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.

Battle of The Network Stars 2020 Edition

One of my favorite things to watch on ESPN Classic(before DirecTV stopped carrying)was Battle of the Network Stars, the famous athletic competition which featured stars from TV shows across the networks of ABC, CBS, and NBC.
ABC tried a reboot of the show in the summer of 2017 but it didn't work primarily because it didn't use very many current TV stars but instead former TV stars that participated in the original version.
But what if there was a Battle of the Network Stars with stars from current TV shows?
That is what I have done with this list of TV stars that would compete on BOTNS featuring the classic format which featured relays of swimming, kayaking, running, and bike riding as well as an obstacle course, a game of 3-on-3 football, the famous dunk tank, and the tug-of-war to determine the winner.
For this fantasy edition, I kept to the five TV broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CW) and celebrities were chosen based on what type of athletic background they had or name recognition to bring in viewers.
Anyway, here is my list of the teams that would be used if Battle of the Network Stars existed in the year 2020:
ABC
Chris Carmack, Grey's Anatomy

In his second season as Dr. Atticus Lincoln on Grey's Anatomy, Carmack qualifies for the ABC team thanks to his days at Colonel Zadok Magruder High School just outside of Washington D.C. where he played football, baseball, basketball, and wrestling.

Michael Fishman, The Conners

Fishman played independent baseball in Mexico and Japan in between the end of Roseanne's first run in 1997 and its revival in the spring of 2018, before the show morphed into The Conners over a year ago.
Fishman is still involved in baseball as he coaches baseball and softball clinics for under privileged youths.
Jason George, Station 19

George is an natural selection for the ABC team as he enjoys to run track and and play football, which are two sports that would be played in the BOTNS, plus is trained in stage combat and fight choreography.
Chris Harrison, The Bachelor/Bachelorette

Harrison attended Oklahoma City University on a soccer scholarship, before transiting his career into broadcasting, but still maintains an athletic spirit as he plays golf and has competed in triathlons.

Leighton Meester, Single Parents

The former Blair Waldorf from Gossip Girl who now plays single mother Angie D'Amato on the second-year sitcom Single Parents could perform very well in this competition as her workout routine includes cycling and swimming and has been taking surfing lessons from her husband Adam Brody.

AJ Michalka, Schooled

While Michalka does list mountain biking as one of her hobbies, the main reason she earns a spot on the ABC team is that she did participate in an episode of the BOTNS reboot back in 2017.
Cobie Smulders, Stumptown

Smulders, who now plays a private investigator on the first-year show Stumptown, would be one of the most versatile female athletes in the competition as she spent her high school days playing tennis, soccer, and swimming.
She is also a certified scuba diver, which means she would be one of the better swimmers in the swimming relay.
Ariel Winter, Modern Family

Winter has made headlines on TMZ and other celebrity gossip websites for her recent weight loss, but the reason for the actress who plays Alex Dunphy is on this team is that she has a purple belt in taekwondo which means she would be one of the most highly trained athletes in the competition.
CBS
Beth Behrs, The Neighborhood

Before moving to California with her family when she was 15 to pursue a career in acting, Behrs played soccer for nine years, even traveling up and down the East Coast to play in tournaments.
Mike Colter, Evil

Though he now plays a priest in training on the supernatural drama Evil, Colter is most well known by some for his role as Luke Cage on three different Netflix shows set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe(Jessica Jones, The Defenders, Luke Cage), for which he got in serious shape to play the bullet-proof hero from 2015-19.
Colter also trained with famous boxing trainer Martin Snow for his role in the Academy Award winning movie Million Dollar Baby.
Vanessa Ferlito, NCIS: New Orelans

Ferlito is known for playing tough girl roles such as Arlene in the Quentin Tarantino movie Death Proof and in her current role as Special Agent Tammy Gregorio on NCIS: New Orleans so it would be interesting to see if that translates on to BOTNS field.
Kellan Lutz, FBI: Most Wanted

Lutz is most famous for his role as Emmett Cullen in the Twlight movies, but is now currently playing Kenny Crosby on the spin-off of the hit show FBI.
Anyway, Lutz earns a spot on this team for his training in Jujitsu and Muay Thai plus performing many of his own stunts which allow to stay in great shape.
Simone Messick, All Rise

Messick would be joining her former Luke Cage colleague Colter on the CBS team as Messick, who now plays judge Lola Carmichael on the courtroom drama All Rise, was the captain of the girls' varsity basketball team at Renaissance High School in Detroit back in 1999.

