that it’s time for season 33 of “Dancing with the Stars” (DWTS); the cast has been announced, and boy is it a good one! Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough are returning as co-hosts with judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and Derek Hough. The new season premieres on Tuesday Sept. 17th on ABC.
The cast includes Phaedra Parks, who is most known for being on “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” from seasons 3–9, and her partner is 3-time DWTS champion Val Chmerkovskiy. Next is Tori Spelling, who was a cast member on “Beverly Hills 90210” and the daughter of legendary TV producer Aaron Spelling. Her partner is Pasha Pashkov who placed third last season.
Fake heiress Anna Delvey will be part of the cast with her partner, first-time pro, Ezra Sosa. According to People, he is the “first latin dance pro to be featured on the reality dancing competition in over a decade.” Additionally, we have professional rugby player Ilona Maher, who led the women’s rugby team to receive a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and her partner is Season 28 winner Alan Bersten.
Joey Graziadei, the lead of season 28 of “The Bachelor,” is partnered with season 26 champion Jenna Johnson, while season 21 Bachelorette Jenn Tran will be dancing with Sasha Farber. Golden Globe nominee and Oscar winner Eric Roberts — father of actress Emma Roberts and the older brother of academy award winner Julia Roberts — will join the cast with his partner, Britt Stewart. Reginald VelJohnson, who is well known for starring in “Family Matters” and the “Die Hard” movies is hitting the dance floor with season 24 winner Emma Slater.
Up next is Chandler Kinney, who played the role of Tabitha “Tabby” Haworthe on “Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin” and “Pretty Little Liars: Summer School” — both additions to the beloved “Pretty Little Liars” franchise. Her partner is Brandon Armstrong. Brooks Nader is popular for modeling for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issues after winning their “Swim Search” open casting call back in 2019. In 2023, she became a covergirl for the magazine. She is dancing with 11-time pro Gleb Savchenko.
Former NFL player Danny Amendola has won two Super Bowls throughout his career. He played the position of wide receiver for the New England Patriots. After being involved for 13 seasons in the NFL, he retired in 2022. Since then, he was a contestant on the reality series, “Special Forces: World Toughest Test.” He has also been the coach for the Las Vegas Raiders for one season. His partner is Witney Carson, who won DWTS season 19 with Alfonso Ribeiro.
It wouldn’t be a season of “Dancing with the Stars” if there wasn’t at least one basketball player, and this season it’s Dwight Howard. He played eight seasons with the Orlando Magic from 2004–2012. From there, he played three non-consecutive seasons with the LA Lakers, and in his second season on that team, they won an NBA championship. His partner, Daniella Karagach, won season 30 with former basketball player Iman Shumpert, so there is a high standard for Howard.
In addition to Ilona Maher, Stephen Nedoroscik is a US Olympic gymnast who has won four US pommel horse titles, tying the record for most pommel horse championships in the history of the United States. He is joining the show with partner Rylee Arnold, who made her pro debut the first time last season.
Jacob DiGiacomo, a junior majoring in Finance, is a big football fan, so when he was asked if Amendola is going to go far — or possibly win the trophy with Carson — he said, “His partner has won in the past, so I feel like if she helps him, they could go pretty far and he’s obviously fit because he is a football player. Plus, he’s done a lot of running so that could help as well for dancing.”
When asked about the cast, Alexandra Birk, a senior majoring in Media Studies, said, “I’m really excited to see the 2 Olympians especially because everyone loved them this summer.” She added, “I do think having Anna Delvey is a little controversial but I also don’t think she’s going to go far.”
