DWTS Season 12 Casting Rumors – The Typecasting of Season 12, Part II
In part one of my typecasting analysis, we took a look at who we might get from the Olympian, athlete, model, comedian, legend, & soap star categories. Now let’s take a look at the other 6 categories and speculate on who else we might see before tonight’s cast announcement!
EDITOR’S NOTE: The site is getting hit with an extraordinary amount of hits right now (which is great! :-D) but it’s also slowing us bloggers down while we post – hence, there are no links in this edition because it’s just taking too long to add them all in. However, you can access all of the DWTS casting rumors in Vogue’s post from the other day if you need a refresher on some of these 🙂
The Teen Idol
Previous examples: Joey McIntyre, Aaron Carter, Donny Osmond, Lance Bass, Mel B., Joey Fatone, Drew Lachey, Joey Lawrence, Ian Ziering, Cody Linley, Sabrina Bryan, Mario Lopez, Kyle Massey
Advantages: If sales of Tiger Beat are any indicator, the teenyboppers will come out in full force to support their favorite heartthrobs/idols. Being young & good-lookin’ sure doesn’t hurt! Many also have the added advantage of having a decent dance background, especially if they were part of a musical act.
Disadvantages: Youth can also have its disadvantages – as in immaturity. What some might call “youthful exuberance”, others might call “immaturity” or “attention deficit disorder” – poor Cody Linley had a hard time sitting still! Emotional immaturity (a la Aaron Carter’s post-rumba meltdown in the confessional) can be especially off-putting.
Possible candidates this season: I think the Lindsay Lohan rumor has been almost completely shot down, but Full House fans have been campaigning for both Jodie Sweetin & Candace Cameron Bure in the online voting. I’ve also seen a surge of support within the past few days for New Kids on the Block member Jonathan Knight to do the show.
The Host
Previous examples: Jerry Springer, Brooke Burke, Leeza Gibbons, Mario Lopez, Kenny Mayne, Lisa Rinna, Tucker Carlson, Mark Dacascos, Rocco DiSpirito, Erin Andrews
Advantages: Being that they’ve been at the helm of their own shows, these guys usually have the media savvy & charisma to appeal to the masses, as well as the previous exposure & recognizability. Most (not all!) are also decently attractive, which never seems to hurt (unless, of course, you’re a model – see previous post for explanation).
Disadvantages: Many hosts are only used to hosting – as in just sitting down & talking (or dodging the occasional punch, if you’re Springer), so the lack of movement experience problem seems to come into play.
Possible candidates this season: Wendy Williams name has been repeated quite a bit, although Joan Rivers’ name was out there for awhile as a possible contestant.
The Actor
Previous examples: John O’Hurley, Melissa Joan Hart, Steve Guttenburg, John Ratzenberger, Debi Mazar, Denise Richards, Ted McGinley, Shannon Elizabeth, Jennie Garth, Vivica Fox, Marissa Jaret Winokur, Shannen Doherty, Jennifer Grey, David Hasselhoff
Advantages: Being that their bread & butter is acting, most can usually nail the emotions of the dances. Bonus points if they’ve done any Broadway (like Winokur) because they have likely had dance experience.
Disadvantages: For lack of a better term, many of them seem to be “has-beens” – actors that haven’t been particularly active in the mainstream in the past several years – or were never that big to begin with (can anyone else think of anything John O’Hurley has been in BESIDES Seinfeld?), making it harder for them to garner votes from a public who may not remember them.
Possible candidates this season: Lorenzo Lamas has been claiming he’s on the casting “short list” for weeks now, so we’re thinking he’s a lock.
The Reality Star
Previous examples: Kim Kardashian, Kelly Osbourne, Melissa Rycroft, Steve-O, Holly Madison, Trista Sutter, Shanna Moakler, Kate Gosselin, Jake Pavelka, Audrina Patridge, The Situation
Advantages: Many have achieved pop culture icon status on their respective reality outlets, making them fairly recognizable.
Disadvantages: They may be memorable for the wrong reasons – people tended to remember things like Kim Kardashian’s sex tape more than her reality show, and people seemed more focused on Holly Madison’s split from Hef than her antics on The Girls Next Door. Many can also come across as attention-hungry & talentless – reality TV is often looked down upon as a way to get famous without having any talent whatsoever.
Possible candidates this season: Aside from the omnipresent Heidi Montag rumor and ridiculous rumors about both NeNe Leakes & Kim Zolciak from The Real Housewives of Atlanta, we’ve also heard of former Idol contestant Danny Gokey gunning for a spot.
The Singer:
Previous examples: Mya, Billy Ray Cyrus, Mario, Belinda Carlisle, Master P, Chuck Wicks, Sara Evans, Willa Ford, Monique Coleman, Toni Braxton, Macy Gray, Nicole Scherzinger
Advantages: As with the teen idols, many have had dance experience concurrent with their music careers.
Disadvantages: Most seem to be committed solely to one genre of music (often R&B or country), making it hard to appeal to a wide fanbase.
