Dancing With the Stars Season 17 Cast Announced: Leah Remini, Valerie Harper, Jack Osbourne and Amber Riley to Compete

Christina Milian, Keyshawn Johnson and Snooki are among the celebs who will compete on the ABC reality series

By Tierney Bricker Sep 04, 2013 12:30 PMTags
Dancing With The StarsABC

Dust off  your dancing shoes!

Dancing With the Stars unveiled its cast for its upcoming 17th season on Good Morning America Wednesday morning and though the ABC reality hit is downsizing to just one night a week, the star power is supersized!

Along with Glee fan favorite Amber Riley and former NFL star Keyshawn Johnson, former Jersey Shore star turned proud mama Snooki, Jack Osbourne and Leah Remini are all set to put on their dancing shoes and compete for the coveted mirrorball trophy come Monday, Sept. 16. Valerie Harper, Bill Nye (the Science Guy), Elizabeth Berkley, a High School Musical star and a Pretty Little Liars hottie will also be getting their rhumba on.

Here are the official pairings for Dancing With the Stars' 17th season: 

Amber Riley and Derek Hough
Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi and Sasha Farber
Brant Daugherty and Peta Murgatroyd
Leah Remini and Tony Dovolani
Corbin Bleu and Karina Smirnoff
Christina Milian and Mark Ballas
Valerie Harper and Tristan MacManus
Bill Nye and Tyne Stecklein
Keyshawn Johnson and Sharna Burgess
Elizabeth Berkley and Val Chmerkovskiy
Bill Engval and Emma Slater
Jack Osbourne and Cheryl Burke

After going public with her terminal brain cancer diagnosis earlier this year, Mary Tyler Moore star Harper had good news to share about her health. "The brain scans that you get every two months are looking better and better," Harper said, adding that her doctors "are delighted" that she's "moving in the right direction." 

As for why DWTS will be downsizing to just one show a week this upcoming season, ABC boss Paul Lee recently explained, "We really wanted to focus and event-ize Dancing With the Stars. I know [executive producer] Conrad [Green] is having a whole lot of fun contracting a night on Monday that not only gives you the dances but the results. Effectively what we're doing is we're taking the votes from the judges and the votes from the audience and bringing them together at the end. Conrad has worked through a really interesting two hours. It builds to a climax at the end."

Two fan favorite pros will be sitting this season out are Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Kym Johnson. "I wish all the dancers and celebrities in season 17 nothing but love and success, and hope to see you all back on the dance floor for season 18," Johnson said in a statement.  

Are you excited about the new cast? Sound off in the comments!

PHOTOS: See all the stars who've hoisted the mirror-ball trophy