TV Guide is reporting some more buzz on the much talked about “All-Star” Edition of Dancing With The Stars. A “staffer” told them that it’s “going to happen.” Also, Mario Lopez, Gilles Marini, Mel B., Sabrina Bryan, and Kyle Massey are a few names being dropped who might be returning. According to the staffer, also note that the casting would exclude mirror ball champions. Below is more….
According to the staffer, the casting would exclude mirror ball champions, which may come as a disappointment to Dancing co-host Brooke Burke Charvet, who won Season 7 (2008) and recently told talk show host Rachael Ray that she’d loved to be a part of an All-Star season. “100 percent yes!” said Charvet. “I haven’t danced ballroom since I left. And being on the show, it just makes me want to dance again.”
A spokesman for ABC, who would not confirm the plan, says the network is not ready to make any formal announcement. But another insider says that the names on the list make sense because they could conceivably fit the show into their schedules and are all still physically fit enough to compete. Bryan and Massey are in Las Vegas right now, performing in a three-month run of “Dancing With The Stars: Live In Las Vegas,” at the New Tropicana Las Vegas.
The names also make sense when you consider the pairings with their old pro partners: Runner-up Lopez could dance again with Karina Smirnoff, assuming that they could put their former romance aside. Runner-up Mel B., who is co-hosting the Australian version of Dancing, could paso doble again with Maksim Chmerkovskiy. Runner-up Marini could wow the ballroom again with Cheryl Burke. Bryan could be vindicated for being voted out too soon by pairing up again with Mark Ballas. And runner-up Massey could cha-cha again with Lacey Schwimmer.
“It’s better if the winners don’t come back,” says the insider, “because then, we have a cast of people who have another shot at the title.”
Wow, I can’t wait and I can see why it would be better if the winners didn’t come back. You can read the full article at TV Guide. Let’s get Heidi’s take….
Heidi: Hmmm…I dunno. I guess an all stars season would be great if they only picked people who went as far as the semi-finals. That would certainly make it more exciting, since it implies both fan votes and dance ability (to a certain extent) for each of the cast – a somewhat more level playing field. No real duds with a few exceptions. But if they are talking about Sabrina, then they might consider others who didn’t make it that far, and I would think the point would be to have all great dancers. Gilles?? He’s a working actor, I don’t see him coming back to the show. I also don’t see Mario coming back (and he already said he didn’t have time) as he’s working a good bit too. So…who else would who is “good” would be likely to come back?? And what happens if two people who danced with the same pro came back??