Was James Van Der Beek On ‘DWTS’ Before? The Answer Is Yes
If you think you may have seen actor James Van Der Beek on Dancing With the Stars previously, you aren’t wrong! The answer is yes, you have seen him competing on the series, but not as himself.
Let’s break it down. James was an actor on the series Don’t Trust the B— in Apartment 23, which was an ABC comedy that ran for two seasons. James played himself on the series, but an alternate version of his nice-guy personality, more vain and narcissistic.
The Hollywood prediction site Gold Derby reported that during the Season 1 finale of the short-lived series in 2012, James was cast on Dancing With the Stars in character alongside series guest-star Dean Cain. He and the former Superman television hero came to blows over who had the larger dressing room in a sequence of hilarious scenes.
In Season 2 of Don’t Trust the B, James’s appearance on the reality competition dance series pitted him against Dean and former Dancing With the Stars pro-Karina Smirnoff for his ballroom debut. James was not paired with a show pro for his sitcom dance debut, but rather an actress. However, he managed to pull off some serious moves. A series of hilarious events then ensued where in order to calm him down before his performance, his friend’s mother drugged him with some herbal tea, causing a dance display that was nothing short of a disaster.
The Inquisitr previously reported that other competing celebrities for Season 28 include country music star Lauren Alaina; former professional football player Ray Lewis; singer Ally Brooke; actor Kel Mitchell; model Christie Brinkley; legendary Supremes singer Mary Wilson; former basketball star and ex-husband of Khloe Kardashian, Lamar Odom; former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer; Queer Eye for the Straight Guy star Karamo Brown; and The Office star Kate Flannery.
Show host Tom Bergeron explained during the official cast reveal on Good Morning America that none of the celebrities knew which professional dancers they would be paired with during their debut on the morning news series. The pros and celebs found out who they would be dancing with after the GMA reveal, but fans of the series will not find out who will be dancing with whom until the show’s first episode.
The series, which has been on a year-long hiatus since Bobby Bones took home a mirrorball trophy in 2018, has promised many tweaks to its voting system, which fans hope will result in a more fair and balanced way to judge celebrities rather than groups of fans voting their favorite to the top of the leaderboard, whether or not they had any dance skills.
Dancing with the Stars premieres Season 28 on Monday, Sept. 16 at 8/7c on ABC.
