A SPECTACULAR LINEUP OF STARS MAKE THEIR WAY TO THE DANCE FLOOR ON THE THIRD SEASON OF ABC�S HUGE HIT VARIETY SERIES, �DANCING WITH THE STARS,� PREMIERING TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12
An American football superstar, a legendary TV talk show host, an award-winning country music singing star, an ultra-conservative TV political pundit, a movie star and a former beauty queen are among the performers who will compete this season on �Dancing with the Stars,� premiering TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12 (8:00-10:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network.
Hosted by Tom Bergeron (�Americas Funniest Home Videos�) and co-hosted by Samantha Harris (E! Entertainment), the new season brings an exciting lineup of even more celebrities than before. The 11 couples heading to the dance floor this season are:
TUCKER CARLSON � MSNBC news anchor -- and often controversial -- conservative political TV pundit and columnist. He will be partnered with professional dancer Elena Grinenko, who makes her series debut this season.
MONIQUE COLEMAN � Actress and teen idol from Disney Channel�s smash hit �High School Musical.� She will be partnered with professional dancer Louis Van Amstel, who returns for his third season. Van Amstel danced with Lisa Rinna and Trista Sutter in previous seasons.
SARA EVANS � Country Music Award-winning and top-selling singing sensation. Sara will dance with Tony Dovolani, who partnered with Stacy Keibler in the second season.
WILLA FORD � Singing sensation and self-professed �bad girl of pop.� Professional dancer Maxsim Chmerkovskiy, who teamed up with Tia Carrere last season, will be her professional dance partner.
VIVICA A. FOX � Stunning film and television actress/producer who has starred in several major blockbusters including �Kill Bill� and �Independence Day.� She will be partnered with professional dancer Nick Kosovich, who returns for his second season. He was previously paired with Tatum O�Neal.
HARRY HAMLIN � Film and TV star of the hit, award-winning drama series �L.A. Law� and husband of �Dancing with the Stars� alumna Lisa Rinna. Professional dancer Ashly Delgrosso returns to the series for her third season. She was previously paired with Master P and Joey McIntyre.
JOE LAWRENCE � Actor and former teen heartthrob. Professional dancer Edyta Sliwinska, who returns for her third season, will be his partner. She previously partnered with George Hamilton and Evander Holyfield.
MARIO LOPEZ � Actor and TV host. He will be partnered with professional dancer Karina Smirnoff, who makes her series debut.
SHANNA MOAKLER � National beauty queen, actress, model and reality television star. Professional dancer Jesse DeSoto joins the cast for the first time this season as her partner.
EMMITT SMITH � An NFL legend and three-time Super Bowl champion who holds the world�s all-time leading rushing record and is considered one of the greatest football players to ever play the game. He will be partnered with �Dancing with the Stars� season two professional dance champion, Cheryl Burke.
JERRY SPRINGER � Notorious TV talk show host of �The Jerry Springer Show,� talk radio broadcaster and politician. He will be partnered with Australian beauty, professional dancer Kym Johnson, who makes her series debut this season. Kym was the champion of the Australian �Dancing with the Stars.�
Each week this season, the celebrity and professional dance pairs will perform live choreographed Latin and traditional ballroom dance routines to popular live music performed by a 15-piece orchestra led by musical director Harold Wheeler. The expert panel of beloved and sometimes maligned judges, former ballroom dancer Len Goodman and dancer/choreographers Bruno Tonioli and Carrie Ann Inaba, will return for a third season to weigh in on the pairs� performances. The viewing public also gets to weigh in, by phoning in or voting online for their favorite performers. The scores are combined and the outcome will be announced during a results show the following evening.
Each Wednesday the suspense will build as the dancing couple with the lowest combined score is eliminated on �Dancing with the Stars, The Results,� premiering WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET). Each results show will feature exciting live performances by award-winning, multi-platinum selling pop, country and Latin musical artists.
In its competitive Thursday time period, ABC�s �Dancing with the Stars� (�DWTS�) earned second place to CBS, beating NBC in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49. The series improved the time slot for ABC by 12 million viewers and by 127% in Adults 18-49, over the Net�s average with regular programming prior to its debut. In addition, the series emerged as one of TV�s Top 10 most-watched shows for the 2005-06 season (No. 7) and represents ABC�s top-rated Thursday night series in viewers and young adults in the last six seasons � since the 1999-00 season. In its second season finale on Sunday, Feb. 26, �DWTS� marked the series� best numbers ever across the board, surpassing its first season finale by +4.8 million viewers and by 28% in Adults 18-49. The �DWTS� finale drew an average audience of 27.2 million viewers with nearly 30 million people watching during the final half-hour while the winner was announced.
�Dancing with the Stars� is the U.S. version of the international smash hit series, �Strictly Come Dancing.� This version is produced in America by BBC Worldwide. Conrad Green is executive producer and Izzie Pick is co-executive producer. Rob Wade and Matilda Zoltowski are supervising producers. Alex Rudzinski directs.
�Dancing with the Stars� is broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC�s selected HDTV format, with 5.1-channel surround sound and Spanish audio via SAP.
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