Battle of the Network Stars 2021 Edition

 

Battle of the Network Stars was one of the greatest television shows to come out of the 1970s because it featured current TV stars trying their best in sports such as swimming, running, and cycling all in the name of network pride.

For the last few years I have done an hypothetical BOTNS if it existed today and since it is 2021 I thought it was time to do a new list.

For this list, I have complied teams of eight celebrities(four male, four female) to represent each of the five broadcast networks(ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CW).

I tried to pick the "stars" for each team based on if they had any history of playing sports before entering their acting careers, while some while picked for their background in dancing which could translate to strong athletic ability as it requires a lot of training.

With that in mind, here now is my list for a fantasy edition of the Battle of the Network Stars if existed in 2021:
ABC

Richard Flood, Grey's Anatomy

Flood was promoted to series regular on the long medical drama this year and qualifies for the ABC team thanks to his training in kickboxing to play a boxing policeman in the 2013 movie Crossing Lines.

Lecy Goranson, The Conners

Goranson, who is in the middle of her third run as Becky Conner, played on the rugby team at Vasser College during first break from the role of Becky as she focused on college.
Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Mixedish

The actor famous for playing Zack Morris on Saved By The Bell, Gosselaar is an avid racer as he had participated in the famous celebrity car race in Long Beach, but has also participated in motorcross and cycling, with the latter being an event in nearly every edition of BOTNS.

Jaina Lee Ortiz, Station 19

Ortiz is the first of many celebrities on this list whose background is not in athletics but in dance as she spent much of her teenage years training in salsa and mambo dancing which eventually lead her to teaching dancing at the age of 15.

Katy Perry, American Idol

During the original BOTNS, there were many female celebrities who were chosen mainly to bring in males who were hoping to see their favorite female celebrity crushes get wet in the dunk tank.

Perry would fit that criteria as she has no background in athletics or dance, but does work out five days a week.

Marcus Scribner, Blackish

Before taking on the role of Andre Johnson Jr on Blackish at the age of  13, Scribner was like most kids as he was active in sports as he played basketball and lacrosse during the weeks while taking acting lessons during the weekends.

Katheryn Winnick, Big Sky

Winnick is well skilled in martial arts as she holds a 3rd degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and a 2nd degree black belt in Karate to go along with being a licensed bodyguard.

Will Yun Lee, The Good Doctor

Lee became an accomplished martial artist as he learned from his father, a grandmaster in Korean Tae Kwon Do, to earn an athletic scholarship to the University of California before turning his attention toward acting which lead him to the role of Dr. Alex Park on The Good Doctor.
CBS

Beth Behrs, The Neighborhood

Before joining the CBS family in 2011 in the comedy 2 Broke Girls, which ran for six seasons and has now been followed up with the role of Gemma Johnson on the sitcom The Neighborhood, Behrs spent nine years of her adolescence playing soccer before going into acting.

Neil Brown Jr, SEAL Team

Like many others in this year's hypothetical BOTNS, Brown has a background in martial arts as he had trained in multiple forms such as Jujutsu, Judo, and Tae Kwon Do before he caught the acting bug which lead him to the role of Chief Warrant Officer Ray Perry on the show SEAL Team.

Caleb Castille, NCIS: Los Angeles

Castille, who joined the cast of NCIS:LA this season, is the son of former NFL defensive back Jeremiah Castille, who is famous for causing "The Fumble" in the 1987 AFC Championship Game to give the Denver Broncos a 38-33 win over the Cleveland Browns.

Caleb followed in his father's footsteps as he was a member of the Alabama Crimson Tide football team in 2011 + 2012, which both won national championships, before leaving the team to pursue acting.

Will Estes, Blue Bloods

In his 11th season as police officer Jamie Reagan on Blue Bloods, Estes gets a spot on the CBS team because of his background in gymnastics and training in Brazilian Jiujutsu.

Queen Latifah, The Equalizer

The queen doesn't get selected just for her role as ass-kicking vigiliante on the reboot of the 1980s show The Equalizer, but for the fact that Latifah is a great athlete as she played power forward for the Irvington Public High School basketball team, helping them to two state championships in New Jersey.

Missy Peregyrm, FBI

Peregyrm was a three-sport athlete in high school as he played soccer, lacrosse, and field hockey before getting into acting and now snowboards in her free time from her role as FBI agent Maggie Bell.

Plus, Peregyrm should be in great shape after giving birth to a baby boy last year.

Jaime Pressley, Mom

Pressley spent most of her childhood and teenage years training in gymnastics before she went into a modeling career which would lead her toward acting.

Lucas Till, MacGyver

This may come to a suprise to some but there has been a reboot of the famous 80s show MacGyver going on since 2016 with Till playing the title character.

Anyway, Till qualifies for the CBS team thanks to his practicing of Brazilian Jiujutsu in high school.
NBC

Freema Agyeman, New Amsterdam

Before beginning a career that featured a sting as one of Doctor Who's companions, Agyeman spent her time practicing martial arts, riding horses, and training in gymnastics.

Cleveland Berto, Chicago P.D.

The newest cast member of Chicago PD, Berto comes from a family with a history of fighting as Cleveland's father competed in UFC 10 back in 1996, while his brother Andre is a two-time welterweight boxing champion and competed in the 2004 Olympics and his sister Riverlina competed on the UFC show The Ultimate Fighter.

Not to be outdone, Cleveland was a high school wrestler before following his dream of becoming an actor.

Kelli Giddish, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Before getting into acting, Giddish was an accomplished softball player as she helped her high school, Forsyth Central High School in Cumming, Georgia, win a state championship during her teenage years.

