It’s not a secret there’s a long list of desired stars people behind Dancing with the Stars try to get for the show. But sometimes deals come down to the wire for different reasons. There was one star that was given very little notice to join season 29 and he had less time to prepare.
‘Dancing with the Stars’ revealed the cast for season 29
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The show is back and it has an interesting lineup of stars. It includes reality stars, athletes, and actors.
Monica Aldama from Cheer, Carole Baskin from Tiger King, Kaitlyn Bristowe from The Bachelorette, football player Vernon Davis, Broadway actor Anne Heche, Disney actor Skai Jackson, One Day at a Time star Justina Machado, Backstreet Boys singer AJ McLean, The Real host Jeannie Mai, actor Jesse Metcalfe, rapper Nelly, Catfish’s Nev Schulman, retired basketball player Charles Oakley, Chrishell Stause of Selling Sunset, and Olympic figure skater Johnny Weir are competing.
There were also some major changes this season. Tyra Banks is hosting instead of Erin Andrews and Tom Bergeron. Derek Hough is also returning to replace Len Goodman.
“This show has been and will always be incredibly special to me,” Hough said in a statement according to CNN. “Coming back feels like coming home and I couldn’t be more excited to be back in the ballroom.”
Goodman wasn’t able to return due to travel restrictions. He is still somehow going to part of the show, but he won’t be judging.
Nev Schulman was a last minute addition to the cast
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The Catfish host was given short notice for his offer to do the show. He also seemed to have a lot of pressure on him to say yes.
“I only got the call a week ago. Basically the call was, ‘We want you for the show. We need you to say yes today so that we can announce you tomorrow on Good Morning America and then fly to L.A. as soon as possible,’” Schulman told Entertainment Tonight.
It looks like he might have less time to prepare for his first dance too. “So it’s been a whirlwind,” he said. “I only just got to L.A. a couple days ago. Obviously, for safety purposes, I haven’t even started rehearsing in the studio yet because I’m waiting to get my test back to make sure that I’m COVID-free.”
Schulman’s spirits seems to be up about his start in the competition. That’s mostly because he won’t be at risk the first week.
“You know, I’m happy for them, that they had the time to prepare. And I’m glad the first week isn’t an elimination week because I’m going to have a very short rehearsal period,” he said. “But for me, it’s all part of the fun of it.”
Soon fans will be able to see what Schulman will do with shorter rehearsal time. If he scores higher than the other stars, he might stick around this season.