ABC has
announced the exciting news that comedian, actor and Nickelodeon legend Kel Mitchell will be a contestant on the 2019 season of the network's hit dancing competition series
Dancing with the Stars!
Update (11/27) - A huge congratulations to Kel Mitchell and Ally Brooke (
The Casagrandes theme song), who came a very respectable second and third place in
Dancing with the Stars 2019, respectively!
Joining Kel on the 28th season of
Dancing with the Stars will be: country music star Lauren Alaina; supermodel Christie Brinkley; pop star Ally Brooke;
The Bachelorette's Hannah Brown; TV host Karamo Brown; TV star Kate Flannery; NFL Hall of Famer Ray Lewis; two-time NBA champion Lamar Odom; former Trump White House press secretary Sean Spicer; TV icon James Van Der Beek; and The Supremes star Mary Wilson, along with professional dancers Brandon Armstrong, Lindsay Arnold, Alan Bersten, Cheryl Burke, Witney Carson, Val Chmerkovskiy, Sasha Farber, Jenna Johnson, Daniella Karagach, Keo Motsepe, Peta Murgatroyd, Pasha Pashkov, Gleb Savchenko and Emma Slater.
The new celebrity cast, announced this morning on ABC’s
Good Morning America, is adding some glitzy bling to their wardrobe, breaking in their dancing shoes and readying themselves for their first dance on the ballroom floor, as the show kicks off Monday, September 16, 2019 (8:00-10:00 p.m. EDT) on ABC.
For the first time ever, viewers will have to tune in to the season premiere to find out with whom their favorite professional dancers are paired. This season also features the return of a loved pro, Peta Murgatroyd, and two new professional ballroom dancers. Episodes can also be viewed the next day on
ABC.com, the ABC app and Hulu.
Kel Mitchell is a two-time Emmy Award-nominated actor, producer and stand-up comic hailing from the Windy City of Chicago, Illinois. Currently, Mitchell is executive producing and appearing in the new iteration of the beloved Nickelodeon sketch series
All That with his fellow alum Kenan Thompson, bringing him full circle since he got his big break and won several awards for the original show.
All That was Nickelodeon’s longest-running live-action series with 171 episodes across 10 seasons from 1994 to 2005. The franchise paved the way for a number of successful spinoffs, including
Kenan & Kel (starring Mitchell and Thompson),
The Amanda Show (starring Amanda Bynes),
The Nick Cannon Show and the feature-length film
Good Burger (starring Mitchell and Thompson), all of which cemented the show’s and Mitchell’s impact on pop culture.
Additionally, Mitchell is the host of the heart-warming TV series
Tails of Valor, which takes a look at true stories of service animals working to change people’s lives. The show airs on CBS Saturday mornings. He also recently starred as Double G, an impulsive and unpredictable billionaire rapper on Nickelodeon's
Game Shakers. Other acting credits include Nickelodeon series
Sam & Cat and
The Thundermans, Nicktoons USA's
Wild Grinders, TRU TV’s
Friends of the People, Cartoon Network’s
Loiter Squad, TV One’s
Love That Girl, as well as Disney Channel’s
Liv & Maddie, PBS'
Clifford the Big Red Dog, and Netflix's
Veggie Tales.
Kel is perhaps most famous among fans for his portrayal of orange soda-loving genius Kel Kimble on Kenan & Kel and "Ed" the Good Burger guy on
All That.
Mitchell is married to wife Asia Lee, who
he has one child with, Wisdom, who they welcomed in July 2017. He also has two children, son Lyric and daughter Allure, from a previous marriage.
Additionally, Mitchell wrote and directed the faith-based, anti-bullying film
She Is Not My Sister, and also directed several music videos. When he is not acting, writing or directing, Mitchell speaks to youth across the country encouraging them to follow their dreams.
Follow Kel Mitchell on
Twitter and
Instagram.
Kel isn't the only star with a Nickelodeon history competing on this season's
Dancing with the Stars!
Dawson’s Creek star James Van Der Beek once
appeared in an episode of Clarissa Explains It All, where he gave Melissa Joan Hart her first on-screen kiss!
Dancing with the Stars U.S. version of the hit UK dancing competition series
Strictly Come Dancing.
Wishing Kel and everybody competing on this season of
Dancing with the Stars the best of luck! :)
From
PopCulture:
'Dancing With the Stars': Kel Mitchell Pens Message After Losing Mirrorball Trophy to Hannah Brown
Kel Mitchell is sending love to pro partner and "little sis" Witney Carson after #TeamDanceWitKel came in as runners-up in Monday's Dancing With the Stars Season 28 finale. Hannah Brown and pro partner Alan Bersten may have ended up taking home the mirrorball trophy, but Mitchell had no regrets when it came to ending his time on the show with a energetic freestyle to “Jump” by Kriss Kross.
Sharing a photo of himself and Carson beaming in their matching "K+W" jerseys from their final dance, the Nickelodeon star took to the caption to show all his appreciation for the woman who had been by his side throughout the ups and downs of his DWTS journey.
