Dancing With the Stars season 33 has its forged, bringing collectively skilled athletes, actuality TV royalty, fashions and extra to vie for the coveted Len Goodman Memorial Mirrorball trophy.

“I feel it’s gonna be a superb season. I feel that this is likely one of the few seasons the place there actually isn’t an automated frontrunner,” DWTS host Alfonso Ribeiro completely instructed Us Weekly on Wednesday, September 4. “Like, I don’t know who’s gonna be a superb dancer or not. So it’s form of, like, on our premiere night time … it’s gonna be like, ‘Right here you go. Who’s nice? We don’t know.’”

Ribeiro, 53, additional defined that, general, season 33 appears to be “a very enjoyable forged.”

“Their hearts are all in the proper spot,” he gushed. “All of them wish to be part of this — and Eric Roberts over there [is] already speaking [smack].”

From Oscar nominee Roberts, 68, to Olympic champion Ilona Maher, maintain scrolling to learn the way the celebs — and the professional dancers — first reacted to the partnerships:

Stephen Nedoroscik and Rylee Arnold

Going into season 33, Nedoroscik initially was not sure “who [he] was gonna get.”

“I used to be taking a look at all the professionals and I used to be like, ‘I actually hope I get Rylee,’ so I used to be so excited I received Rylee,” the Olympic bronze medalist, 25, instructed Us on Wednesday.

Rylee, who made her professional debut in season 32, is equally excited to show Nedoroscik how you can jive.

“I walked in [the rehearsal studio] and he was simply, like, a lightweight [and] is simply so form,” Arnold, 19, gushed. “He has such a superb soul and instantly got here into it. He was aggressive, he needed to work exhausting, he needed to bop and get good at what we had been doing and so, I’m so grateful he’s my associate.”

Ilona Maher and Alan Bersten

Bersten instructed Us that it felt like he “received the lottery” in his partnership.

“Ilona is superior,” Bersten, 30, mentioned on Wednesday. “We have now a lot enjoyable in rehearsals [and] she works so exhausting. I legit can’t ask for the rest. Each time somebody’s like, ‘Whose your dream associate?’ I’m like, ‘Ilona,’ and right here she is. I’m so fortunate.”

For the Olympic rugby participant, she is equally “excited” to study from Bersten.

“I needed Alan as a result of I had seen that he may be robust on his companions, which is horrifying, but additionally I’ve at all times responded effectively to that with teaching and whatnot,” Maher, 28, mentioned on Wednesday. “I feel it’ll be good for me in a manner. I feel he’s gotten higher, [and] I’m excited to have a associate like him. We vibe off one another very well, I feel. He permits me to specific myself and actually needs me to. I feel he sees the worth in that character and exhibiting myself on the dance flooring, as effectively.”

Brooks Nader and Gleb Savchenko

As for Savchenko, his first impression of the 27-year-old supermodel was that “she’s sizzling.” Nader then instructed Us that she “felt the identical manner.”

“I used to be, like, ‘Oh my, God. Excellent,’” Nader mentioned, earlier than Savchenko, 40, famous that they have already got “good vibes” collectively.

Anna Delvey and Ezra Sosa

“‘Thank God,’” Delvey, 33, recalled of what she mentioned when she discovered the first-time professional can be her DWTS associate. “I can’t say the reply that I wanna say. I’ve been banned from that. No, I used to be completely satisfied it was Ezra and never any person else. I believed it may have been worse.”

Sosa, in the meantime, thought that Delvey appeared “tremendous candy” and couldn’t wait to bedazzle her ankle monitor. (Delvey is on home arrest after she was launched from jail on parole in 2021.)

“She has a very dry humorousness, which is, like, my private favourite,” Sosa, 23, added. “So we’ve been getting alongside very well.”

Eric Roberts and Britt Stewart

Roberts was initially “scared to dying” of Stewart, 34.

“I imply, that is exhausting and I’m not a dancer,” Roberts instructed Us. “She is a dancer and she or he has to start out from the bottom up with me and I felt horrible, however she makes me completely satisfied on daily basis.”

Stewart, in the meantime, is “simply grateful” to show Roberts how you can dance, telling Us, “What he has finished in his profession is so spectacular and is wonderful, and so, I’m simply grateful to have him as my associate and seeking to convey him to mild within the ballroom.”

Joey Graziadei and Jenna Johnson

The previous Bachelor, 29, was “stocked” to get Johnson, 30, as a result of his sister is a significant fan.

“My sister watches the present and she or he hoped I used to be gonna be with Jenna,” Graziadei quipped. “So, once I discovered, I couldn’t wait.”

Johnson, for her half, instructed Us that she was “excited” to associate up with Graziadei.

