Jonathan Bennett, Mean Girls (with pro Allison Holker)
Tommy Chong, actor (with pro Peta Meurgatroyd)
Randy Couture, MMA champion (with pro Karina Smirnoff)
Betsey Johnson, fashion designer (with pro Tony Dovolani)
Lolo Jones, Olympic athlete (with pro Keoikantse Motsepe)
Bethany Mota, YouTube star (with pro Derek Hough)
Janel Parrish, Pretty Little Liars (with pro Val Chmerkovskiy)
Alfonso Ribeiro, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (with pro Witney Carson)
Sadie Robertson, Duck Dynasty (with pro Mark Ballas)
Antonio Sabato, Jr., The Bold and the Beautiful (with pro Cheryl Burke)
Tavis Smiley, talk-show host and political commentator (with pro Sharna Burgess)
Lea Thompson, Back to the Future (with pro Artem Chigvintsev)
Michael Waltrip, NASCAR driver (with pro Emma Slater)

While Maksim Chmerkovsky and Henry Byalikov won’t return as pros this season, the series will have three new pros in Emmy nominee Allison Holker, Strictly Come Dancing pro Artem Chigvintsev, and South African Latin American ballroom champion Keoikantse Motsepe.

The 19th season of Dancing with the Stars is set to premiere Monday, September 15th at 8:00 on ABC.

Will you be watching the 19th season of Dancing with the Stars? Who do you think the early favorite is to take home the mirror ball trophy? Is there a glaringly obvious choice for the first elimination?

The post Dancing with the Stars Season 19 Cast Revealed appeared first on TVHackr.

Listed below, in alphabetical order, are the 12 celebrities who will be vying for the mirrorball trophy, along with the names of their initial partners.

Former hockey player/model/activist Sean Avery (partner: Karina Smirnoff)
Actress/author Candace Cameron Bure (partner: Mark Ballas)
The Price is Right host Drew Carey (partner: Cheryl Burke)
Olympic gold medalist Meryl Davis (partner: Maksim Chmerkovskiy)
Real Housewives of Atlanta star Nene Leakes (partner: Tony Dovolani)
Big Time Rush alum James Maslow (partner: Peta Murgatroyd)
Actress/author Danica McKellar (partner: Valentin Chmerkovskiy)
Record-breaking swimmer Diana Nyad (partner: Henry Byalikov)
Paralympian Amy Purdy (partner: Derek Hough)
Singer Cody Simpson (partner: Witney Carson)
Olympic gold medalist Charlie White (partner: Sharna Burgess)
Actor Billy Dee Williams (partner: Emma Slater)

Season 18 of Dancing with the Stars is set to premiere Monday, March 17th at 8:00 on ABC.

What do you think about the Dancing with the Stars cast? Who could be the favorite going into the competition? Should the show make additional changes apart from changing the band and co-host?

The post Dancing with the Stars Season 18 Cast Announced appeared first on TVHackr.

Here’s a complete list of the stars and their pro partners:

Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi
Dancing With: Sasha Farber

Keyshawn Johnson, NFL vet
Dancing With: Sharna Burgess

Valerie Harper (The Mary Tyler Moore Show)
Dancing With: Tristan MacManus

Brant Daugherty (Pretty Little Liars)
Dancing With: Peta Murgatroyd

Christina Milian (singer/actress)
Dancing With: Mark Ballas

Bill Nye
Dancing With: Tyne Stecklein

Elizabeth Berkley (Saved By The Bell, Showgirls)
Dancing With: Val Chmerkovskiy

Corbin Bleu (High School Musical, In The Heights)
Dancing With: Karina Smirnoff

Amber Riley (Glee)
Dancing With: Derek Hough

Bill Engvall (comedian)
Dancing With: Emma Slater

Jack Osbourne (son of Ozzy and Sharon)
Dancing With:  Cheryl Burke

Leah Remini (King of Queens, Saved By The Bell)
Dancing With: Tony Dovolani

Harper, 74, was diagnosed with terminal cancer in January and given three to six months to live.  Amid reports that she was close to remission, the actress said on GMA, “I’m moving in the right direction…”

When asked how he will be handling the task of dancing each week, “The Science Guy” said “It’s all physics…The study of motion,” with a laugh.

DWTS Season 17 will premiere on Monday, September 16^th at 8/7c, airing with just one show a week after a stretch of ratings dips. So how will it work?  Each week viewers will vote for their favorite performance, and the following Monday a couple will be eliminated after each of those tallies is combined with the judges’ scores for the night.

The post Dancing With The Stars Season 17 Cast Revealed appeared first on TVHackr.

While the move makes sense and isn’t without precedent, as ABC scaled back The Bachelor to one cycle a year to extend its life following low ratings, it might have the most impact on the ABC shows that surround it. Dancing with the Stars takes up three hours of weekly scheduling space twice a year for a combined 22 weeks, so cutting that time in half could breathe new life in the chances for some of ABC’s more marginally rated shows. Of course, the network may love its development and would rather stack its schedule with promising new shows than keep on a poor performer, but something like critically-loved Happy Endings, which is nearing syndication, could benefit from the breathing room.

ABC has incentive to keep the comedy on, as ABC Studios co-produces it along with Sony, a company known for doing whatever it takes to get their series into syndication. On a creative level, having guaranteed syndication could benefit the already strong comedy, allowing them to go bigger and explore more without fear of ratings blowback. Considering the level that its reached this season after being moved from the coveted post-Modern Family slot, what do they have to lose?

The 16th season of Dancing with the Stars premieres Monday, March 18th at 8:00 on ABC, with the first results show airing Tuesday, March 26th at 9:00. You can check out all of ABC’s mid-season changes and premiere dates here, including news on Red Widow, Celebrity Diving, Body of Proof, The Taste, and Family Tools.

Do you agree with the decision to limit the amount of Dancing with the Stars next season? What celebrities out there would you like to see put on their dancing shoes? Is the extra scheduling space good new

The post Dancing with the Stars to Cut Back to One Season Per Year? appeared first on TVHackr.