Possible candidates this season: There’s been big campaigns in the online voting for both Zack Wilde & Paul Byrom, but nothing really “legit” to go off of.
The Wild Card
Previous examples: Heather Mills, Tom DeLay, Mark Cuban, Steve Wozniak, Priscilla Presley, Buzz Aldrin, Bristol Palin
Advantages: The sheer novelty of having someone with such an off-the-beaten-path claim to fame (famous divorcee/widow, entrepreneur, disgraced politician, etc.) may be enough to have the public voting them – just to see what happens. Being the “underdog” is a powerful thing…as we saw with Bristol last season!
Disadvantages: Due to their often dubious fame, people just may not have any clue who they are – I personally had to Google Mark Cuban’s name. There’s also the risk of backlash from some viewers who don’t think they’re “stars” per se, and shouldn’t even be on the show in the first place.
Possible candidates this season: Not sure if it was the hailstorm of controversy from Bristol last season or what, but this category was booming with rumors this season – everyone from Tony Robbins to Christine O’Donnell to Al Sharpton to Brooke Mueller. Will any of them actually do the show? That remains to be seen.
So we’re mere hours away from the official announcement, gang – who do you think is in and who do you think is just wishful thinking? Be sure to check back here for Heidi’s Casting Announcement Live Blog starting at 8 PM EST…she (and the rest of us) suffer through The Bachelor so you don’t have to 🙂 And make sure you’re following @puredwts & @tvblog on Twitter for up-to-the-minute updates on who’s in!
Just going on gut – I think Lorenzo Lamas, Lee Merriweather and Nastia Luekin are in. I think Kirsty Alley may actually make it to the dance floor this season (I know she’s been rumored for a while now, but this may be her season). I’m hoping we can give the reality star category a rest – please!
I’ll be checking in here tonight to see who will grace the dance floor in Season 12 (can’t sit through an episode of Bachelor even for a good cause). Starting to get excited – premier is only 3 weeks away! Woo Hoo
Great write up as always Courtney! I sure hope Lorenzo is a lock in. I’ve been thinking so too until today. So many surprises out there today, it’s hard to predict. I am so hoping for Lee Meriwether, Nastia, and Faye Dunaway as well!
No mention of the Kendra rumor for reality stars?
Catrena – If you look in part I, I used Kendra as a possible candidate for the model/playmate/beauty queen category.
This is fun! Thanks for having such a fun site!
Damian just tweeted a link to this site. :::waves::: Love ya, Damian. 🙂
Much love to both Damian and Peta 🙂
Whoops sorry about that.
He and Peta also just tweeted that they won’t be on the show this season. I am actually disappointed as I really wanted to give him another shot. I watched some of his dances with Pam and I realized it was actually HER that I disliked on the show (normally I like Pam) but she was just too much in character – her “sexpot” character, even in interviews, for me to root for her. I actually thought some of the choreography was pretty cool. I still hate his hair so much, but I am really glad I gave another look to their dances. Maybe next season!
And thanks for the kudos, Jay – we try to keep it fun around here 🙂
Fig, that tweet was kinda weird the way he worded it. It made me want to ask him – so that means ONE of you WILL be on the show?? He puts the word “both” in a weird place, grammatically.
Have we heard anything from Jonathan this year. Do I still get to hold onto my sliver of hope he’ll be on?
OMG, are Peta and Damian not cool or WHAT? <3 <3 <3
I just heard reports that Dr. Laura is confirmed to be on the show, but I cannot find the article.
Want Damian and Peta! =]
Oh yes, Vogue, I forgot about Faye Dunaway – I hope that rumor is true … she’d make a great candidate. Don’t know much about her dancing, but I’d love to see her give it a whirl. I was hoping Damian was going to be on this season, but apparently not ? Would love to see Jonathan back as well.
You are all heroines for sitting through the Bachelor mess to feed our DWTS addiction.
Hmmm? Does that make you enablers?
guys what time is it? here in brazil is 8:30 pm (want to know what time barchelor begins…)
Yes, Linde, I think it does. 🙂
Blocked the spammer(s) by email, if it keeps up I’ll go to IP address.
Lacey tweet:
I will be on DWTS this season! And I love my partner! Yaaaaaa
It’s 5:30 central time, Carlos – the Bachelor starts in an hour and a half. If they do it like last season, they’ll make us wait until the end, about 8:45 or so.
Do we have any idea what time the announcement will be made?? I really dont wanna sit through bachelor bs.
She just couldn’t manage the quiet, could she fig? 🙂
It’s been different every season, Greg. Last season they saved it all for the last minute. Before that they’ve done it through out the show. You can watch this site, or follow us on Twitter. The Live Blog post will go…live in about a half an hour.
thanks heidi. so we have a difference of 3 hours… =/ I was thinking that was just 2… (breathing)
LOL, Lacey almost made it until the announcement.
I know the show couldn’t fill all these types, but I really hope we get an Olympian this season. I missed that last season.