‘Battle of the Network Stars’: ABC Unveils 100 Stars For Revival

ABC has set the competitors for its anticipated revival of Battle of the Network stars. 100 stars from 14 network and cable companies and series, such as Modern Family, Pretty Little Liars, Scandal, among others, will compete with Super Bowl 50 winner DeMarcus Ware and MMA fighter/Olympian Ronda Rousey as team captains. Many of the stars, including Donna Mills, Todd Bridges and Lou Ferrigno, competed in the original series and are returning for the revival.

The original series from ABC Sports began in 1976 and continued for 13 years. The 10-episode summer event, set at Pepperdine University in Malibu, will pit teams of current and classic TV stars from multiple eras and different genres against one another in a variety of athletic games. Fielding of the teams will be based on the TV characters from over the years to the current day – cops vs. TV sitcoms, White House vs. lawyers, TV moms & dads vs. TV kids, etc. ESPN’s Mike Greenberg and Joe Tessitore will host, and Cassidy Hubbarth and Cari Champion are the sideline reporters.

Here are the 20 teams (100 stars), blue and red, competing against each other in separate episodes(* = returning to “Battle of the Network Stars”):

• TV Sitcoms (Bronson Pinchot, Tom Arnold, Dave Coulier, AJ Michalka, Tracey Gold)
vs.
TV Kids (Joey Lawrence, Corbin Bleu, Nolan Gould, *Lisa Whelchel, *Kim Fields)
• Primetime Soaps (Ian Ziering, Josh Henderson, Gabrielle Carteris, *Donna Mills, Mischa Barton)
vs.
ABC Stars (*Olivia d’Abo, *Shari Belafonte, Michael Fishman, Jason Hervey, Anson Williams)
• Variety (Joanna Krupa, Nick Lachey, Vanessa Lachey, Gilles Marini, Jack Osbourne)
vs.
TV Sex Symbols (Keegan Allen, Traci Bingham, Rosa Blasi, Brant Daugherty, Galen Gering)
• Cops (Erik Estrada, *Larry Wilcox, Kelly Hu, Jodi Lyn O’Keefe, *Lorenzo Lamas)
vs.
TV Sitcoms (*Todd Bridges, Leigh-Allyn Baker, Dave Foley, Willie Garson, Jenna von Oy)
• White House (Cornelius Smith Jr., Marlee Matlin, Joshua Malina, LaMonica Garrett, Mary McCormack)
vs.
Lawyers (Elisabeth Rohm, Corbin Bernsen, Matt McGorry, Romi Dias, Catherine Bell)
• TV Moms & Dads (Chad Lowe, *Greg Evigan, *Ted McGinley, Lesley Fera, Jackee Harry)
vs.
TV Kids (*Jimmie Walker, *Mackenzie Phillips, Jonathan Lipnicki, Krista Marie Yu, Jeremy Miller)
• Famous TV Families (Danny Bonaduce, Barry Williams, Beverley Mitchell, *Willie Aames, *Charlene Tilton)
vs.
Doctors (Thomas Calabro, Taye Diggs, Rachelle Lefevre, *Deidre Hall, Benjamin Hollingsworth)
• Troublemakers (Vivica A. Fox, Paul Johansson, John Barrowman, Julie Benz, Catherine Bach)
vs.
TV Lifeguards (David Chokachi, Brande Roderick, *Parker Stevenson, Nicole Eggert, Gena Lee Nolin)
• ABC Stars (*Ted Lange, Troy Gentile, *Jill Whelan, Denise Richards, Joely Fisher)
vs.
Variety (Lance Bass, Joey Fatone, Adrienne Houghton, Cameron Mathison, Kelly Osbourne)
• Cops (Marisol Nichols, Roma Maffia, *Adrian Zmed, Fred Dryer, Ryan Paevey)
vs.
Sci-Fi Fantasy (*Lou Ferrigno, Vinnie Jones, Charisma Carpenter, Kevin Sorbo, Jill Wagner)

Battle of the Network Stars is produced by Glassman Media and IMG, who also owns the format. The executive producers are Andrew Glassman, Will Staeger, Michael Antinoro and Chris Carlson. It premieres June 29 at 9 PM on ABC.