Dancing with the Stars is one of the most popular and long-running reality competition series of all time and currently about to enter its 34th season this fall. With more than 500 episodes, the dance competition has become known for hosting all manner of celebrities...and controversial public figures like Anna Delvey, Sean Spicer, Carole Baskin, and more.
While there are many fans who would rather the show focus on actors and other celebs with at least a modicum of real dancing talent, it doesn't sound like the controversial casting choices are going away, well, ever.
During a recent interview with Deadline, Ryan O’Dowd, BBC Studios’ President of Unscripted TV, was asked about the decision-making process that goes into recruiting the more polarizing people for their show. O'Dowd said that "indifference is our biggest enemy when it comes to casting."
Since the first season, Deena Katz has casted the series and they are intentional about booking contestants "who are part of the ongoing zeitgeist conversation."
You know that old adage, "all publicity is good publicity?" Well, it is true to a degree. Our current social and online world is driven by outrage culture and morbid curiosity. When people hear that someone like con artist Delvey has been cast on a high-profile dancing show, they want to tune-in and see how she performs. It's similar to other celebrity-centric series like I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! or Celebrity Big Brother.
It's compelling to see well-known public figures doing something different on TV than we're used to seeing. It can also humanize some of the more divisive folks and allow viewers to see them in a different light outside of whatever their infamous controversy might be.
"And so I think that kind of encapsulates this idea that it doesn’t matter why people are tuning in, you’ve just got to get ’em there. And that was a bit of the logic behind the Anna Delvey of it all."
Well, at least O'Dowd is being honest about the reasoning behind these types of picks. The interviewer also mentions Delvey's entrance in the previous season when the cameraman zoomed in on her ankle monitor for a little tongue-in-cheek moment.
The upcoming season of the series will debut during the fall television season this year, airing on both ABC and Disney+, along with marking the 20th anniversary of the hit show. Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough will return to co-host alongside returning judges Derek Hough, Carrie Ann Inaba, and Bruno Tonioli.
Only two people have been announced as contestants so far, wildlife conservationist Robert Irwin and social media influencer Alix Earle. Irwin is the son of the late Steve Irwin and his sister, Bindi Irwin, competed on (and won!) Dancing with the Stars season 21. It'll be fun to see if Robert can follow in her footsteps.