The season 35 cast of Dancing with the Stars just dropped. Whitney Leavitt's husband is on it.
Some context.
Look, last season was one of the best runs Dancing With The Stars has had in years. Whitney Leavitt, Robert Irwin, Alix Earle, Jordan Chiles, Dylan Efron, Jen Affleck, Elaine Hendrix. Everybody brought their own crowd, and the voting stayed vicious straight through.
That is what this cast has to follow.
Good Morning America revealed the full season 35 lineup and pro partners this morning. Olympians, a celebrity chef, Jimmy Kimmel's sidekick, and a handful of actors who literally built careers on dance movies.
And then there is the Leavitt situation.
The Full Cast
- Tatyana Ali (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air) and Jan Ravnik
- Tyler Cameron (The Bachelorette) and Sharna Burgess
- Giada De Laurentiis (celebrity chef) and Alan Bersten
- Jenna Dewan (Step Up) and Val Chmerkovskiy
- Ezra Frech (Paralympic gold medalist) and Daniella Karagach
- Amber Glenn (gold medalist figure skater) and Pasha Pashkov
- Taylor Hanson (Hanson) and Britt Stewart
- Maura Higgins (Love Island UK) and Mark Ballas
- Conner Leavitt (The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives) and Adele Zaikman
- Ciara Miller (Summer House) and Brandon Armstrong
- Sarah Jane Nader (Love Thy Nader) and Hailey Bills
- Jackson Olson (Savannah Bananas) and Emma Slater
- Guillermo Rodriguez (Jimmy Kimmel Live!) and Witney Carson
- Harry Shum Jr. (Glee, Grey's Anatomy) and Jenna Johnson
- Julia Stiles (Save The Last Dance) and Ezra Sosa
- Connor Wood (social media personality) and Rylee Arnold
About That Husband
Conner Leavitt is joining exactly one season after his wife competed.
Whitney was one of the most talked-about contestants of the entire year, and a whole lot of fans thought she deserved to walk out with the mirrorball.
So here is what that actually sets up:
- A fanbase that already exists and already knows this family
- Expectations, because a chunk of the audience feels Whitney got robbed
- Whitney, knowing the rehearsal grind, the judges, and the voting cycle firsthand
- A win that puts the trophy in that house, regardless, which is the exact story fans are already writing
He Is Not the Only Legacy Name on ‘Dancing with the Stars'
Sarah Jane Nader is also joining, one season after her sister Jane competed on season 33.
Two people following a spouse or sibling into the ballroom in a single cast is genuinely unusual.
Family names help early. Voters recognize them and producers get a ready-made package.
The Ringers
This might be the most movement-trained cast the show has ever put together.
- Julia Stiles starred in Save The Last Dance
- Jenna Dewan came straight out of Step Up
- Harry Shum Jr. has Step Up credits plus Glee
Now, film choreography is not ballroom. Nailing a Viennese waltz is not the same as hitting your mark for a camera.
But learning routines fast, performing under pressure, and simply being comfortable in your own body? All of that transfers. Early elimination odds look grim for everybody else.
The Athletes
- Amber Glenn, a gold medalist figure skater
- Ezra Frech, Paralympic gold medalist
Figure skaters have a long track record of going deep here. Ice dance and ballroom share posture, partnering technique, and a whole shared vocabulary. Glenn starts with a head start she did not even ask for.
The Wild Cards
- Giada De Laurentiis is the first celebrity chef in a minute, and food personalities bring intensely loyal voters
- Guillermo Rodriguez is the comedy pick, and comedy picks routinely outlast far better dancers
- Jackson Olson plays for the Savannah Bananas, a team built entirely around choreography, so he may be way more prepared than his bio lets on
- Taylor Hanson has decades on stage and fans who have been showing up since “MmmBop”
When ‘Dancing with the Stars' Starts
- Two-night premiere: Tuesday, September 15 and Wednesday, September 16
- Time: 8:00 p.m. ET
- Where: ABC and Disney+
- Streaming: next day on Hulu
The Disney+ simulcast has completely changed how people watch this thing, and a two-night open doubles everybody's exposure before the first cut.
Will It Beat Last Season
Maybe.
Last season ran on pure star power and a few genuinely great dancers. This one has more actual dance training, two Olympic-level athletes, a chef with a devoted following, and a spouse storyline that writes itself.
What it does not have yet is chemistry. That never shows up on a cast list.
Voting opens September 15. Pick a side.
