Recently, ABC released their official cast for Season 33 of “Dancing with the Stars” and fans are going crazy for many different reasons. Let me tell you about the 13 pairings for the show and how I think they will compete this season.
Danny Amendola is a 38-year-old former professional football wide receiver. He is a two-time Super Bowl Champion with the New England Patriots. He is partnered with Witney Carson who has been on the show since Season 18 and won the mirrorball on Season 19. Witney did take a break from the show last season because she had a baby, but she is back and really excited for this season. Personally, I believe this pairing could do well as long as Witney can get Danny to lose his athletic-stiffness and learn some basic dance moves. However, I can’t see them going too far in the show compared to some of the other competing pairs.
Anna Delvey is a con artist and fraudster who served two years in prison and wears an ankle monitor. Her partner is Ezra Sosa and this is his very first season as a pro. The show mainly brought Anna on the show because they believe her story captivates people’s attention. In my opinion, I don’t believe that is a good reason to bring her on as a “star.” In many of her interviews, she does not look like she wants to have any part in the competition. I feel bad for Ezra since this is his first season, but I can’t see this pairing making it to the third week, possibly not even the second.
Joey Graziadei is known best as the runner-up on Season 20 of “The Bachelorette” and as the star of Season 28 of The Bachelor. His partner this season is Jenna Johnson. This is Jenna’s seventh season being a pro on the shows, and she has won once and been the runner-up twice. At first, when Joey was announced as a competitor, I thought the only way he could make it far in the show is if his large fan-base consistently backed him up. However, Jenna and Joey have posted a few TikTok videos the last few days and people, including myself, have been really impressed with his rhythm and basic dancing skills. Since Jenna is an extremely talented dancer and choreographer, it is possible that she can get Joey very far in the competition with the help of his fans.
Dwight Howard is an NBA champion and eight-time NBA All-Star who currently plays for the Taiwan Mustangs. Dwight is partnered with Daniella Karagach this season who has been a pro for five seasons so far. This pairing has been receiving a lot of attention due to their insane height difference. Dwight is 6 feet, 10 inches tall and Daniella is 5 feet, 3 inches tall so they are going to have to somehow work around that height difference to receive good scores. However, I have complete faith in Daniella because she won the competition with a 6 foot, 5 inches tall partner so she knows what to do. I’m not sure if this pairing will win, but I do believe they will make it very far in this competition.
Ilona Maher is a two-time Olympic rugby player for the U.S. and won a bronze medal with her team at the most recent summer Olympics in Paris. Ilona is partnered with Alan Bersten who has been on the show for nine seasons so far and has won once. Although fans are loving this pairing because of how much fun they are having with each other, I’m not confident that this pairing will go all the way to the finale. I would love to see them stay in the competition for weeks, and I think it is possible if Ilona works really hard on her dancing.
Brooks Nader is a 28-year-old American model most known for her features in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit Issue where she became a covergirl for the magazine in 2023. Brooks is partnered with Gleb Savchenko who has been a pro on the show for 12 seasons and has never gotten past fourth place. All I know about this partnership is there is already a lot of speculation about them dating. Other than that, I don’t know much about either of these people so I’m not sure how far they will make it in the competition.
Stephen Nedoroscik is a two-time Olympic medalist and most known for receiving a bronze medal in the pommel horse event in U.S. men’s gymnastics. Stephen and Rylee Arnold are partners this season and they are blowing up the internet. Fans are loving this pairing including myself. Stephen became increasingly popular after the most recent Olympics and Rylee became a pro last season and she and her partner were a huge hit. Rylee and her partner had a terrible ending to their relationship last season and so fans are loving that Stephen is super sweet to Rylie and is like a brother to her. Also, Stephen’s skills on the pommel horse translates to very skilled breakdancing so I am very confident this pairing can make it extremely far in the competition, possibly even to finale night.
Phaedra Parks is an attorney and businesswoman but is best known for appearing on “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” from 2010 to 2017 and rejoined the cast in 2024. Val Chmerkovskiy is Phaedra’s partner this season. With the exception of Season 26, Val has been a pro on the show since Season 13 and has won the competition three times, his most recent win being last year. I know nothing about Phaedra; however, I do love Val. He is very talented, very experienced, and knows how to win. So because of Val, I can see this pairing staying in the competition for several weeks.
Eric Roberts is a 68-year-old actor who has been acting for 50 years and has more than 700 credits. He has received numerous Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations for his roles. Eric is partnered with Britt Stewart. This season is Britt’s fifth year being a pro on the show. Eric is the second-oldest star on the show this season and because of that, several people, including myself, don’t believe that they will make it farther than the first or second week of the competition because that is normal for how the show usually works out.
Tori Spelling is an American actress who had her first major role as Donna Martin on “Beverly Hills, 90210” back in the 90s. She also debuted on top of the New York Times Best Seller List and was awarded the title of Best Celebrity Autobiography of 2009 with her book, “Stori Telling.” Pasha Pashkov is her partner this season. Pasha has been on the show for the past five seasons and the farthest he has gotten with his partner was third place last season. I honestly don’t know much about this pairing and I had never heard of Tori before, so I don’t really have an opinion on how this pairing will do.
Jenn Tran appeared on Season 28 of “The Bachelor” which led to her being the star of Season 21 of “The Bachelorette.” Jenn is partnered with Sasha Farber who has been on the show as a pro for 12 seasons. Sasha has never won the competition before, but I think this might be a really good opportunity for him. Based on what Jenn went through on her season of “The Bachelorette,” she is loved by many and her fans want her to win this competition. If she can work hard on her dancing and receive good scores, her fans might be able to help carry her to the finale.
Reginald VelJohnson is an actor best known for playing police officer characters, such as his roles in “Family Matters” and “Die Hard.” His partner is Emma Slater who has been a pro for 16 seasons and has won the competition once. Based on what the pairing has posted on social media so far, it looks like fans love this pairing and I have to agree. Although Reginald is the oldest competitor, I would not be surprised to see him go very far in this competition. I think he has a great fanbase and will possibly surprise all of us with his dancing.
Chandler Kinney is a 24-year-old actress who is best known for her roles in Disney’s “ZOMBIES” franchise and her role in “Pretty Little Liars.” Brandon Armstrong is partnered up with Chandler this season and people are absolutely loving this pairing, including myself. This is Brandon’s seventh season on the show and I strongly believe this season he has a huge chance of winning the competition. Brandon is already known and loved by the “Dancing with the Stars” community and they are especially loving his partnership with Chandler and a huge reason for that is they have created this very evident brother-sister bond with each other. Also, based on the two “ZOMBIES” movies I have seen Chandler in, she definitely has rhythm which I think will be a huge advantage for her. If Chandler and Brandon’s fans can join together and help them, we may see this couple go very far in this competition.
Although there are many great potential competitors, I strongly believe Chandler and Brandon may be our winning couple and I look forward to seeing what happens on the show this season.
