It is officially my favorite time of the year: ballroom season! Every Tuesday, I sit on my couch (most recently now my twin XL) and transform into a ballroom judge. For those not familiar, Dancing with the Stars is a competition show where celebrities are partnered with professional dancers and tasked to perform and learn new dances every week. Each week they are judged by the professional ballroom judges and are voted on by America. The judges’ scores and America’s votes are combined dictating who will stay to dance another week in the ballroom. With my dance experience from before I could even form sentences to watching Dancing with the Stars religiously, I consider myself qualified to give my season 33 cast predictions and rankings for this season of Dancing with the Stars!
- Eric Roberts
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Eric Roberts, brother of actress Julia Roberts and father of Emma Roberts, has appeared in nearly 800 movies and TV shows during his career. He is best known for his role in King of the Gypsies, Star 80, and Runaway Train. He is a 3-time Golden Globe nominee with a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination under his belt. Although his career is quite impressive, I do have to be honest…I have never heard of him before. This seems to be a common theme on social media as well, since people are not as familiar with his work. Also, the older contestants often struggle against their younger competition to learn and perfect the choreography. Eric is partnered with pro dancer Britt Stewart who has what it takes to help him learn but I do think that it will be a battle in the ballroom. In a recent interview when asked about where he would put the Len Goodman Mirrorball trophy, Eric said “I’m sorry but I don’t think I am taking that home.” With that quote, I do not feel like Eric is in the right mindset to take on the ballroom so I believe he may be the first contestant out.
- Anna Delvey
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Anna Delvey’s casting announcement took everyone by surprise. For context, Anna Delvey is best known as the “fake heiress” as she partook in financial crimes and scams. She was convicted on eight counts, including grand larceny and theft of service, and was sentenced to 12 years in prison. She was released in February 2021 on good behavior but has been rocking an ankle monitor ever since which will appear in the ballroom. Anna’s controversial casting leaves me with mixed feelings. The fans do not seem too excited that Dancing with the Stars has allowed a convicted felon to perform so she might be an easy vote out early on. I think she will make it to week two at least out of intrigue to what headlines she could bring to the show. I am also excited to see her with her partner Ezra Sosa, a first-time pro on the show. Anna definitely could go far in the competition but as of right now too much controversy surrounds her therefore, I think she will be out of the competition fairly soon.
- Reginald VelJohnson
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Reginald VelJohnson is an actor best known for playing Carl Winslow on the popular Family Matters for nine seasons. He is also known for playing police officers and is most recognized for his character in the Die Hard franchise. Reginald has appeared in many other movies, television and commercials in guest roles as well. Reginald will make his presence known in the show, already appearing to have a funny and bubbly personality during interviews and on social media. His pro partner, Emma Slater, has begun showing off their dancing and Reginald’s personality on her TikTok. Like Eric Roberts, I think Reginald will struggle to pick up choreography and will be sent home early in the competition.
- Phaedra Parks
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Phaedra Parks has truly done it all, so I would not be surprised if she took the ballroom by storm this season. She is best known for starring on The Real Housewives of Atlanta for over seven seasons. She recently went on the show The Traitors and announced that she will be returning to Housewives for its newest season. Other than being a reality star, Phaedra is an advocate for her organization Phaedra Foundation, a motivational speaker, a funeral planner and an author. She also created the Phaedra Scholars Scholarship which provides tuition to first-generation minority students. Phaedra has what it takes to go far in the competition, especially with her partner and two-time Mirrorball winner, Val Chmerkovskiy. Similar to the other contestants though already mentioned, I do not think she has the fan base to carry her throughout the competition. I do believe she is going to bring her strong personality to the show as she already has with her one-liner on Good Morning America: “Everybody knows I’m sassy, classy and some of my friends are a wee bit trashy, but if you come for this Mirrorball, it will get nasty.”
- Tori Spelling
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Tori Spelling is an American actress and author. She is best known for her role in Beverly Hills, 90210 for all 10 seasons. She has also appeared in many other films such as Scream 2 and Scary Movie. Tori also became a New York Times bestselling author for her memoir Stori Telling. Tori is a wildcard in the competition, and I believe she can do well. Her pro partner Pasha Pashkov had an explosive season last year with reality star Ariana Maddix, making it all the way to the finale. Hopefully, he can bring that energy this year and really highlight Tori’s skills. Tori has the potential to bring in nostalgia votes from the generation that religiously watched Beverly Hills, 90210. I believe that the younger generations watching the show, however, will not put her at the top of their list so I can see Tori ending up in the middle of the pack this season.
- Brooks nader
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Brooks Nader is a famous model, appearing in multiple Sports Illustrated covers. In 2019 she won the swim search which launched her career with Sports Illustrated. Brooks has also become an entrepreneur launching a jewelry collection with the brand Electric Picks and an interior design and decor brand called Home by BN. Brooks definitely has what it takes to excel in the ballroom. Already during media and rehearsals, Brooks and her partner Gleb Savchenko have gotten extremely close, already sparking dating rumors between the two. If they lean into the potential budding romance and hit all their routines, they have the ability to go far in the competition. However, Brooks might be lacking America’s vote as she is not one of the most well-known cast members.
