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Topics: Dancing With The Stars, Entertainment, TV
Ilana Frost
The full Dancing With the Stars season 34 cast has been revealed and… wow. What did we do to deserve this group of legends? This year’s powerhouse cast includes an Efron brother, a Fifth Harmony queen, a nepo baby crocodile hunter, a Parent Trap actress, and more random but important celebs. Congrats to the casting folks on a job brilliantly done! I’m counting down the days until season 34 premieres on September 16 on ABC and Disney+.
Ahead of the full cast reveal last month, it was announced that Secret Lives of Mormon Wives stars Jen Affleck and Whitney Leavitt are part of the season 34 crew. The news (randomly) came during the Secret Lives season 2 reunion special hosted by my opp, Nick Viall. He revealed that while “most” of the girlies had auditioned for the dance competition show, only two, Jen and Whitney, would participate in the upcoming season. I would love to see some of those audition videos, TBH.
So, who will get the highly coveted Mirrorball Trophy this season? My money’s on Jen, but read on for a breakdown of the Dancing With The Stars season 34 cast.
Drumroll please… The Efron brother is my Shayla, Dylan Efron, and he’s competing with pro Daniella Karagach! We’ll also get to see Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles with pro Ezra Sosa (an immediately iconic duo) and Pentatonix singer Scott Hoying is paired with pro Rylee Arnold. Looks like Sabrina Carpenter will be tuning in this year because her Boy Meets World costar, Danielle Fishel, will compete with partner Pasha Pashkov.
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Miss Meredith Blake herself, Elaine Hendrix, will compete with pro Alan Bersten, Fifth Harmony’s Lauren Jauregui joins the cast with partner Brandon Armstrong, and comedian Andy Richter joins the season with pro Emma Slater. NBA All-star Baron Davis will compete with pro Britt Stewart, and actor and musician Corey Feldman with pro Jenna Johnson.
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In August, People confirmed that Hilaria is officially joining the season 34 cast, and no one was shocked. After all, Hilaria’s been teasing the news in interviews and practicing her dance moves on Instagram.
During The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives reunion special, Nick asked the cast who “deserved” a spot on DWTS the most. Taylor threw out Jen “just because it’s her life dream, since she was little.” Jen chimed in, “Yeah, it is.” Wait, you’re telling me her dream wasn’t to be a ~MomToker~ on a reality show about Mormon wives?
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When Nick asked who “wanted” to be on the show the most, Whitney replied with a laugh: “I feel like me and Jen.” Taylor pointed out that Whitney “was an actual dancer,” adding, “You’ve danced your whole life.” This is such an on-brand move for Whitney, and I have no doubt she’s gonna work her ass off and make it far.
On Good Morning America, Alix shared her excitement about joining the cast. “I’ve always been a fan of Dancing with the Stars,” she said. “I used to watch it when I was so young with my grandma, and she would always say to me, ‘Maybe one day you could be on there.’”
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Apparently, the influencer was a competitive dancer in high school. “I was so in love with dance,” she said on the show. “I’m ready to challenge myself, I think it’s gonna be a lot of fun. So it was a very obvious answer to say yes.”
We got our first peek at the season to come when Hulu hosted a Get Real reality TV event on April 22, with Dancing With The Stars standbys Julianne Hough, Derek Hough, and more in attendance. And, the first celeb announcement of the season was also there: Robert Irwin.
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That’s right, the youngest Irwin is following in his sister Bindi’s footsteps by competing on Dancing With The Stars. When Bindi joined the cast back in 2015, she did it specifically to honor their late dad, Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin. She honored him well by winning season 21, so Robert’s got some big dance shoes to fill.
“I cannot tell you what a privilege, what an honor it is to be joining this season,” Robert said at the event. He also reminisced about watching Bindi perform. “I said, ‘One day, that’s gonna be me.’ And now, that dream is a reality, and I am over the moon. Let’s do this!”