“He’s tall, he’s athletic [and] I used to be like, ‘Sure, sure and sure,’” she recalled.

Phaedra Parks and Val Chmerkovskiy 

Not solely will Chmerkovskiy compete in opposition to his spouse, Johnson, for the mirrorball, however he’s paired together with his brother Maks Chmerkovskiy’s former Traitors season 2 costar.

“I’m very excited,” Val, 38, mentioned. “The very first thing she mentioned was, ‘Oh man, I needed Maks, however you’re the subsequent neatest thing.’ I’m very excited. Phaedra is so spectacular as a human — we’re getting there as a dancer — however as a human being, she’s simply been an absolute wealth.”

Parks, 50, additional praised Val because the “second coming” of his older brother.

“I didn’t have a clue … who I used to be going to get,” Parks mentioned. “I used to be simply praying, ‘Jesus, Lord Jesus, please let it’s proper and allow them to be good.’ And he’s received extra mirrorballs than anybody. His file form of speaks for itself.”

Tori Spelling and Pasha Pashkov

In line with Pashkov, Spelling, 51, walked into the studio “so bubbly [and] so alive” to get began.

“[She was] so able to do it. Not fearful of something,” Pashkov, 38, mentioned. “She’s like, ‘I’m prepared to take any threat.’ And so, I imply, for those who’re coming in with out mentality, I couldn’t ask for something extra.”

Spelling, for her half, feels “like [their] personalities mix collectively very well,” citing that Pashkov understands her humorousness with out letting her procrastinate on the duty at hand.

Dwight Howard and Daniella Karagach

The NBA star first realized the pair’s massive peak distinction.

“[I noticed] how tall I’m and the way brief [she] seems in contrast to one another. That was in all probability the primary thought,” Howard, 38, instructed Us. “After that, our power, our chemistry and the whole lot simply shined via, so I don’t even see our peak as being an issue.”

Karagach, 30, teased to Us to “simply wait” to see if their respective heights trigger an issue on the dance flooring.

“He’s already probably the most wonderful associate, so I’m simply excited to get began,” Karagach mentioned. “All I may ask is for him simply to have an open thoughts to this entire course of, and he already does!”

Chandler Kinney and Brandon Armstrong

Armstrong, 30, initially thought the Fairly Little Liars actress, 24, might be his long-lost relative.

“Truthfully, I’m adopted, so when she got here to the door, I used to be like, ‘She might be my sister. Is that loopy?’” he joked on Wednesday. “We gonna do a 23AndMe [DNA test] actual fast.”

Kinney additional famous that the pair “received on from the second [they] met.”

“I’m like operating in [and said] good day. I feel I used to be talking like two octaves up,” Kinney instructed Us. “Like, I used to be simply so excited to satisfy him and see his face like operating in. So yeah, it’s gonna be nice.”

Danny Amendola and Witney Carson

Carson, 30, was “stoked” about her partnership, telling Us, “I’ve not had an NFL participant for a very very long time, so I used to be actually excited to get Danny.”

Carson added, “My husband [and] my brothers, they’re tremendous stoked about it. I simply know the historical past with huge receivers on the present, two of them have received, so I used to be extraordinarily excited.”

Reginald VelJohnson and Emma Slater

Slater, 35, revealed to Us that she “couldn’t assist however cry a bit of bit” when she first noticed the Household Issues alum, 72, within the dance studio.

“I’m such a fan and I’ve watched Die Exhausting yearly for, actually, many years,” Slater mentioned.

VelJohnson, in the meantime, took one take a look at Slater’s face and “fell in love,” he recalled on Wednesday earlier than including, “She’s great.”

Jenn Tran and Sasha Farber

Tran, 26, solely realized that she was becoming a member of the present “45 minutes” earlier than her flight left Los Angeles, the place she was filming the dwell Bachelorette finale, to make it to New York Metropolis for the forged reveal.

“[This] morning was insane. Like, I received a name, it was early within the morning saying, ‘You have to get on a flight in 45 minutes,’” Farber, 40, instructed Us on Wednesday. “I used to be flying right down to get to the airport. I didn’t have a ticket. I didn’t even meet [Jenn and then] I see her operating to safety. I used to be like, ‘That should Jenn. God, I have to be the place she’s going.’”

As soon as they made their flight with ten minutes to spare, the pair began bonding.

“Instantly, like, we had been simply bantering,” Tran recalled. “Like, I really feel like I’ve recognized him for like 40 years.”

Dancing With the Stars season 33 premieres on ABC Tuesday, September 17, at 8 p.m. ET and can be simulcast on Disney+.

With reporting by Christina Garibaldi