‘Dancing with the Stars’ 17: Full cast to be announced September 4

While we know already that two “stars” in Paula Deen and Geraldo Rivera have turned down appearing on the upcoming season of “Dancing with the Stars,” those who actually did say yes to the offer will be revealed in just under a month’s time. ABC confirmed today that on Wednesday, September 4, the entire batch of participants will be revealed on “Good Morning America.”

This date is much later in the summer then last year, when the cast of all-star performers was unveiled during TCA. We’re still not sure whether this is the right time to announce the cast or not, since rehearsal schedules could dictate that some names could be leaked earlier.

We’ve said it time and time again, but we still wonder if this announcement is going to be something worth looking forward to given the terrible crop of contestants the show has come up with lately. Given that we’re now looking at something airing only once a week rather than twice, and with lower ratings, we wonder now if the group of celebrities out there interested in taking part will be even smaller. The only advantage that some stars could see is that one night a week is less of a commitment, and they may not have to put in the same sort of hours since there will be fewer group routines and other filler content that the show has produced in the past (and thank goodness for that).

Do you think that there is any hope that we will have an interesting “Dancing with the Stars” cast this year, or do you imagine that we’re destined to simply have a parade of boring has-beens on the ballroom floor? As always, we want to hear from you below! Click here if you want to also see some of the professionals that could be coming back.

Photo: ABC