ABC
Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman, and Bruno Tonioli are returning to the DWTS cast as judges for season 29.
Dancing With the Stars season 29 premieres on September 14 at 8/7c on ABC; ahead of the premiere, the complete DWTS cast was announced on Good Morning America Wednesday morning.
Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the reveal on Good Morning America has to look a little different this year, with the stars getting revealed remotely via pre-recorded home videos. Each star then took to video call to introduce themselves and briefly talk about their excitement and plans for the season.
In the weeks leading up to the big cast reveal, all of the season’s pro dancers were announced on GMA. The 2020 professional dancers are Brandon Armstrong, Alan Bersten, Sharna Burgess, Cheryl Burke, Artem Chigvintsev, Valentin Chmerkovskiy, Sasha Farber, Jenna Johnson, Daniella Karagach, Keo Motsepe, Peta Murgatroyd, Pasha Pashkov, Gleb Savchenko, Britt Stewart, and Emma Slater. The season’s pairs were not revealed on DWTS; fans will have to see who the celebrities were partnered with on the season 29 premiere.
ABC also announced a few of their cast members to generate excitement for the new season in advance of their full cast announcement. The Bachelorette star Kaitlyn Bristowe was the first cast member confirmed; Backstreet Boys’ AJ McLean was confirmed at the end of August.
One major cast change this season is the show’s host. Supermodel and America’s Next Top Model host Tyra Banks is taking over, replacing Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews.
Now, without further ado, get to know all of the stars of Dancing With the Stars season 29 below:
Vernon Davis
JUST IN: Former San Fransico @49ers tight end @VernonDavis85 joins the cast of @DancingABC season 29! #DancingOnGMA#DWTS pic.twitter.com/9hQyOQmbSa
— Good Morning America (@GMA) September 2, 2020
Former NFL athlete and Superbowl champion Vernon Davis was invited to join the DWTS in the past, so it’s been a long time coming for Davis to take the ballroom floor. Over video call, Davis showed off his “signature move.”
Skai Jackson
JUST IN: @DisneyChannel star @SkaiJackson joins the cast of @DancingABC season 29! #DancingOnGMA#DWTS pic.twitter.com/p2mmhEMibO
— Good Morning America (@GMA) September 2, 2020
Actress Skai Jackson, who got her start on the Disney television show Jessie, is the season’s youngest competitor. She is only 18 years old, and just graduated high school.
Johnny Weir
JUST IN: 2x Olympian @JohnnyGWeir joins the cast of @DancingABC season 29! #DancingOnGMA#DWTShttps://t.co/3kvs1IV11z pic.twitter.com/78s1KfOcVX
— Good Morning America (@GMA) September 2, 2020
This is not Weir’s first celebrity talent competition; he previously competed as “The Egg” on The Masked Singer. Weir said his time on the ice, his ability to emote to a song, and his athletic strength will help him on the dancefloor, but dancing is going to be an entirely different skill to learn.
Nelly
JUST IN: Grammy-winning @Nelly_Mo joins the cast of @DancingABC season 29! #DancingOnGMA#DWTS pic.twitter.com/1LBodNXklI
— Good Morning America (@GMA) September 2, 2020
Nelly said his honest first reaction to being asked to compete on DWTS was “Hell yeah, let’s do it.” He said he’s not sure how he’ll do as a dancer, since he believes he has “two left feet, and two right ankles.”
Carole Baskin
JUST IN: #TigerKing’s @Carole_Baskin joins the cast of @DancingABC season 29! #DancingOnGMA#DWTS pic.twitter.com/HdifTN4YbY
— Good Morning America (@GMA) September 2, 2020
Baskin said she was “villainized” by Tiger King, and that the show missed the ball by not focusing on the cats. She said her plan as a contestant on DWTS was to keep the cats at the forefront. When she was asked if she’s competitive and if her fellow contestants should be worried about her, she replied, “I am competitive, but I am competitive with myself.”
Chrishell Stausse
JUST IN: #SellingSunset’s @Chrishell7 joins the cast of @DancingABC season 29! #DancingOnGMA#DWTS pic.twitter.com/qV370fItei
— Good Morning America (@GMA) September 2, 2020
Chrishll Stausse stars in the hit Netflix real estate show Selling Sunset. Talking about her dancing potential on Good Morning America, Stausse chose words she said they use in real estate to describe the less-than-impressive homes, saying she’ll bring “unique and charming” qualities to the stage.
