Once the new cast announcements start to roll in, we can discuss the new season in general here. Also, for those not in the eastern time zone, you'll be able to find the names of the new cast members in one place.

When does season 8 start?

March 9th at 8 p.m EST

We have our first confirmed members of the season 8 cast:

Lil' Kim
Steve-O
Nancy O'Dell
Lawrence Taylor

Looks like that press release was legit.

Oh dear Lord. Well, looks like I can miss this season without missing too much.

They're taking this whole 'replicating the Cloris magic' thing way too far.

Yuck, whomever gets partnered with Steve-O better be checked for STDs afterwards. Poor girl.

Well, Lacey said she would like to be paired with him.

LT should end the whole NFL domination, and I hope Steve O leaves first. I do not hate Lil' Kim like I was disgusted with the inclusion of Kim K. and Heather M. She'll be entertaining and looks like she maybe able to dance. I cannot wait to see her first bitchface at Samantha after her stupid questions, but mostly for her input on those costumes.

Let's hope he doesn't urinate on the floor the way he did when he was on a local radio show when he was here in Toronto a few years ago.

The wardrobe department is going to have a FABULOUS time fitting Kim's tig-ole-bitties into those costumes! At least Mel B had a little more height to balance things out.

Y'all may think I'm crazy, but the one I'm most curious to see is... Steve-O. Yes, I think he was a nasty, disgusting pig; however, I'm curious to see how much of that behavior was due to his drug & alcohol use/mental health issues. I understand he went into a hospital and spent a good amount of time there detoxing and straightening himself out. We shall see...

ETA: I think Pem and I are on the same wavelength. We thought of the same thing at the same time!

If they put Lacey with Steve-O it just further forces her to be more "edgey" and "out there". I liked her with Lance but this seems like type casting and a little too forced.

is there hope that Joe Theismann will blind side him and break his leg.



yes I'm bitter

I'm not a Steve-O fan, but he did just go through some extensive rehab and get some serious psych therapy (per Johnny Knoxville on the Howard Stern show last week) so I don't think he'll be pulling the exact same stunts he was pulling a year ago or earlier (I hope).

You know Lacey will be with Steve-O. She was a joke as a 'professional dancer' last season, and she's just proving herself even more to be less legit....

what I'm curious to know is......WHO WILL BE PAIRED WITH LIL KIM?

I've been surprised the last few seasons by some of the celebs I ended up liking. Not because they were good when I thought they'd suck, but just because they tried hard and had fun with it. One of the things that bugged the crap out of me with Adam Carolla is that I don't think he put much effort into it which, to me, sort of mocks the show and the celebs who work their butts off. Ted McGinley was not someone I thought I would like, but he tried. I wasn't sad to see him go, but I appreciated his effort.

Point being, SteveO seems destined to be a disaster who spends more time mugging than dancing. More time making lewd comments about his partner than trying to learn. More time being - big shocker - a jackass, than working hard.

Nancy O'Dell, almost a sure thing on effort. She'll work hard. Where it gets her? Don't know.

And Lil' Kim, I kinda think she'll be a hard worker too.

Lawrence Taylor, hard to say. He doesn't seem affable like Emmitt, Warren Sapp and Jason Taylor. I think he'll be workmanlike, kinda clumsy/lumbering, but trying hard to put it together. But without the charm it's hard to see that going anywhere. Is he still snorting coke? ;-)

Curious to see how Steve-O approaches the show....I see 2 extremes 1)he's a lewd, disgusting a-hole, or 2) rehab changed him and he actually comes off as sweet and at least trying to help clean up his image, his career as a jack-a** is over, so perhaps he wants to be seen as a semi-decent guy to make it as a comedian in the film industry or something??? As a less talented Adam Sandler? Just speculating...

This requirement of having a spot filled by an NFL player is rather ridiculous.

The next four names are in and official:

Shawn Johnson
Chuck Wicks
Gilles Marini
Denise Richards

I'm excited for Shawn Johnson. She has a smile that can melt my cold, black heart. I hope she does well.

Chuck Wicks - he has a questionable fanbase (though I know country music fans are quite dedicated), but he's a good looking guy with a fun personality so I think he'll be alright. As for the potential partnership with Julianne, I see that going either way. It'll either help tremendously or backfire big time. Here's hoping we don't have to deal with it at all.

Gilles Marini - this season's Cristian de la Fuente. Probably paired with Cheryl, too.

Denise Richards - needs not to be on my TV past the first week.

Nancy O'Dell? I'm surprised NBC is letting her participate on an ABC show but since she's my favorite entertainment TV journalist, at least I got someone to root for.

However Denise Richards...yeah. I expect her to parade her daughters like there is no tomorrow.

