Courtesy/ABC
Names very familiar to soap fans will be part of the ABC network’s reboot of the ’70s and ’80s television pop-culture classic, Battle of The Network Stars when it debuts this summer for 10 weeks beginning on June 29 at 9pmest.
Battle of the Network Stars will be a nostalgic throwback to the original series, where TV celebrities blended athleticism along with hilarious antics while featuring an array of fan favorites from numerous TV series. The original series from ABC Sports began in 1976 and continued for 13 years. The 10-episode summer event will pit teams of current and classic TV stars from multiple eras and different genres against one another in a variety of athletic games. Viewers can look forward to seeing a fresh take at some of the classic show’s sporting events like Tug of War, Archery, Kayak Relay, Obstacle Course and Dunk Tank – all from the site of the original series, the beautiful campus of Pepperdine University in Malibu, California.
For this new version, fielding of the teams will be based on the TV characters people love from over the years to the current day – cops vs. TV sitcoms, White House vs. lawyers, TV moms & dads vs. TV kids, etc. In this way, viewers will get to see everyone’s favorites from over the years, even if they spanned different networks at the time.
From the world of daytime and primetime soaps look for: DAYS Deidre Hall (Marlena) and Galen Gering (Rafe). GH’s Ryan Paevey (Nathan), ex-OLTL reboot Corbin Bleu (Ex-Jeffrey), ex-Dallas reboot star, Josh Henderson (John Ross) and Dallas original series star, Charlene Tilton (Lucy) and ex-Knots Landing’s Donna Mills (Abby). In addition former B&B cast member, Lorenzo Lamas, Y&R’s recurring Corbin Bersen, Ex-AMC and ET’s Cameron Mathison (Ex-Ryan, AMC), former Generations and Y&R star, Vivica A, Fox as well as Shari Belafonte (Lomax, GH) will all be competing for their respective teams.
There are the 20 teams (100 stars), blue and red, competing against each other in separate episodes with athletic contests of physical grace and stamina. Here are the teams pitted against each other
· TV Sitcoms (Bronson Pinchot, Tom Arnold, Dave Collier, AJ Machala, Tracey Gold) vs. TV Kids (Joey Lawrence, Corbin Bleu, Nolan Gould, Lisa Whence, Kim Fields) – Airs June 29
· Primetime Soaps (Ian Kiering, Josh Henderson, Gabrielle Carters, Donna Mills, Mishap Barton) vs. ABC Stars (Olivia dab, Shari Belafonte, Michael Fishman, Jason Hervey, Anson Williams)
· Variety (Joanna Krup, 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)
The hosts for Battle of the Network Stars are Mike Greenberg and Joe Tessitore of ESPN; Cassidy Hubbarth and Cari Champion of ESPN will be the sideline reporters; plus Super Bowl 50 winner DeMarcus Ware and MMA fighter/Olympian Ronda Rousey will be the team captains.
Just when the specific episodes air dates are for the competition-based episodes is yet to be revealed by ABC except for its premiere.
So, what do you think of some of the soap opera favorites who will appear in Battle of the Network Stars? Will you be checking it out this summer? Let us know in the comment section below