Nev Schulman
JUST IN: @CatfishMTV’s @NevSchulman joins the cast of @DancingABC season 29! #DancingOnGMA#DWTShttps://t.co/3kvs1IV11z pic.twitter.com/xKEO0sj7vT
— Good Morning America (@GMA) September 2, 2020
Schulman said he’ll use his experience helping people navigate heartbreak on his show Catfish to help his competitors get through their own heartbreak and loss throughout the competition.
AJ McClean
We’re so excited for @Backstreeboys’ @AJ_McLean join the full cast of @DancingABC season 29! #DancingOnGMA#DWTS pic.twitter.com/JNDRbN0zAN
— Good Morning America (@GMA) September 2, 2020
Backstreet Boys star AJ McClean said he was going to bring some of his boy band moves to the competition, adding that his (unnamed) partner is already warning him not to drop his arm and break his frame on the dance floor.
Monica Aldama
JUST IN: @MonicaAldama from hit streaming series #Cheer joins the cast of @DancingABC season 29! #DancingOnGMA#DWTS pic.twitter.com/3P3xFQYY1n
— Good Morning America (@GMA) September 2, 2020
Monica Aldama rose to fame as a coach on the reality show Cheer. Although she has years of experience in cheerleading, Aldama said she has no prior dance training.
Jesse Metcalfe
JUST IN: @DesperateABC’s alum @JesseMetcalfe joins the cast of @DancingABC season 29! #DancingOnGMA#DWTShttps://t.co/3kvs1IV11z pic.twitter.com/VuuDhw5xM1
— Good Morning America (@GMA) September 2, 2020
Actor Jesse Metcalfe was invited to join DWTS in the past but turned it down previously. When asked what made him change his mind this time, Metcalfe said, “I really just feel that it’s a totally new landscape in the entertainment industry… It’s sort of wide open for you to do whatever you want.” He referred to himself as a “non-dancer,” but that he wants to leave the show with a new skillset and hopefully get a role on Broadway after.
Kaitlyn Bristowe
JUST IN: Former @BacheloretteABC @KaitlynBristowe joins the cast of @DancingABC season 29! #DancingOnGMA#DWTS pic.twitter.com/4J3y8BhhY4
— Good Morning America (@GMA) September 2, 2020
Kaitlyn Bristowe was the star of The Bachelorette, after appearing as a fan-favorite contestant on The Bachelor. Bristowe said she has her eyes on AJ McClean and Johnny Weir as her main competition.
Jeannie Mai
JUST IN: Emmy-winning talk show host @JeannieMai joins the cast of @DancingABC season 29! #DancingOnGMA#DWTS pic.twitter.com/ZtJuVrkN8c
— Good Morning America (@GMA) September 2, 2020
Jeannie Mai is best known as the Emmy award-winning host of the talk show The Real.
Anne Heche
JUST IN: Emmy-winning actress @AnneHeche joins the cast of @DancingABC season 29! #DancingOnGMA#DWTShttps://t.co/3kvs1IV11z pic.twitter.com/PReAYODTQE
— Good Morning America (@GMA) September 2, 2020
Justina Machado
JUST IN: Actress @JustinaMachado joins the cast of @DancingABC season 29! #DancingOnGMA#DWTS pic.twitter.com/jQKXkbfXYz
— Good Morning America (@GMA) September 2, 2020
Actress Justina Machado rose to fame in the hit HBO show Six Feet Under; she also played Darci Factor in Jane the Virgin.
Charles Oakley
JUST IN: Retired @nyknicks @NBA All-Star @CharlesOakley34 joins the cast of @DancingABC season 29! #DancingOnGMA#DWTShttps://t.co/3kvs1IV11z pic.twitter.com/l2hQ8XfrS4
— Good Morning America (@GMA) September 2, 2020
Former NBA star Charles Oakley is the second professional athlete in the season 29 Dancing With the Stars cast. He said he’s only 5 pounds above the weight he was in the NBA, suggesting he’s in-shape and ready to compete.
The season 29 premiere of Dancing With the Stars airs on September 14 at 8/7c on ABC.
READ NEXT: Simon Cowell AGT Update: Is He Coming Back to Judge? When Will He Return?