Unless there's some sort of freak occurance or he pulls a Cloris, sorry Woz....you're first to go...does anyone see him having ANY dance or physical ability at all???

Access Hollywood is syndicated and is shown on stations other than ones owned by NBC so know problem with O'Dell.

I only had to look up two "stars: this time.

No chance in the world and I don't understand why he would even do this. From the little I know of him it seems like he will hate it.

That's what I was wondering

I love Nancy too. She's so damn likeable and seems really genuine. If she has any rhythm or dance ability, I can see her going really far.

Not a big fan of Jewel at all - Do we have any idea who the stars will be paired with?

However, it is produced by NBC/Universal. And it seems that any hosting gigs any of the correspondents have done in recent years have all been NBC based, which is how I wonder how she managed to get in on this...unless she's being poached. Hmmmm.

BC partners don't meet until tomorrow, I assume they won't reveal partners until after that, so perhaps tomorrow? They always like for partners to meet without too much notice.

Steve Wozniak.

I just have to keep repeating that one to myself until I can believe it.

Steve Wozniak?

If they pair Chuck with Julianne I will be pissed. That pisses me off more than Steve-O or anything else on this list. As it was I thought I had a break from her this season and now instead I will be force fed more sweetheart of America bull. Even if they're not paired it's still somewhat annoying since of course their relationship will probably be brought up every two seconds.

http://tvwatch.people.com/2009/02/09/danci...st-is-revealed/

Ugh, according to People.com it is true Chuck is with Julianne

I'm so excited for Shawn!! Thats the girl thats getting my votes! Mark + Shawn = <3 I would not mind Derek as well

It is officially posted on abc.com:


ETA: Of note from the people.com article:

OK so here is who I think will get paired up.....
Chuck Wicks/ Julianne- They are dating, so yeah
Shawn Johnson/Mark- With her height and age he is the only one i can see
Ty Murray/Edyta- Married couples against each other
Jewel/ Alec- Married couples against each other
Gilles Marini, Cheryl- Just based on the fact that she has him as a friend on myspace
Denise Richards/Tony- I would have said Maks( because they would probably try an romance angle) but Tony is the next tallest
David Alan Grier/Kym- Just had Warren so probably will get stuck with another oldie
Nacy O'Dell/Maks- Just her height
Steve-O/Lacey- Still try to maker her out as a rebel, so he would play into that
Lil' Kim/Derek- Just hieght and i don't think they would give him Belinda
Lawrence Taylor/Karina- Its her turn to have the footballer
Belinda Carlisle/???????- whoever they last male is
Steve Wozniak/New Pro-

The Olympian quota seems to be in place now as well. Not that I am upset about Shawn Johnson. She has a ticket to the final 3, IMO. Thus I hope they give her to a newbie or a pro who has not won or been to the final 3 before. Most likely it will be Mark. Ugh.

Nancy O'Dell will do much better than Leeza Gibbons or her past AH colleague Giselle Fernandez. I hope she does well because like her and she is bearable on the red carpet. I just hope we are not subjected to Billy Bush. If she can move, like Brooke, I think she can go far.

Denise Richards will parade her kids in every rehearsal clip, not just the obligatory mommy edit clip.

Is Steve Wozniak still dating Kathy Griffin? If not Steve-O, I am guessing one of those Steves will be leaving first this season. Not sure if I am excited to see a dance off between those two.

Chuck Wicks? I am going to be upset if they pair him with Julianne. I know ABC loves them Houghs, particularly Julianne, but that's a bit much.

Nancy, Belinda, David Alan Grier and Shawn Johnson more than made up for the disappointing names (Denise, Chuck, Steve-O) on the list.

I'm just happy that it seems a rumour I heard that the Rivers women (Joan and Melissa) were going to be on the show is obviously wrong. Thank goodness. That would truly have been awful.

Damn, looks like Chuck and Julianne won't be getting any of my votes. I don't mean that in a bad way, it's just iI would love to vote for them but Shawn gets all of mine. I hope that the relationship factor doesn't mean that Chuck/Julianne will get the upper edge in the competition, but I hope that they do well though!

So it looks like I'm pissed. They sure want Julianne the golden girl to threepeat, don't they? I sure hope Shawn Johnson is good so as to avoid Julianne's inevitable march to the finals--because even if Chucky straight up sucks, the relationship cuteness will be played to the hilt. If there were a way to vote against them, I would.

Beyond that, why is Julianne the very special pro who gets her pairing announced early?

Chuck with Julianne? Really, show? There are just so many ways that could blow-up/backfire I don't even know why they would want to make it a possibility.

