OMG: We Just Learned Who's in the 'Dancing With the Stars Juniors' Cast
Fall will be here before you know it, which also means all your favorite shows are coming back (finally). To make the season even sweeter, ABC is launching a new spinoff series of Dancing with the Stars. For this show, instead of pairing professional dancers with grown-up celebrities, DWTS is looking to get famous kids grooving on the floor for Dancing With the Stars: Juniors.
Exciting, right? Wait until you hear about all that's in store for the upcoming series:
Dancing with the Stars: Juniors will premiere Sunday, October 7 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
If you're elated about the spinoff but also worried that this means you won't get to see the original format of Dancing with the Stars, rest easy. ABC is not - we repeat, ABC is not - getting rid of the long-running show (*wipes sweat off brow*). In fact, you can watch the new season of Dancing With the Stars starting on Monday, September 24 at 8 p.m. ET. In other words, you now have two ways to get your DWTS fix this fall.
Frankie Muniz and Jordan Fisher will host the show.
The actors (and former fan favorites of DWTS) will be the official emcees on the all-kids version. Jordan - well-known for his roles in The Secret Life of the American Teenager and Broadway's Hamilton - won the Mirror Ball trophy for season 25. Frankie also competed in the same season as well, placing third with his partner Witney Carson. After the competition ended, both Frankie and Jordan opted to join the DWTSLive! Light Up the Night tour.
"I was so excited because I had such an amazing time on Dancing With the Stars," the Malcolm in the Middle star revealed to ET. "So, to be able to stay in the family and get to experience it from a different perspective and get to host the new show, like, I was thrilled."
Jordan, too, was thrilled about the opportunity and promised that the new program will be "Dancing With the Stars as you know it."
The DWTSJ judges will include Adam Rippon.
The Olympic figure skater (and most-recent winner of Dancing with the Stars Athletes) was so outstanding during his own time on the show, that he's been asked by ABC to be on the judging panel for the spinoff. The choice might be a bit surprising, considering Adam isn't a professional dancer and his primary sport is skating. Still though, there's no denying that the reigning Mirror Ball champion is a very talented performer. We're sure he'll give top-notch advice to the young contestants.
Mandy Moore will also be involved.
No, not the Mandy Moore that plays Rebecca on your other favorite show returning this fall, This Is Us. We're talking about the esteemed La La Land choreographer. Mandy boasts a very impressive resume, including one Emmy Award and six nominations for her work on So You Think You Can Dance. So in terms of helping out with the kids with their technicalities, it's more than safe to say Mandy knows what she's talking about.
Val Chmerkovskiy will round out the judges panel.
In addition to Adam and Mandy, the DWTS pro, who recently got engaged to fellow dancer Jenna Johnson, will be the third judge at the table for the new show. Val has two Mirror Ball trophies to boast - one in season 20 with actress Rumer Willis and the other in season 23 with Olympic gymnast Laurie Hernandez. When asked by TMZ about what kids he'd love to see on the new series, Val quickly named LeBron James Jr., the son of NBA superstar LeBron James. We'll see if his wish comes true!
There will be DWTS pros and kid dancers.
Some of your favorite veteran DWTS dancers - Cheryl Burke, Sasha Farber, and Witney Carson - are helping mentor the group of young ballroom dancers and their celebrity kid partners throughout the show. Some of the junior pros have already competed on other shows such as So You Think You Can Dance, America's Got Talent, and World of Dance. Here's the full list of who will be paired with who:
Alan Bersten and JT Church
Brandon Armstrong and Artyon Celestine
Artem Chigvinstev and Tristan Ianiero
Jenna Johnson and Hailey Bills (her niece)
Hayley Erbert and Kameron Couch
Emma Slater and Elliana Walmsley
Keo Motsepe and Lev Khmelev
Gleb Savchenko and Sage Rosen
Sasha Farber and Jake Monreal
Cheryl Burke and Brightyn Brems
Witney Carson and Kamri Peterson
Lindsay Arnold and Rylee Arnold (her little sister)
The cast of celebrity kids has not been announced yet.
While nothing has been made official, the Daily Mail did catch a sneak peek at a few of the cast members allegedly coming out of early DWTSJ rehearsals. Among them spotted were Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Thompson (from Toddlers & Tiaras and Here Comes Honey Boo Boo), Sophia Pippen (daughter of Scottie and Larsa Pippen), and Sky Brown (a 10-year-old skater and surfer). Rumor has it that 13-year-old Black-ish actor Miles Brown has also been tapped to join the show.
Watch Dancing with the Stars season 27 on ABC starting Monday, September 24 at 8 p.m. ET. Catch Dancing with the Stars: Juniors on Sunday, October 7 on the same channel at 8 p.m. ET.
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