'Dancing With The Stars' Is Sinking Ship With 'New' Old Cast
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(Image source: ABC / Good Morning America)
BY LAUREN ZIMA
The newest ‘Dancing With the Stars’ cast has been announced, and... well... you’ll know some of the names, but -- is this really the refresher ABC was looking for? The cast was revealed Tuesday in a big spectacle on Good Morning America. In rapid fire, we’ve got....
Wynonna Judd ... D.L. Hughley...
‘Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ star Lisa Vanderpump and Andy Dick....
Yep -- Andy Dick.
Also competing -- from the sports world, Dorothy Hamill, Jacoby Jones and Victor Ortiz...
And there are the lesser-knowns -- this guy is apparently a soap star...
Disney’s also filling familiar character types -- like young Disney star...
And Wynonna Judd will be the how-much-weight-will-she-lose, isn’t-this-inspirational contestant.
As The Wrap puts it...
“Unpredictable comedian? Check. Olympians? Check. Bunch of people you've never heard of? Of course.”
So, with all the same ‘ol slots filled, how will the program spice things up, which was part of its goal? Over the past few years, the show’s ratings have dropped about 30 percent among 18-to-49 year old viewers, a key ad sales demographic.
ABC even tried to up ratings last season with an all-star edition, but that finale got only about 17 million viewers -- down 30 percent from the previous fall finale.
The LA Times calls this a bad start to the season, and quotes ABC’s entertainment president from a press tour last month.
"I do think that the old stars made it a little bit older ... I think we have the ability for casting fresh to bring in younger audiences again ... We think there’s a lot of life left in it."
So...you went with Dorothy Hamill?
But, reality star Lisa Vanderpump should supply a cheeky British tone, and Kellie Pickler is the show’s first ever ‘American Idol’ veteran.
Even Andy Dick could make for interesting viewing during the live shows -- purely because this is a family friendly program, and, well...he’s not family friendly.
Also different, though not necessarily in a good way, this season will be missing longtime dancing pros Maksim Chmerkovskiy, who always provided a bit of drama, and Chelsie Hightower.
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