Christian Stoinev and Scooby will be back on the TV screen tonight as part of NBC’s latest show, I Can Do That.
Stoinev, 23, and Scooby, 12 1/2, became household names after competing on America’s Got Talent. Stoinev has been on the show twice — in season 2, when he made it to the Vegas round, and season 9, when he made it to the Top 12.
The Sarasota native and his adorable chihuahua captured plenty hearts while on TV and wowed the crowds with their amazing acts. The beloved duo were asked to come back out to L.A. and be one of the talents that celebrities had to try and attempt to mimic for “I Can Do That.” The show has a cast of six celebrities that have to pick and choose what they think they can do — anything from breakdancing to magic acts to being a Harlem Globetrotter.
Stoinev and Scooby worked for five days with contestants Alan Ritchson and Jeff Dye to get an act put together that will be seen on tonight’s episode of “I Can Do That.”
When we talked to Stoinev by phone he was excited for the show to finally premiere.
“I’m anxious and curious to see how they’ll edit it all,” said Stoinev.
Being back on TV was certainly something he was thrilled about and said it had a real family feel to it since he was back with the same network and seeing some of the same people that worked on “Talent” now working at “ICDT.” And the social media team at “Talent” has been heavily cross-promoting “ICDT,” asking fans to tune in tonight to catch the “Talent” alums.
Stoinev said he had originally hoped to work with at least one of the female contestants when putting together an act, but in the end had a great time working with Ritchson and Dye.
“It was so awesome to be around professional actors, and they were so funny during practice. None of it was scripted but it sounded that way just by what they would say. There was a lot of joking around and I had a hard time keeping a straight face.”
Photo provided by Christian Stoinev
While there were plenty of laughs, Stoinev said that both men were amazed by how hard even the simplest looking things that Stoinev does with such ease could actually be.
“It was super cool for someone like me to have that experience and to have people appreciate it and see how hard it is.”
Stoinev said both Ritchson and Dye have stayed in touch and that they have become friends and interact a lot through text messaging and Twitter.
And what about Scooby? Stoinev admitted that Scooby’s loyalty to him did make some things a bit more difficult since he is not used to performing with anyone other than Stoinev. Scooby did come around though and will be on tonight’s show.
So tune in tonight to NBC at 10 pm to see how it all plays out.
P.S. Check out this hilarious tweet sent out by Jeff Dye after he received a video of encouragement from Scooby.
What an encouraging message from Scooby today. He just texted me this. @CAStoinev @NBCICanDoThat @alanritchson pic.twitter.com/upYiBuXcIv
— Jeff Dye (@JeffDye) June 1, 2015