If they wanted to have him on the show, why not just pair him with Karina/Edyta/Cheryl? That way they could have the storyline of Julianne vs. her boyfriend vs. her brother and all the couples competing against one another, Julianne v. Chuck, Maks v.Karina, Ty v. Jewel, and Edyta v. Alec (assuming he's on), without dealing with the potential backlash this could create.

Wikipedia for season 8 says that Chelsie Hightower (or is it Highwater) will be a pro on season 8

looking at the lineup, I can't fathom who they would pair Chelsie with? The only person I could think would be Chuck, but obviously that's not an option anymore.

Its a rule they can only be cast as a pair, right? (shudder)

I thought Donny Osmond was going to be on this time around? I was looking forward to him! Crap.

I thought Julianne was not coming back this season - what happened?

They need to change the title of this show to Dancing with the "Stars." Of the thirteen contestants, I have HEARD of--I mean HEARD of--I mean EVER HEARD THE NAMES OF, in any context, SIX of them. Good lord!

spanana said:
Due respect, spanana, but I believe a "threepeat" ONLY happens when the same champion is crowned in something for three consecutive years. Julianne won DWTS seasons 4 & 5. To have "threepeat"-ed, as I understand the definition of the word, she would've had to win Season 3 OR Season 6 as well. Therefore, she could win three times as of this season, yes, BUT it wouldn't be a "threepeat". At least not in the traditional sense of the word.

And... for Cheryl Burke to have "threepeat"-ed, BTW, she would've had to win Seasons 1-3 (& I don't think she was even part of Season 1) OR Seasons 2-4. She can also be another three-time champion (like Julianne can), if she's in & wins this season; but neither will have a true "threepeat", until & unless either starts another string of championships & wins 3 consecutive seasons of the show.

David Alan Grier! I love him. "Chocolate News" is hilarious. His Maya Angelou destroys me.

And Steve Wozniak - he of the short pants, backpack, dress socks, and genius IQ? DWTS has outdone itself with this bit of WTF casting. Well done, show.

Not excited about the new cast, but I love David Allen Grier. Denise Richards . . . hmmm. Glad Donny Osmond is not going to be on. I am tired of all things Osmond.

Jacklynovascotia:



Joan and Melissa Rivers are going to be on the upcoming "Celebrity Apprentice" - which has it's own WTF cast.

BW Manilowe, I agree with you on the technical definition of threepeat. I suppose I should have just said they really want Julianne to get that third trophy. Then again, I'm trying to remember the last time a Hough or Ballas hasn't won. I guess that goes back to Cheryl back in S3.

mike1314,

Maks is engaged to Karina Smirnoff, so I doubt the romance angle would be tried.

"stuck with another oldie" - ? Please explain. btw, Warren Sapp was 35 when he was on the show. David Allen Grier is 52.

edited - typos

spanana said:
That's OK. I misword a lot of stuff in other posts myself, so I know where you're coming from. I wasn't trying to make a "biggie" out of what you said. I guess I just thought the definition I knew of "threepeat" might be useful. In general, the makeup of a "threepeat" might be subjective anyway.

Julianne's & Cheryl's current situation on that is kinda like how Serena Williams has won all 4 major women's tennis championships, & she did them 4 in a row, but she only has what was named a "Serena Slam" (in her honor, after she did it) & not a true "Grand Slam" (like you're supposed to have if you win all 4 championships consecutively), since she didn't win them all in the same calendar year (a requirement for an official "Grand Slam" in the sport). So while we might say Julianne or Cheryl has a "threepeat" if either wins this season, they won't have a true "threepeat" as the wins wouldn't have been in 3 consecutive seasons of the show. BTW, like Cheryl not being in S1, I'm not sure Julianne would've had a "threepeat" from S2-4, 'cause I'm not sure she was in S2. All the seasons have started to blur together for me, as far as which pros have been in which seasons.

Chelsie Hightower as a pro? I liked her on SYTYCD but, after Lacey last season, I'm a little wary of bringing SYTYCD dancers onto DWTS.

Or maybe I'm just pissed that, of all the SYTYCD ballroom dancers, the ones that I really want to see on DWTS - Pasha and Anya - aren't on. That results show doesn't count. Especially because it was with Jessica Simpson (gross). If only they hadn't been dragged over to that stupid Superstars of Dance show. Sigh.



Same here. I was really, REALLY looking forward to a Julianne-free season. Dammit.

I do realize this might come off like beating a dead horse, but I just wish the show would realize that there is such a thing as overexposure on the part of their pros too. I'm fine with pros not taking a season off as we've seen most of our women dancers on a regular basis, but at some point they are going to push Julianne just a tad too hard and it will reach the backlash stage. I'm thinking this season might be the breaking point.

Even beyond that, part of what I like about the show is watching the pros and celebs build a working relationship over the course of the season. It sort of takes the fun out of it when the pro/celeb already have a prior relationship.