A Dancing with the Stars executive has opened up about casting for Season 35 after ABC announced Ciara Miller and Maura Higgins as the first two celebrity participants.
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Dancing with the Stars executive producer and casting head Deena Katz told The Hollywood Reporter that casting is "deep into it" right now and executives are working on "every single part" of the show.
"We're already deep into casting, we're talking themes -- we're talking everything," Deena teased.
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Dancing with the Stars unveiled Ciara from Summer House and Maura from Love Island as Season 35 contestants earlier this month.
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Both women -- who also competed on different seasons of The Traitors -- won't learn their pro partners until later on.
According to Deena, Maura "literally manifested" her casting on Dancing with the Stars, which will premiere its new season this fall on ABC and Disney+, with streaming the next day on Hulu.
"She texts me every time she's coming to L.A.," Deena said of Maura.
"She wants to have lunch. She's been dying to do the show, and she's fantastic. She's great television. She's funny. She's entertaining. [Maura] is exactly what our show is."
Deena acknowledged that Maura is "having a moment right now" and so her spot on Dancing with the Stars "was a no brainer."
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"And knowing what was going to happen with Traitors and seeing the buzz about her, she was fantastic," Deena added.
Deena predicted that Dancing with the Stars showrunner Conrad Green "is going to love" Maura on the reality dancing competition.
"You're not sure what she's going to say at any moment on live television," Deena said.
Conrad reportedly agreed with Deena, telling The Hollywood Reporter that Maura is "so authentic, and gorgeous and likable."
Conrad noted how being "likable goes a long way" on Dancing with the Stars.
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Deena also pointed out how Ciara's casting came at an opportune time, considering Summer House is currently dealing with a scandal involving Ciara's ex, West Wilson, and her former bestie, Amanda Batula.
"I already knew Ciara. She was on Traitors, and she's wonderful. She's stunning, she's gorgeous; she's all these things," Deena shared.
"And then the stuff that happened to her, it was a really of-the-moment thing that we all felt like it was the right time. We really wanted her on the show, but it was also the right time to announce her."
Deena also shared that entertaining an audience seems to come naturally to Ciara.
"What we didn't know is in [Ciara's] grandmother's house in North Carolina, that she just bought, there was a room where she used to do MTV videos pretending she was going to be an MTV Veejay," Deena revealed.
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"She had this kind of passion and wanted to do this kind of thing as a young kid. It's so great, full circle, to be able to give her this [opportunity] at this time."
Conrad suggested Dancing with the Stars will be a great distraction and positive experience for Ciara as she continues to navigate drama with her Summer House co-stars.
RELATED LINK: 'DANCING WITH THE STARS' PROS AND THEIR SIGNIFICANT OTHERS: WHO'S DATING OR MARRIED TO WHOM!? (PHOTOS)
"Sometimes you have challenges in your life, but you always have something that could make it better," Conrad said.
"[Dancing with the Stars] could heal, as in she's so excited about the idea of doing it, taking on that challenge, being able to focus on something positive, a new skill in her life, a new thing."
The rest of the celebrities -- and the lineup of pro partners -- will be announced at a later date.