The upcoming 31st season of Dancing With the Stars will see a number of changes. Not only will it premiere on Disney+ for the first time after airing on ABC since the show’s start, but host Tyra Banks will be joined by a co-host. Fresh Prince of Bel-Air vet and former Mirrorball champ Alfonso Ribeiro will co-host DWTS for Season 31, and now I’m hoping the Carlton is involved.
It was recently announced that Alfonso Ribeiro, who memorably played Carlton Banks on NBC’s The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in the '90s, will return to the ballroom on DWTS as Tyra Banks’ co-host. For Season 19 of the competition series, he was partnered with Whitney Carson in 2014 and won the season. The actor then returned for Season 25 in 2017 and participated in a trio Jive performance with Carson and Frankie Muniz.
Alfonso Ribeiro definitely has plenty of dancing experience aside from Dancing With the Stars. While on Fresh Prince, he famously created “The Carlton,” a dance routine his character of the same name would frequently perform on the sitcom. And it’s something that he still gets asked about to this day, but don’t expect him to do it for you. Hopefully with him returning to DWTS, he breaks out his dancing shoes and does it once or twice.
Despite Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ending over 25 years ago, the series still remains a favorite among fans, and the Carlton will never die down. Last year, Alfonso Ribeiro admitted that while he did add elements to the dance during the show’s six-season run, the main dance was established from the very beginning. Many have tried and failed to recreate it, including Will Smith, but Ribeiro will always do it perfectly.
Meanwhile, Ribeiro is no stranger to hosting. Since 2015, he has served as host and narrator for ABC’s long-running series America’s Funniest Home Videos, taking up the mantle from John Fugelsang, Daisy Fuentes, former DWTS host Tom Bergeron and the late Bob Saget. Since 2021, he’s been hosting AFV’s Animal Edition spinoff on Nat Geo Wild.
As of now, there is no set premiere date for Season 31 of Dancing With the Stars, but it will premiere this fall as the first live series to stream on Disney+. With Alfonso Ribeiro coming on as co-host, whether or not some of the pro dancers will leave is still up in the air. Fingers crossed if there are any more changes, they will continue to be good and not bad, though it’s hard to tell with the move from ABC to Disney+.
Make sure you have a Disney+ subscription so you can catch Season 31 of Dancing With the Stars! Check out CinemaBlend’s 2022 TV schedule to see what to look out for in the coming months.
