Meet The Cast: Dancing With The Stars – Season 12

It’s time to get dancing again…!

As you may have heard, last night ABC announced the cast for the upcoming Season 12 of Dancing With The Stars – and for once, I have to say I’m distinctly underwhelmed.

I’ve talked about DTWS casting here on Remote Patrolled before and have often argued in the show’s favor. Over the last couple of season’s Stars has had some dynamite reality casting such as Bristol Palin, Pamela Anderson, Shannen Doherty, Michael Bolton and The Situation. Sure, some people may turn their noses up at these kind of names, arguing some of them aren’t actual ‘celebrities’ – but for me one of the keys to a good celebrity show is casting people in the news. And Bristol and The Situation certainly made headlines.

The fact is you’re not gonna get the likes of Brad, Angelina and Clooney doing Dancing With The Stars so everyone needs to lower their expectations from the get go. So with this in mind here’s who’s taking to the dancefloor this season:

Actress Kirstie Alley

Wrestler Chris Jericho

Karate Kid Ralph Macchio

Rapper Romeo

Talk Show Host Wendy Williams

Boxer Sugar Ray Leonard

Reality Star Kendra Wilkinson

Model Petra Nemcova

Disney star Chelsea Kane

NFL player Hines Ward

DJ Psycho Mike

First up, full disclosure – I actually know Chris Jericho, who was the host of a reality show- Redemption Song – I created and exec-ed back in 2008. And to be fair he’s a good name in the mix since he’s a huge WWE star.

I’d also argue Kirstie Alley and Wendy Williams are pretty good names. Sure Kirstie feels a bit past her prime after that dreadful A&E show, Big Life – but she’s still pretty famous and, along with Wendy, will bring a whole lot of personality to the mix. And I guess Ralph Macchio fills the Jennifer Grey, 80’s movie star void. At least I know who he is.

But boy that’s where it starts getting REALLY hard. Okay Sugar Ray Leonard is a famous boxer – even I know that – but most sports stars don’t exactly bring a whole lot of showmanship to the show. And I’ve also heard of Romeo – though couldn’t tell you a single one of his songs – and sadly, I know who Kendra is, and can sort of understand her inclusion in the show.

But ANOTHER Disney star – really? Another forgettable NFL player. A model who’s only really famous for the men she’s reportedly dated (James Blunt and Sean Penn). And a freaking DJ from LA who no-one outside of California will have ever heard off. I’m sensing the show’s producers had a tough time casting this season!

The fact is Dancing With The Stars SHOULD be getting easier to cast, not harder. The show did wonders for winner Jennifer Grey last season and has been a real career boost for a lot of the show’s past contestants like Mario Lopez, Mel B, Gilles Marini and Kelly Osbourne. But you sure wouldn’t know it from this line-up. The big question now is whether this season’s substandard contestants will hurt the show’s ratings… we’ll see!

In the meantime what do you think of this season’s Dancing With The Stars lineup? Do you think they’re a bit subpar? And who do you think will win the whole shebang?