Justin Hartley, This is Us

Just like CBS' Missy Pergrgyrm, Hartley was a three-sport athlete in high school as he competed in baseball, basketball and soccer at Carl Sundberg High School just outside of Chicago.

Miranda Rae Mayo, Chicago Fire

During her offtime from playing firefighter Stella Kidd, Mayo likes to practice yoga, run, and participate in cycling to stay in shape.

Hisham Tawfiq, The Blacklist

Tawfiq has the most unique background out of all the celebrities on this list as he is not a former athlete or dancer, but rather a former Marine who served in Operation Desert Storm, then became a corrections officer at the Sing Sing Correctional Facility in New York before his acting career which lead him to the role of James Spader's bodyguard on the long-running drama The Blacklist.

Brian Tee, Chicago Med

Ever since I started doing these hypothetical Battle of the Network Stars with current TV stars, Tee has been a constant presence because of he was the captain of the football team at Glen A. Wilson High School in Hacinda Heights, California and this year is no exception for the man who plays Dr. Ethan Choi.

Mae Whitman, Good Girls

Despite going into acting when she was three, Whitman, who plays Annie Marks on Good Girls, has found time to become an avid tennis player as she is a member of the Interstate 5 Tennis Association, a tennis association that features fellow actors Michael Cera and Jake Johnson.
FOX

Jason Biggs, Cherries Wild

The man famous for his sexually embarrassing escapades in the American Pie franchise, Biggs now hosts the game show Cherries Wild, which earns him a spot on the FOX team because of his time as a tennis player at Hasbrouck Heights High School in New Jersey and using his spare time to snowboard and mountain bike since becoming an actor.

Jennifer Love Hewitt, 911

Hewitt would fit into the category of eye candy just like Katy Perry, but JLH does have a background in dancing as she spent a lot of her formative years learning to dance in the styles of tap, jazz, and ballet.

Plus, she loves to jog in her spare time as well as play tennis and roller skate.

Ken Jeong, The Masked Singer/The Masked Dance/I Can See Your Voice

The guy seems to be on FOX all the time so he should represent the FOX BOTNS team, even though he is 51 years old and has no history of athletic experience.

Natacha Karam, 911: Lone Star

Karam, who plays firefighter Marjan Marwani on the spinoff of 911, is an avid swimmer plus trains in boxing to stay in shape which would make him a formidable foe in this hypothetical competion.

Jordan Masterson, Last Man Standing

Half-brother to Danny and Christopher Masterson, who also starred on FOX shows That 70s Show and Malcolm in the Middle respectively, Jordan gets a spot on the FOX team as his childhood included Jordan participating in baseball, tennis, and snowboarding.

Nicole Scherzinger, The Masked Singer

Scherzinger is one of the most beatufiul women on the planet and would be a lot of guys' first choice to see go down in the dunk tank.

Plus, I think she would be a strong athlete as evident by her win on Dancing With the Stars back in 2010.

Michael Sheen, Prodigal Son

Despite being the same age as teammate Jeong(51 years old), Sheen gets a spot on this team because of his background in soccer as a kid which lead him to being offered a spot on the English Premier League Arsenal's scout team before turning it down because he did want to move from Wales to London.

It would be interesting to see if Sheen's athleticism was still there for this hypothetical competition.

Emily Vancamp, The Resident

While VanCamp has no athletic background, she did spend a lot of her childhood learning to be a ballet dancer which would make her quite agile for BOTNS.

Plus her training for the role of agent Sharon Carter on the Disney+ show The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, wouldn't hurt either.
CW

Michael Behling, All American

Playing a high school quarterback isn't a stretch for Behling as he played football for two years at Columbus North High School in Columbus, Indiana while also running track, specifically in the 400 meter hurdles until he broke his foot twice while running for Indiana State University, leading him toward acting.

Jordan Calloway, Black Lightning

Calloway played four years of varsity baseball at Maranatha High School in Pasadena, California before going into acting which lead him to the role of Painkiller, which could lead to his own series as a backdoor pilot is set to air during the final season of Black Lightning.

Tyler Hoechlin, Superman & Lois

The latest to play the Man of Steel, Hoechlin is an accomplished baseball player, even playing in the College World Series as a member of the Arizona State Sun Devils before transferring to the University of California in Irvine where injuries steered toward a career in acting.

Javica Leslie, Batwoman

Taking over the role vacated by Ruby Rose, Leslie's training in Muay Thai martial arts, boxing, track, and swimming make not only an amicable replacement for Batwoman, but also an strong athlete for BOTNS.

Leah Lewis, Nancy Drew

The woman who plays Georgia "George" Fan on the newest incarnation of Nancy Drew, Lewis gets selected for the CW team as her background in gymnastics and hip-hop dancing as well as fencing and scuba diving.

Jarad Padalecki, Walker

After 15 seasons on the show Supernatural, Padalecki now plays Cordell Walker in the reboot of Walker, Texas Ranger. 

While Padalecki's main athletic experience before acting was chess, he did audition for the role of Superman in 2005 for Superman Returns and then again for Man of Steel, which should mean that Jared would be a strong athlete.

Candice Patton, The Flash

While playing the love interest of The Flash may not incorporate her to do a lot of stunts or action work, Patton does keep in shape with a workout routine that includes MMA fighting and the Soul Cycle.

Lili Reinhart, Riverdale

The only reason I put Reinhart on the CW team is because in previous editions I had put Camilla Mendes, who plays Veronica on Riverdale on multiple occassions, I figure it was time to put the woman who plays Betty on the list.