Former Dallas Cowboys star DeMarcus Ware will be among the celebrities competing during Season 27 of Dancing with the Stars on ABC. The season’s premiere episode will air at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 24, on WFAA Channel 8.
Ware is part of a cast of 13 celebrities and their professional dancing partners announced Wednesday on ABC’s Good Morning America. Other cast members include Olympic gold medalist Mary Lou Retton, actress Nancy McKeon, onetime Dukes of Hazzard star John Schneider, singer Tinashe and entrepreneur “Grocery Store Joe” Amabile, who gained fame on the TV reality show Bachelor in Paradise.
Longtime judges Len Goodman, Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli will be on hand to evaluate the dancers.
Ware, who will partner with DWTS pro Lindsay Arnold, will be trying to follow in the footsteps of Dallas Cowboys legend Emmitt Smith, the Hall of Fame running back who teamed up with pro Cheryl Burke to win Season 3 of Dancing with the Stars in the fall of 2006.
Ware played nine seasons as a Dallas pass rusher and is the team’s all-time leader in sacks and forced fumbles. He later helped the Denver Broncos defeat Carolina in the 2016 Super Bowl.
Here’s the complete list of Season 27 competitors:
• Alexis Ren and Alan Bersten
• Bobby Bones and Sharna Burgess
• Danelle Umstead and Artem Chigvintsev
• DeMarcus Ware and Lindsay Arnold
• Evanna Lynch and Keo Motsepe
• Joe “Grocery Store Joe” Amabile and Jenna Johnson
• John Schneider and Emma Slater
• Juan Pablo Di Pace and Cheryl Burke
• Mary Lou Retton and Sasha Farber
• Milo Manheim and Witney Carson
• Nancy McKeon and Val Chmerkovskiy
• Nikki Glaser and Gleb Savchenko
• Tinashe and Brandon Armstrong