'Dancing With the Stars' Season 24: Cast Will Include 'Heroes', With Emphasis On 'Nostalgia' [VIDEO]
The cast of the next season of Dancing With the Stars will be primarily nostalgia-based, according to producers.
Dancing With the Stars has frequently cast celebrities from the past more often than current stars, such as Maureen McCormick, Candace Cameron Bure, Alfonso Ribeiro, Donny and Marie Osmond and more. Season 24, which premieres in a few months, will largely focus on that nostalgia for the past combined with feel-good stories and heroes.
"We're about half done," producer Deena Katz told Glamour at the Television Critics Association press tour last week, regarding casting. "I feel like the state of the country right now is we're really going [toward] what people love; we're going to nostalgia, we're going to Americana, we're going to heroes. We're kind of a feel-good place, when it feels like everyone's a little unsure right now. So, we're going to what we think people really enjoy."
Showrunner Rob Wade said, "I think we're in a great place, and we're ahead of [where we usually are]. We have our next chunk of offers out right now. We will leave a couple of slots open for those last-minute people [who are headline-makers]."
Another big component of Dancing With the Stars' popularity is the various pro dancers who return every year, and the producers confirmed that just about everyone from the past season will be back. However, don't expect new parents Maks Chmerkovskiy and Peta Murgatroyd to return.
"I think Peta's priority for the last few months-and now-is her baby. It feels crass to me to phone Maks a few days after the birth and say, "Hey, [want to come back?]" But in the next couple of weeks, conversations may begin," Wade said.
Derek Hough won't be back, either. The pro is busy with his Move tour with sister Julianne Hough, and often has many plates spinning in his career. But Julianne is still a possibility to return as a judge.
"She needs to only be here for half a Monday. Derek would need to train [all week with his partner], so it's not going to happen," Wade said.
Dancing With the Stars season 24 premieres in March on ABC.
