‘Dancing With The Stars’ Season 29 Update: Who Could Participate In Virtual Season?

The idea of a season shot entirely from home and taking place virtually is becoming a more of a possibility as the coronavirus pandemic continues, and it could make for one of the most interesting seasons of “Dancing With the Stars” yet.

Season 29 of the long-running ABC show is currently still expected to air in the Fall, though the closures of sets and ability to film due to COVID-19 has led to questions regarding the show’s future. Back in April, Cheryl Burke, one of the show’s pros, revealed in an interview that she had been hearing quarantine could end in May or June, which would potentially help open things up and allow the show to eventually resume normal production. However, she also discussed the idea that the show could be done virtually—and pitched that if it needed to be filmed from home, she would be able to teach her husband, Matthew Lawrence, to dance if need be.

“At the end of the day, I can teach Matt how to dance. I think it’d be really cool to teach your loved one at home how to dance,” she said at the time. “It could be a different type of experience, but I think we kind of have to go with the flow when it comes to changing. This is our world evolving and we must evolve with it. I know change is hard and especially for me too, but better to just surrender.”

So who else besides Lawrence could potentially participate in the show if things had to go in that direction due to continued quarantine rules? While dancing with at-home partners could eliminate some fan-favorite pros who are married to one another, like Peta Murgatroyd and Maks Chmerkovskiy, Val Chmerkovskiy and Jenna Johnson and Emma Slater and Sasha Farber, it could lead to a very mixed season. It would lead to some returning celebrity faces, newer ones and even some non-celebs.

Such a season would hinge on the returns of some pros who seemingly left the show for good in the past, including ones who have been gone for a while. Among those who could participate and bring on some new famous faces are Julianne Hough (who is married to NHL player Brooks Laich), Mark Ballas (who is married to musician BC Jean) and Allison Holker (who is married to Stephen ‘Twitch’ Boss). Celebs making a return to the dance floor with former pro partners could include Robert Herjavec (who is married to Kym Johnson) and Nikki Bella (who is engaged to Artem Chigvintsev and currently expecting a baby with him). In addition, for a dose of non-celebrity participation, Lindsay Arnold and Witney Carson could also participate with their husbands, Samuel Cusick and Carson McAllister.

Of course, the likely hope is that the show can film as it usually would, or at the very least without an in-studio audience and with the judges appearing from home. If the show can return in a normal capacity, among the names that have been floated as participants have been Charlie Sheen, Ryan Shazier and Christie Brinkley. In addition, it has been rumored the show could consider a first-ever same-sex pairing as well.