Dancing with the Stars 24 spotlight: Will Chris Kattan, Witney Carson provide more than laughs?

As a longtime Saturday Night Live fanatic, the idea of getting Chris Kattan on Dancing with the Stars 24 is exciting. He’s a funny guy with a lot of energy, and there is some irony that he turn up here given that his Night at the Roxbury dance is probably one of the most iconic parts of that movie. He’s a talented guy, but unfortunately someone we hadn’t heard from all that much the past year or two.

Going into this season, he’s certainly a wildcard given that there are clear things he brings to the table, and also clear things he will struggle with. Which way will the needle end up pointing this time? Well, that’s something we’re going to look at further in the latest edition of our show spotlight series below.

Claim to fame – In addition to being a Saturday Night Live cast member from 1996 until you roll around to 2003, he’s also appeared in the aforementioned Roxbury plus also Corky Romano, Monkeybone, and Nancy Drew. He’s done a few episodes of some other shows including How I Met Your Mother.

Partner – Witney Carson. Witney’s performed with everyone from reality stars to athletes on the show before, and she’s one of the marquee pros at this point with one of the largest fan followings. She was featured in the poster for this season to go along with Val Chmerkovskiy, a sign very much of her success.

Strengths – Kattan is a notable sketch performer, and he’s got this natural ability to be funny in the moment and to take on a lot of different personalities and characters. There is a lot of value that comes in making someone laugh, especially when you are thinking about making someone laugh in what can be a fairly-competitive environment. Chris will probably lean on his skills performing in front of live audiences, using his physical comedy skills with a little bit of dance mixed in.

Weaknesses – In terms of pure dance talent he’s certainly an unknown, and he’s also someone with a fan following that is questionable at best. He hasn’t been in the headlines much in years, and unless he really provides some roll-on-the-floor moments within the first could of weeks, it’s easy to envision a situation where he just gets forgotten about in the early going on his way to elimination.

Prediction – For some reason, comedians are very hit-and-miss on this show. Sometimes you get a guy like Bill Engvall who makes it really far, and then you have someone like Jeff Ross who is sent home almost right away. This season, we see Kattan more as a Jeff Ross. He doesn’t have the same demo appeal as an Engvall, and he may not be all that familiar to the SNL demographic. Given that we like him and we always want funny people on Dancing with the Stars (we know that Kattan is not a comedian per se), here’s to hoping that he and Witney make it fairly far.

What’s your take on Chris Kattan and Witney Carson? Be sure to share your thoughts now in the comments! (Photo: ABC.)