Ariana Madix Joins ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Cast After Scandoval Controversy
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Ariana Madix is continuing her post-Scandoval re-emergence by booking a gig on Dancing With the Stars.
The Vanderpump Rules star joins season 32 of the ABC ballroom dancing competition series, meaning she will pull double duty this summer to film both DWTS and the Bravo reality series, which is currently in production on its 11th season.
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Madix is the first confirmed DWTS castmember, making her announcement on GMA alongside judge Derek Hough. The upcoming season, hosted by Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough, will reveal more castmembers at a later date. A premiere date has yet to be announced.
Madix is coming off a turbulent yet breakout season of Vanderpump Rules, where the reality star was captured in real time reacting to the shocking news of an affair between her longtime partner Tom Sandoval and her friend and fellow castmember Raquel Leviss. The affair, dubbed Scandoval, was the focus of the three-part reunion show that aired last month. The developments both on- and off-camera since the affair was first made public in March have captivated the Bravo-verse, nabbed the show its series-high ratings and thrust the cast and Madix into the national spotlight.
Not only has Vanderpump Rules already begun filming its 11th season, a spinoff is in the works that could feature former castmembers such as Jax Taylor, Brittany Cartwright and Kristen Doute.
The DWTS gig continues Madix’s string of brand deals and partnerships that have come to light since Scandoval broke, including more than $200,000 in sales from reunion-themed Vanderpump Rules merchandise to promote Something About Her, her forthcoming sandwich shop with co-star Katie Maloney. She will also appear in the upcoming Lifetime movie Buying Back My Daughter in the fall.
All of the main ensemble, except Leviss, has reportedly returned for the 11th season at the NBCUniversal-backed cable channel. Leviss is still in talks after her revealing post-reunion interview and checking into a facility for her mental health.
When speaking to The Hollywood Reporter after the reunion, showrunner Alex Baskin said he expected everyone to be back and that the series would continue to capture the real time fallout as the longtime group of friends picks up the pieces from the explosion of Scandoval.
“It can’t be a show with separate islands. That doesn’t work and it’s not exciting if we have groups who agree with each other but never interact,” he said of the idea of Madix and Sandoval, who are currently still living under the same roof despite their split, being among the cast on the upcoming season. “It’s a show that has followed this group through everything they’ve been through to date, and we’ll see them as they continue to move forward. There still are a ton of ties between people who have incredibly strained relations right now; Tom and Ariana still live together. It isn’t like all of a sudden they have gone to their respective ends of the universe and that’s it. So there’s a lot for us to cover and genuinely we have no idea how it’s going to play out, just like we wouldn’t have been able to predict any of this.”
Now, Madix joins the long list of reality stars to crossover to DWTS, including her current Vanderpump boss and executive producer Lisa Vanderpump. The dancing competition is produced in front of a live audience by BBC Studios Los Angeles Productions. After moving to streaming last season, season 32 of DWTS will now air on ABC and Disney+, and stream next day on Hulu.
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