The wait is over, but was it worth it?
ABC announced the new posse of dancers for Dancing With The Stars, one of its most watched and celebrated shows. As in past outings, there's a mix of reality stars (Lisa Vanderpump from Bravo's The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills) and athletes (NFL hotshot/ Super Bowl-er Jacoby Jones, skater Dorothy Hamill, boxer Victor Ortiz and gymnast Aly Raisman) and country singers (Wynonna Judd and Kellie Pickler). Adding some pluck to the group: comedians D.L. Hughley and Andy Dick, who never seems to tire of being shoved in the spotlight and being ridiculed). Actors comprise the rest of the gang: Ingo Rademacher (General Hospital) and the spunky Zendaya Coleman (of Disney Channel's Shake It Up).
Jones, who helped make the Baltimore Ravens Super Bowl champs, should be a draw—most of the athletes featured on the show have been. But the best pick of the bunch? Hamill. Her Olympic shine hasn't faded over the decades. America's darling lives on—now in dance shoes.
Still, ABC could have shaken things up a bit more. Viewership last fall for the all-stars finale was down about 15 percent. I would not have minded seeing somebody like Lisa Lampanelli tossed into the mix.
Tara Reid? Joel McHale? Daniel Tosh? Kelly Ripa?
Regardless, it's a fair guess that Judd, one of country music's brightest and most durable stars, will draw a great deal of attention for her celebrity—chances are she could easily nail dancing to a country tune. (Expect to see mother Naomi watching on in the audience.)
As for her reasons to enter the DWTS fold, Judd told USA Today that she "... turned into the nurse/mom/wife/caregiver. And I think I forgot myself. After meeting with the folks from Dancing With the Stars, I said, 'You know what. I'm going to do this, because I'm ready to be hyper-focused on something for me.' It's about self-care."
I'm sure there's a country song somewhere in there.
Stay tuned. DWTS' 16th season launches at 8pm March 18.