- Danny Amendola
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Danny Amendola is trading in his cleats and helmet for dancing shoes this season on Dancing with the Stars. Danny is a former NFL player with 13 years of experience in the NFL. He is a Super Bowl champion with the New England Patriots. Dancing with the Stars is not his first rodeo with reality television; he competed on Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test. Historically, football players have done exceptionally well in the ballroom with 4 players winning the Mirrorball trophy. With this being pro Whitney Carson’s comeback season, I know she will push Danny to new limits and that they will be a strong team this season. Whitney has already taken to social media showing off their progress during rehearsals and I do have to admit that Danny looks a little stiff. He is going to have to dig deep if he wants to win the trophy and secure his place with the other victorious football players in the ballroom.
- Jenn Tran
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From The Bachelor to The Bachelorette to the dancing floor, Jenn Tran has been making waves in the reality TV community. She made history being the first Asian American lead in The Bachelorette and the youngest lead as well. In the anticipated finale episode, Jenn broke the news that she had recently split from contestant Devin Strader who she had proposed to during the show. Jenn revealed that after returning home from filming The Bachelorette, Devin began to pull away, eventually breaking off the engagement. I believe this controversial engagement will help Jenn in the ballroom. She can take this moment and use it as her revenge tour. Jenn will also have Bachelor and Bachelorette nation behind her, especially after her rough experiences during her season. With the help of her partner Sasha Faber, Jenn will go far in this competition.
- Dwight Howard
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Straight from the basketball court comes season 33’s tallest competitor, Dwight Howard. Dwight is a professional basketball player with 18 years of experience in the NBA. He is an 8-time NBA All-Star and won an NBA championship back in 2020 with the Los Angeles Lakers. He has been playing overseas in Taiwan since 2022. After watching promos for this new season, Dwight Howard really stood out to me and not just because of his 6’10” stature. Dwight has the perfect personality for Dancing with the Stars, with the stamina of an athlete and his own personal swag. His height might get in the way during the competition, but he is in good hands with pro-partner, Daniella Karagach. Daniella won the Mirrorball trophy with NBA player Iman Shubert back in 2021, so she knows how to work around the insane height difference between the pairing. With Daniella’s stellar choreography and Dwight’s loveable personality, I believe that they have a real shot in the ballroom.
- Joey Graziadei
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This season there is not only one but two members of Bachelor nation on the show. Joey Graziadei was runner-up on Charity Lawson’s season of The Bachelorette. He then went on to lead season 28 of The Bachelor and stole many viewers hearts. He left that season happily engaged to Kelsey Anderson. Many other Bachelors and Bachelorette’s have gone extremely far in Dancing with the Stars, like Charity Lawson who made it all the way to the finale of last season. With that track record, I think Joey will make Dancing with the Stars fans swoon over him just as he did with Bachelor nation. His partnership with pro dancer Jenna Johnson is also a major advantage as she is an Emmy nominated choreographer and has what it takes to train him into a pro dancer. Jenna, like many other pros on the show, has taken to TikTok to give viewers a glimpse into their rehearsals, and Joey has an innate sense of musicality and rhythm which will be key in this competition.
- Chandler Kinney
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Chandler Kinney is a perfect contestant for Dancing with the Stars. She is most known for her roles in Disney Channel’s Zombies franchise and her role in the Pretty Little Liars spinoffs, Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin and Summer School. She mentioned to the media that she danced when she was younger, so she already has a leg up in the competition. Also, she has learned how to pick up choreography through working on the Zombies films so learning choreography should not be an issue for her. Her partnership with Brandon Armstrong will take her far in the competition, and I believe she can be one of the best dancers. The only thing that may hold her back in this competition would be her smaller fan base and voters but only time will tell.
- Ilona Mar
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Ilona Mar has taken the world by storm, not only with her stellar Olympic performance but also through her empowering social media presence. Ilona is a professional rugby player, and she recently played for the U.S. Women’s Rugby team in Paris this summer. She and her fellow players left the Olympics with a bronze medal, a monumental achievement for the United States and for women’s rugby. She has charmed the world with her content on social media, her positive attitude shining through as she focuses on empowering women through body positivity content. She also recently made the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine. Ilona is simply riding a well-deserved high in life right now and I think that will follow her right into the ballroom. From her partnership with pro Alan Bersten to her large fan base, Ilona could make it all the way to finale night. She has the right attitude to take over the ballroom, and I am excited to see her shine in this new light!
- Stephen Nedoroscik
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Stephen Nedoroscik was definitely one of the highlights of Paris 2024 and I think he is going to be an even bigger star in the ballroom. Stephen recently just won two bronze medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics as a pommel horse specialist. He ended up going viral with his Clark Kent look after taking off his glasses before competing and because of his loveable personality. Stephen, a Penn State alum, is a very decorated athlete with four U.S. pommel horse titles under his belt as well. I personally think Stephen could win the entire competition. His experience with gymnastics allows him to be able to take critiques and prepares him for the ballroom dancing training schedule. He also is partnered up with Rylee Arnold, the youngest and one of the most popular pros because of her partnership with Harry Jowsey last season and her dedicated social media following. Rylee and Stephen are a perfect partnership, both with a refreshing youthfulness and eagerness to dance. Stephen is going to win over Dancing with the Stars viewers and has the potential and the votes to make it all the way!
Whatever happens this season on Dancing with the Stars, I am sure that it is going to be a season to remember. To see if my predictions are right and to get a taste for the ballroom yourself, watch season 33 of Dancing with the Stars premiering on September 18th at 8pm on ABC and Disney+.