Dancing with the Stars: Cast Breakdown

Valentin Chmerkovskiy: Laurie Hernandez, the Olympics-winning gymnast

Aug 15, 2016; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; (Editors note: Caption correction) Laurie Hernandez (USA) during the women’s balance beam finals in the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games at Rio Olympic Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mandatory credit: Andrew P. Scott-USA TODAY Sports

The producers wanted Simone Biles, of course, and fans would’ve expected her to dance with Mark Ballas. But it seems Laurie Hernandez was the member of the Final Five willing to do Dancing with the Stars this season. They were going to sign one if they could, and for good reason. This one may not be Simone, but she’s still a great gymnast, and like all of them, she’s still likely to be a great dancer. Val Chmerkovskiy, too, would be an expected second choice. He might not have danced with as many teenagers as Mark, but he took Zendaya to the final. She came in with a lot, but hey, so will Laurie.

They both also will draw a lot of votes. Val will have his fanbase, and Laurie will have both hers and gymnastics fans in general. Maks being back may cost him some votes, especially if he and Amber go the difference, but he’d broken away from him and become a star in his own right. They’ll like win even more supporters if they perform half as well as we expect on the dance floor. All in all, going into the show, these two are the undisputed favorites.

Next: Meet Teyana Taylor, Star of Kanye West’s Fade Video

Two weeks until the show starts, and then we really see who’s good, who’s bad, and who we need to get rid of as fast as possible.  Though it already seems too likely there’ll be more than one or those this season.