Val Chmerkovskiy thinks “Dancing with the Stars” could sign some “really big names” for season 34.
In an interview with Us Weekly published April 17, the veteran ballroom pro said it wouldn’t surprise him if top celebs join the ABC dance-off this fall.
“I feel like season 33 really went viral,” Chmerkovskiy said. “There were so many highlights. ‘Dancing With the Stars’ was huge, and it is growing in popularity, which is crazy to say after 20 years of being on air. But with its reestablished popularity, I think we’re going to get a lot of really big names and I’m excited for that.”
ABC has not confirmed any cast members for “Dancing With the Stars” Season 34 as of this writing.
DWTS Season 33 Featured Olympians, a Movie Star & 2 Bachelor Nation Leads
The cast of “Dancing with the Stars” Season 33 featured two Olympians, Stephen Nedoroscik and Ilona Maher, Bachelor Nation fan favorites Joey Graziadei and Jenn Tran, several other athletes and reality TV personalities, and a movie star, Eric Roberts.
“Dancing With the Stars” judge Derek Hough hinted that Roberts was the biggest star ever to join the cast of the ABC celebrity ballroom competition. He even told Roberts it was “an honor” to have an Oscar nominee in the ballroom for the show’s Oscars theme night last fall.
Still, the “viral” buzz came amid the casting of Anna Delvey. In 2019, Delvey, also known as Anna Sorokin, served jail time after she was convicted of defrauding businesses while pretending to be a German heiress, per CNN. After her release from prison, Delvey was placed under house arrest and outfitted with a GPS ankle monitor. She wore a blinged-out ankle bracelet as she competed on DWTS Season 33 with freshman pro dancer Ezra Sosa.
DWTS Casting Agents Look for a Mix of Celebrities & Other Newsmakers
Deena Katz has long been the head of the ‘Dancing With the Stars” casting department. In 2016, she told Slate she looks through gossip magazines and online sites to research a mix of celebrities and other headline-makers to cast each season.
“Every season is like making the best dinner party ever,” she explained. “This show would be so boring if it were always 12 actors and some Disney kids.”
While some celebs pitch themselves to be contestants on the show, Katz revealed that 90 percent of “Dancing With the Stars” contestants are celebrities that she reaches out to on her own.a
