With the Winter Olympics still somewhat fresh in people's minds, fans of "Dancing With the Stars" may want to see some of these Olympians as part of the cast for season 26 of the ABC show. While there is no official announcement yet on the final cast, there are certain names that have come up, and some of them have even expressed a desire to be on the show.
Last year, it was announced that season 26 of "Dancing With the Stars" was set to have an all-athlete cast. The show's casting director, Deena Katz, spoke last month with 11Alive to reveal a few things about the upcoming season. According to Katz, she watched this year's Winter Olympics closely and looked for athletes who have managed to become popular among viewers.
However, there was more to Katz's process of selection than that. Katz stated that she also had to determine whether or not a particular athlete, regardless of their celebrity or skill, had the right kind of personality that can capture audiences. Thus, she explained that she was not only watching the athletes, she was watching how fans reacted to them as well.
A number of Olympics athletes who have caught people's attention have also caught Katz's. Figure skater Mirai Nagasu, the first American woman to land a triple axel in the Olympics, spoke about how she imagined she was auditioning for "Dancing With the Stars" while she was competing. This, of course, piqued Katz's interest.
"I think she's adorable, and I'm still really making the picks on who it is, but obviously she, Adam [Rippon], Nathan [Chen], the Shibutani's, if I could just do a season of ice skaters, that would be fantastic because I could have filled it up just with them," Katz said.
Nagasu, however, is not the only Winter Olympian who has expressed an interest in "Dancing With the Stars." Snowboarder Maddie Mastro, bobsledders Aja Evans and Carlo Valdes and ice dancer Zach Donohue, among others, have all expressed that they would at least consider joining the cast of the show if they were asked.
Other names include Tonya Harding, who was recently played by Academy Award-nominated actress Margot Robbie in the film "I, Tonya." Katz is also considering athletes like snowboarder Shaun White and ski racer Lindsey Vonn.
Fans of the show will not have to wait for long to see who will be on "Dancing With the Stars" in the upcoming season. The full list of contestants, which in this season will only be 10, will be announced sometime during the week of April 9.
"Dancing With the Stars" season 26 will premiere on Monday, April 30, at 8 p.m. EST on ABC.
