--- description: Round One: Randy Couture vs Tommy Chong title: Dancing With the Stars Season 19 Cast Announcement image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5edf4d81b252185e/6986a1f63bc999c9da1a528c/sw3ouoxwuhjhf5jhorj20so6zsv6s4goeufl_h-dj2ttazljzjafmiu6kdcqfedxrrocotsifiztxktkmhjyr4ggouyfjne9vomk6kteaedgepygs0-d-e1-ft.jpg?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # _Dancing with the Stars_: Lea Thompson, Michael Waltrip, Alfonso Ribeiro Join Season 19 by [Melissa Locker](/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 4, 2014 3:15 PM CUT  ABC by [Melissa Locker](/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 4, 2014 3:15 PM CUT What do NASCAR driver **Michael Waltrip**, _Back to the Future_ actress **Lea Thompson**, soap opera hunk and supermodel **Antonio Sabato Jr**., and fashion designer **Betsey Johnson** have in common? A burning desire to learn how to cha cha, apparently. All four will be featured on the upcoming season of _Dancing with the Stars_, the show that pairs professional dancers with D-list celebrities and strident athletes determined to find fame outside a Wheaties box. This morning on _Good Morning America_, _Dancing with the Stars_ hosts Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews announced the 13 celebrities and their professional partners who will be donning their finest spandex and sparkles and heading to the dance floor this season, which kicks off on Monday, September 15. Also joining the Whitman’s Sampler of stars slated to shake what their mamas gave them on the show are **Jonathan Bennett,** best known for breaking plastic hearts as Aaron Samuels in _Mean Girls_, veteran comedian and noted pot enthusiast **Tommy Chong**, and _Fresh Prince of Bel Air_ star **Alfonso Ribeiro**, who will undoubtedly bust out the dance move he originated, [The Carlton](http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/04/24/watch-carlton-leads-a-flash-mob/ "undefined"). _Dancing with the Stars_ has increasingly relied on athletes to bring their A-game to the show. Last season, Olympic ice dancer Meryl Davis took home the coveted Mirror Ball trophy and this season more Olympians and professional athletes are hoping to follow her path to glory. This season, **Lolo Jones,** who is one of only a handful of athletes to represent in both the Summer (hurdles) and Winter (bobsled) Olympics, joins the cast. Also on hand will be six-time Ultimate Fighting Championship World Champion **Randy Couture,** who will get in touch with his softer side. His partner, **Karina Smirnoff**, undoubtedly has her work cut out for her making “The Natural” feel like a natural doing jazz hands. NASCAR champion Waltrip will be racing around the dance floor and probably inspiring many, many puns along the way. In order to appeal to a younger demographic, the show has turned to the Internet for contestants: **Bethany Mota**, a YouTube star whose Macbarbie07 channel has over 7 million subscribers. The producers must be betting big on her, as they’ve paired her with pro **Derek Hough**. Also to help woo in a younger demographic are _Pretty Little Liars_ star **Janel Parrish**, best known for playing Mona on the ABC Family show, and 17-year old Robertson family scion **Sadie Robertson** from _Duck Dynasty_ While the ABC Monday night mainstay may be attempting to find a younger audience, they know who their real demographic is: hence, the addition of PBS mainstay **Tavis Smiley** to the cast alongside everyone’s favorite future mom, _Back to the Future_ actress Thompson, punk icon-turned-designer Johnson and eye candy star Sabato, Jr. The show starts Monday, September 15\. TIME will be recapping every single minute. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3268246/dancing-with-the-stars-season-19-cast/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3268246/dancing-with-the-stars-season-19-cast/"},"headline":"Dancing with the Stars: Lea Thompson, Michael Waltrip, Alfonso Ribeiro Join Season 19","datePublished":"2014-09-04T15:15:46.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T07:53:15.195Z","description":"Round One: Randy Couture vs Tommy Chong","url":"https://time.com/3268246/dancing-with-the-stars-season-19-cast/","keywords":["Television","Dancing with the Stars","DWTS","Alfonso Ribeiro"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5edf4d81b252185e/6986a1f63bc999c9da1a528c/sw3ouoxwuhjhf5jhorj20so6zsv6s4goeufl_h-dj2ttazljzjafmiu6kdcqfedxrrocotsifiztxktkmhjyr4ggouyfjne9vomk6kteaedgepygs0-d-e1-ft.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Locker","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5edf4d81b252185e/6986a1f63bc999c9da1a528c/sw3ouoxwuhjhf5jhorj20so6zsv6s4goeufl_h-dj2ttazljzjafmiu6kdcqfedxrrocotsifiztxktkmhjyr4ggouyfjne9vomk6kteaedgepygs0-d-e1-ft.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"SW3ouoXWuhJhF5jhORJ20sO6Zsv6S4gOeuFl_H-dJ2ttazlJZjafmiu6KdcqFEdXrRoCOTSIfiztXKTkMhJyr4ggoUyfJnE9voMK6kTEAEDGepyg=s0-d-e1-ft","caption":"","creditText":"ABC","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3268246/dancing-with-the-stars-season-19-cast/","name":"Dancing with the Stars: Lea Thompson, Michael Waltrip, Alfonso Ribeiro Join Season 19"}}]}] ```