‘Dancing With the Stars’: Celebrities Announced for Season 28

The full cast for season 28 of Dancing With the Stars was announced live on Good Morning America on Wednesday, with reality stars, Karamo Brown, Hannah Brown and country sensation, Lauren Alaina leading the pack of names.

Check out the full list of celebrities competing on season 28 of Dancing With the Stars:

• Queer Eye star Karamo Brown
• The Bachelorette Hannah Brown
• Country music singer Lauren Alaina
• Actor James Van Der Beek
• Former NFL player Ray Lewis
• The Office star Kate Flannery
• Singer Ally Brooke
• Former NBA player Lamar Odom
• Actor Kel Mitchell
• Former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer
• Model Christie Brinkley
• Founding member of the Supremes Mary Wilson

While the celebrities are usually announced with their pro dancer partners, DWTS host Tom Bergeron announced during the Good Morning America reveal that the matchups won’t be announced until the show’s premiere.

“I will still be with [co-host Erin Andrews], but other than that, we’re not telling you,” Bergeron joked.

Returning to the dance room this year on the pro side are Peta Murgatroyd, Cheryl Burke, Gleb Savchenko, Val Chmerkovskiy, Jenna Johnson, Lindsay Arnold, Sasha Farber, Alan Bersten, Witney Carson, Emma Slater, and Brandon Armstrong, all of whom were shown dancing during the cast announcement. Additionally, two new dancers will be joining: Daniella Karagach and Pasha Pashkov. Notably missing from the line-up was Artem Chigvintsev, who is currently dating his former DWTS partner, Nikki Bella.

The news comes a few days after fans speculated on social media as to who might be joining the ranks. Names like The Bachelorette‘s Hannah Brown, Queer Eye‘s Karamo Brown and NBA legend Kobe Bryant were thrown out as possibilities before the celebrities and pro dancers were announced.

Season 28 comes a full calendar year after season 27’s premiere after the ABC series skipped its spring cycle for the first time ever. The break in programming came after controversial season 27 that saw radio personality Bobby Bones and pro partner Sharna Burgess take home the mirrorball trophy, despite every other couple receiving higher scores in the finals. Fans speculated whether or not the controversial season had to do with the network’s decision to skip the spring edition, as well as the network’s decision to make “format changes” for the upcoming season.

ABC entertainment president Karey Burke told reporters earlier this month that a few “tweaks” would be made to the format, bringing the art of dancing more to the forefront of the competition.

“It’s about [shifting] the focus of the show to really focus on it being a celebration of dance, and also focusing on the celebrities,” said Burke, who added that the show will “lean into its strengths” to solidify its position as “the most entertaining show on television.”

Dancing With the Stars season 28 premieres on Sept. 16, 2019 on ABC.