Season 19 of ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars” will be hot, hot, hot! This season’s cast was announced today, and in addition to the many well-known celebs putting their hat in the ring for the popular mirror ball award are two former soap stars who will be hitting the dance floor, as well!
Antonio Sabato Jr. (ex-Jagger Cates, “General Hospital;” ex-Dante Damiano, “The Bold and the Beautiful;” ex-Jack Parezi, “Melrose Place”) and Jonathan Bennett (ex-JR Chandler, “All My Children”) will be joining MMA pro Randy Couture, NASCAR driver Michael Waltrip, “Pretty Little Liars actress Janel Parrish, “Duck Dynasty” star Sadie Robertson, “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air actor Alfonso Ribeiro, comedian/musician Tommy Chong, “Back to the Future” actress Lea Thompson, political commentator Travis Smiley, Olympic track star Lolo Jones, YouTube star Bethany Mota and fashion designer Betsey Johnson in the competition.
Some other changes taking place on the new season include the loss of dancer Maks Chmerkovskiy, the return of Julianne Hough as the fourth judge (joining Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman and Bruno Tonioli) and more viewer interactivity so America has a better chance of influencing the show.
Bennett, who’ll be paired with pro-dancer Allison Holker, is known for his roles in projects such as “Mean Girls,” “Lovewrecked,” “Bachelor Party Vegas,” Authors Anonymous,” and “National Lampoon’s Van Wilder: Freshman Year.”
Pro-dancer Cheryl Burke has been partnered with Sabato, a former Calvin Klein model who’ll be starring in upcoming episodes of Investigation Discovery’s “Heartbreakers,” FX’s “The League,” and in his own syndicated home improvement series, “Fix It & Finish It,” which debuts Monday, September 8.
The 19th season of “Dancing” kicks off on ABC on Monday, September 15 at 8PM ET/PT.