"Hey Little Sis! Young WC!" Mitchell began his note. "[Witney Cartson], it was such a pleasure working with you on [Dancing With the Stars] we laughed, we cried, we prayed together and most importantly had fun!"
"It was an amazing journey that I will never forget and last night was epic, our freestyle represented my hometown Chicago and it was awesome seeing you smile so big while Chicago footworking!" he continued. "Our freestyle dance was a celebration of all our hard work on this season! We are winners and we stay winning everyday! Continued success and blessings to you and your family Wit! #teamdancewitkel #teamJesus #countitalljoy"
Brown was quick to chime in and congratulate her runners-up, writing, "#teamJesus y’all were amazing!!"
Saturday Night Live's Kenan Thompson, Mitchell's longtime comedy and producing partner, gushed, "Bro!!! You did that!!! We’re all so proud of you!!! Congratulations @iamkelmitchell on a great run!!!!"
Even former White House Press Secretary and DWTS alum Sean Spicer had kind words for Mitchell, writing, "You and @witneycarson crushed that freestyle. You guys ended the season on the highest note."
Carson has yet to address the close call in the finale on social media, but prior to Monday's finale shared a heartfelt message to her partner on Instagram.
"Tonight is the night you guys!!!!! I’m so proud of everything we’ve accomplished together [Kel Mitchell]!" she wrote. "You have been such an incredible student, teammate, & big brother. You are a true [star] & I cannot wait to dance with you tonight! It’s gonna be one to remember!"
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From
PopCulture:
'Dancing With the Stars' Pro Witney Carson 'Not Mad' About Second Place With Dance Partner Kel Mitchell (Exclusive)
Dancing With the Stars pro, Witney Carson came so close to winning the Mirror Ball trophy yet again, but she is certainly not mad about coming in second to former Bachelorette, Hannah Brown and her partner, Alan Bersten. After getting paired with Nickelodeon star, Kel Mitchell this season, the professional ballroom dancer and actor managed to find themselves in a heated season coming in hot as the runner-up couple. But this isn't the first time Carson has found herself in such a position. Fans will recall, she and partner Milo Manheim came in second place last year to country radio host Bobby Bones and Sharna Burgess. In an exclusive interview with PopCulture.com, Carson recalls what was going through her head during Monday night's fiery finale.
"Oh, that was crazy!" she told PopCulture.com when asked what she was thinking during that moment. "I just kept thinking I've been here before and I really want that mirror ball so bad. I've been so close to it so many times and it's been a long time since I've actually won. So just to be there was obviously an honor, everybody there was so amazing, the celebrities were just incredible. So just being there was an honor, but of course you want to win."
The Utah native confessed that she already felt like she and Mitchell had won because of their routines, as well as the growth the 41-year-old former child star had shown her and audiences over the course of 11 weeks.
"I felt like Kel and I had such a great night. I felt like I had already won because of the routines that we did and the growth that he'd shown," she revealed before adding that it's a "popularity contest" and America showed who they wanted to see win. "I'm happy about the dances and the routines and most importantly Kel's growth as a dancer. And I learned so much, so I'm not mad. I'm not mad at all, and I felt honored to be there honestly."
It was not only an exciting time for Carson because of DWTS, but because this month is near and dear to her heart as it's National Family Caregivers Month. The 26-year-old explained that she sympathizes with family caregivers who are taking care of family or friends battling cancer because she was once a caregiver herself after her father-in-law was diagnosed with Pancreatic cancer. While he passed away last March, the impression it made on Carson is everlasting.
"It was a huge moment in my life where we learned that he was terminal in probably about the beginning of December of last year and I have to decide if I was going to go on tour or not with Dancing with the Stars. It was something that was really important to spend that time with him and to spend that time with my husband and with my family, so I decided to do that," she explained. "So we skipped out on tour to be with family, be with him and we lived with him at the time and we took care of him every day. We gave him medicine, we changed out his IVs, and we helped with the home health nurse and we did really everything that could until the da he passed away."
That's why she's speaking on behalf of Stand Up To Cancer in light of "National Family Caregivers Month," to help recognize those who are caregivers themselves. In fact, through the organization, she invited a woman named Shelby Nish and her mother, who is Nish's caregiver, who battles with stage IV Melanoma cancer and was diagnosed when she was 9 months pregnant, to an episode of the popular dance competition.
"That was wonderful," Carson beamed. "I just really wanted to give them something special and give them something to look forward to. It's always such a hard time when you go through this together — it's just a miserable time that you have really nothing to look forward to, so I felt like this is really important for them to come to a show, and they were huge fans and they were super sweet and just so nice, so I'm so glad that we were able to do that for them."
As this emotional month comes to an end for Carson, so does her work. She will be taking some well-deserved time off with her family before she gears up for Dancing with the Stars Live Tour.
Click here to get tickets.
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More Nick: Nickelodeon Orders Up All That-Inspired Good Burger Pop-up with Team Behind Viral Saved by The Max!
Originally published: Wednesday, August 21, 2019.
H/T: Anime Superhero Forum /@Magitroopa (II).
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