‘Dancing With the Stars’: First Two Cast Members Revealed for Season 31

After weeks of speculation, the list of celebrities and professional dancers set to battle it out in the ballroom is finally being revealed. During Wednesday’s broadcast of Good Morning America, the first two cast members of Dancing With the Stars Season 31 were announced, with TikTok Star Charli D’Amelio and her mom Heidi D’Amelio officially vying for that coveted Mirrorball Trophy.

Although Tuesday’s casting announcement comes as little surprise – Deadline reported in late August that the pair were set to join this season’s cast – it does mark some DWTS history. D’Amerlio and her mother will be the first mother-daughter duo to compete on the same season of the hit dancing competition. Tuesday’s GMA announcement did not reveal which professional dancers the duo will be paired with. While the full Season 31 cast will be revealed Thursday on GMA, it is confirmed that Lindsay Arnold and Sharna Burgess will not return to the competition, both pros having confirmed their exit from the series in August.

When D’Amelio and her mother] take the stage this season, they will be critiqued by a panel of judges that includes Len Goodman, Derek Hough, Carrie Ann Inaba, and Bruno Tonioli, who are all returning after Season 30. Meanwhile, Tyra Banks will return as host, marking her third season in the position, though she won’t be alone. This season, Season 19 champion Alfonso Ribeiro will be joining the show alongside Banks as co-host. In a statement when his casting was announced, Ribiero said, “Dancing with the Stars has been such an important part of my life for so many years, and I am ecstatic to officially re-join this tight-knit family as co-host. Tyra and I have a longstanding friendship that I hope will resonate with all of the fans at home as we kick off this new season on Disney+.”

Switching from one host to two is not the only change coming to the hit dancing competition this year. For Season 31, Dancing With the Stars will move from ABC and stream live on Disney+, making fall 2022 the first time since 2005 that DWTS is completely missing from ABC’s schedule.

“Dancing With the Stars has entertained fans for 16 years on ABC, and we are excited to bring this beloved show exclusively to Disney+ as the platform’s first-ever live series,” Kareem Daniel, chairman, Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution, said in a statement of the big move. “The show’s broad appeal, as well as the overwhelming popularity of its Disney-themed competition nights, make Disney+ the perfect home for Dancing With the Stars while continuing to expand our demographic reach.”

Dancing With the Stars Season 31 premiers on Monday, Sept. 19 on Disney+, which you can subscribe to here. Stay tuned to PopCulture.com for the latest updates on this season’s competition!