By RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com, originally filed Tuesday, February 24, 2015
"Dancing With the Stars" announced most of it 20th cast this morning and it was decidedly blah. A "surprise" 12th cast member will be named next month.
So far, there are no comedians to lighten the spirits, no soap stars, no Atlantans to get me jazzed and a single reality show star: "The Bachelor" Chris Soule. (ABC is not shy about synergizing its properties.)
On the bright side, "Dancing With the Stars" managed to convince its most popular dancer Derek Hough to come back despite previous announcements that he wouldn't. Last season's winning dancer Witney Carson , who was paired with Alfonso Ribeiro, is taking the season off.
The show returns March 16 with the same judges' panel as last season (Julianne Hough, Len Goodman in supposedly his finale year, Bruno Tonioli, Carrie Ann Inaba) and the same hosts (Tom Bergeron and former Atlantan Erin Andrews).
Here are the 11 ABC named this morning and a link to a photo gallery of the contestants. Plus, the 12th contestant named later: Soules:
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
For Gen Xer who loved 'Three's Company": 68-year-old Suzanne Somers, who was part of that "jiggle" parade of the mid-1970s on that iconic comedy and later made a name for herself as a workout queen. She's paired with Tony Dovolani.
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
For old-school R&B fans: 70-year-old Patti LaBelle, who has dozens of hits, from "New Attitude" to "Lady Marmalade" to "On My Own."
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
For the tweens: boy group R5's Riker Lynch, who had also appeared in "Glee."
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
More for YA crowd: 14-year-old Willow Shields, who was part of "The Hunger Games" franchise. She's the youngest person ever to compete on the show. My favorite dancer Mark Ballas gets to work with another young'un after getting Sadie Robertson to second place last season.
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
For eye candy purposes: 22-year-old model Charlotte McKinney. She did those sexy Carls Jr. ads seen on the Super Bowl.
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
For headline purposes: 25-year-old Michael Sam, the first openly gay football player who almost made it to the NFL. He gets to dance with Peta Murgatroyd.
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
For those who complain that it's unfair to have Olympic champs on the show: 25-year-old Nastia Liukin, who is an artistic gymnast who won gold in 2008. She is paired with Hough, who usually gets someone "DWTS" thinks has a shot at winning.
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
For ABC cross-promotional purposes: 51-year-old "Shark Tank" cast member Robert Herjavec. Poor Kym Johnson returns and has her work cut out for her.
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
For cheesy hip-hop lovers: 39-year-old Redfoo, part of the briefly popular LMFAO ("Party Rock Anthem"), who teams with Emma Slater.
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
For lovers of Bruce Willis and/or Demi Moore: 26-year-old actress Rumer Willis, who dances with Valentin Chmerkovskiy.
For patriots all: Noah Galloway, who is decidedly not a celebrity but an Iraq War veteran who lost his left arm above the elbow and left leg above the knee in an IED attack.
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