With Dancing with the Stars having logged 20 years and hundreds of celebrity contestants, occasionally, you’ll get an Andy Richter. To say the actor and comedian surprised fans — and himself — would be an understatement. While the 59-year-old was far from the best dancer, something he continues to affirm even after his elimination, he and Emma Slater made it all the way to seventh place simply… by being themselves!
“The first thing I was surprised at was how big the movement behind us got,” Andy says in an exclusive interview with Parade. “It was the videos of people freaking out when I made it through another elimination where I was like, ‘Wow, this is really mattering to people.’ And then the Cincinnati Bengals tweeted a touchdown celebration with, ‘This is how we feel when Andy makes it through another round.’ I’m like, ‘Why are the Cincinnati Bengals caring about my ballroom dance competition?!’ I’ve had a lovely career, and I’ve received a lot of good feedback. But nothing like what was happening online.”
So, of course, when getting the opportunity to talk with Andy, we had to give him the opportunity to pay it forward. And, when asked which fellow celebs he would want to see hit the dance floor in a future season, he revealed he was already putting in the work for a couple of specific individuals.
“There are a number of people that I would love to see do this,” he says. “And I’ve been texting [casting director] Deena Katz, ‘Hey, do you know this person?’ My friend Tim Meadows, I’d love to see him do it, but I don’t think he ever will. My friend Jack McBrayer. I’m like, ‘You should do this.’ Both of them feel like they’re too klutzy. And I’m like, ‘Don’t worry, you’re not too klutzy!'”
Andy Richter and Kaitlyn Bristowe on ‘Dancing with the Stars’Disney/Eric McCandless
Whether or not Tim Meadows or Jack McBrayer face their klutziness fears and go on to a future season, Andy has one big recommendation for casting for Seasons 35 and onward: Bring in more celebs not based on dance skills, but on what the show can do for them (and they, in theory, can do for the show).
Related: Why Andy Richter Lasted So Long on ‘Dancing with the Stars,’ According to the Pros (Exclusive)
“Not that I think there should be another me,” he clarifies. “But I do think that [they should] cast for people that are looking for a similar kind of transformation, an impactful kind of experience that I had. I think it’s interesting to see what this show can do for people who don’t know how to dance, and who end up falling in love with it and being affected by it in ways they never expected.”
“I do happen to think, as someone who makes television,” he continues, “the one truism about what this show is is that it’s a television show, and you get to pick which characters stick around to be on the next week. Dancing is a part of it, for sure. And I think later, yes, dancing and scores do end up being more important. But through most of the run of it, it’s a TV show. And you should pick who you want to see on the TV show, and who makes you like the show and like the process, and who represents your willingness to be drawn into what Dancing with the Stars is.”
We shall see, in 2026 and beyond, whether DWTS casting uses Andy’s recommendations (in many ways) for the “characters” he wants to see on the show.
This story was originally reported by Parade on Nov 18, 2025, where it first appeared in the TV section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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