Mary Murphy has known dancing siblings Derek and Julianne Hough for a long time, and she could barely contain her excitement for their new roles on TV this fall when E! News caught up with the So You Think You Can Dance judge on the Emmys red carpet.
When we asked Murphy if she had any advice for Julianne, now that we've confirmed the former Dancing With the Stars pro dancer is going to be the new judge on the ABC competition series, she shook her head.
"I have no advice for her, because I saw her guest judge before and she's absolutely lovely," Murphy told E! News. "She did a great job then and I know she'll do a great job now. I've known her since she was like this high. I'm so proud of her and so excited for her. I think she's going to be a great addition."
And as for Julianne's brother Derek, in addition to returning to DWTS as a pro dancer for Season 19 (with his own sister as a judge!), he's also set to guest star on Nashville in a major arc this season...but Murphy had no idea he had set his sights on acting. In fact, we were the ones to actually break the news to her!
"He's going to be on Nashville? I love that show! Oh, that's exciting!" Murphy said. "I didn't hear that. That's great. He is definitely living the dream right now."
Murphy is proud to see the Hough siblings landing so many great opportunities like these. "These kids are both on the right track," Murphy said. "They're both hard workers. Ever since they were seven years old, I've seen them dancing and I'm just so proud of them. I love watching them blossom like this and it's great seeing everything that's happened to her and Derek."
In addition to the Houghs, Murphy would love to see some other stars appear on SYTYCD as guest judges in the future.
"I make a fool of myself every year saying that we've been trying to get Justin Timberlake to come on down," Murphy said. "I would love Beyoncé to be a guest judge, or Janet Jackson, because, oh my gosh, how much fun would that be? I would love for [Mikhail] Baryshnikov to come down and be a guest judge as well. Make it happen!"
One guest judge Murphy loves to bring back is Modern Family star Jesse Tyler Ferguson. "We love Jesse, and he'll be with me this Wednesday on the show on the performance finale," Murphy said. "I'm so excited to see him, especially since I just nominated him for the ice bucket challenge. I did it last Wednesday after the show. So when you see him, you have to ask him, 'Did you do Mary's challenge yet?'"
Well, have you, Jesse?