Alex O'Loughlin, Hawaii Five-O

The man who brought Steve McGarrett into the 21st century(Hawaii Five-O was originally a crime drama during the 1970s in case you didn't know, O' Loughlin should be one of the stronger athletes on this show as he does many of his own stunts on the new Hawaii Five-O and has a background in kung fu and tai chi, plus likes to go rock climbing in his spare time.

Eric Christian Olsen, NCIS: Los Angeles

Olsen was an all-star player at Bettendorf High School in Bettendorf, Iowa and has been able to keep in shape thanks to his older brother, David Paul, who is an former Navy SEAL and acts as Eric's stunt double on NCIS: LA.

Perdita Weeks, Magnum P.I.

Weeks who plays Higgins on the new version of Magnum P.I.(Yes, Higgins is a woman on this version) would be an asset to the CBS team on the relay portion as she likes to run cross country to stay in shape while doing yoga and bodyweight training when she goes to the gym.

NBC

Freema Agyeman, New Amsterdam

The former Doctor Who companion during the David Tennant years(2006-10), Agyeman now plays Dr. Helen Sharpe on the medical drama New Amsterdam.
Agyeman qualifies for this team because of her childhood hobbies which included martial arts, gymnastics, and studying dance which allowed her to perform many of the action scenes during years on Doctor Who.

Terry Crews, Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Crews was an defensive end for the Western Michigan Broncos, earning all-conference honors in helping the Broncos win the 1988 Mid-American Conference Championship and was able to make it to the National Football League where he played 32 games for three different teams(Los Angeles Rams, San Diego Chargers, and Philadelphia Eagles) before pursuing a career in acting.

Justin Hartley, This Is Us

The man who played Green Arrow on Smallville and now plays present-day Kevin Pearson on This is Us, Hartley was a versatile athlete at Carl Sundberg High School outside of Chicago as he played basketball, baseball, and soccer, and is said to still be an avid basketball player.

Christina Hendricks, Good Girls

Okay, this choice is purely for the sake of eye candy as Hendricks has no background in sports or in musical theater and is chosen for the hope that someone would put in the water during the dunk tank portion.

Who knows, she might actually excel in the other portions of the competition.

Jane Levy, Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist

Before transitioning into an acting career which has landed the lead role on the new musical show Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist, Levy was an avid soccer player as she played from age five up-through college where she played one year for Division III Goucher College's varsity team after captaining her high school team at Sir Francis High School in San Anselmo, California.

Miranda Rae Mayo, Chicago Fire

Currently in her fourth season as firefighter Stella Kidd on Chicago Fire, Mayo earns a spot on this team thanks to her workout routine which includes running and cycling, which are two sports that would be included on this hypothetical BOTNS.

Jesse Lee Soffer, Chicago P.D.

In between his career where Soffer played Bobby Brady in The Brady Bunch Movie and A Very Brady Sequel and his current role as police detective Jay Halstead on Chicago P.D., Soffer played soccer up through high school, even being named an all-star his senior year at The Gunnery in 2003.

Brian Tee, Chicago Med

Tee, who plays Dr. Ethan Choi on Chicago Med, was captain of his high school football team during his time at Glen A. Wilson High School in Hacienda Heights, California, which is about 20 miles outside of Los Angeles.
FOX
Nick Cannon, The Masked Singer

Before beginning a stand-up career that would led him to his current hosting duties on the musical competition show The Masked Singer, Cannon was a track and field athlete when he was a student at Monte Vista High School in Spring Valley, California, just outside of San Diego.
Kenneth Choi, 911

The man who plays Los Angeles fireman Howie "Chimney" Han was once a gymnast at Homewood-Flossmoor High School outside of Chicago where as a sophomore he set for highest score on the pommel horse.
Choi also ran cross-country during his time at Homewood-Flossmoor which make him an easy selection for the relay and obstacle course portions.
Matt Czurchy, The Resident

Czuchry was a former college athlete as he was captain of the tennis team at the College of Charleston.
While tennis would not be included in this fantasy edition of BOTNS, Czuchry's background in tennis would still make him one of the stronger athletes in the competition.
Finesse Mitchell, Outmatched

The former Saturday Night Live cast member was a walk-on football player at the University of Miami, playing alongside Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson amongst others, before going into comedy which would lead him to his current role as Jason Biggs' best friend on the new comedy Outmatched.

Serayah, Empire

Serayah played for the Taft County High School girls' basketball team as recently as 2013 which means there shouldn't be too much if any drop off from her athleticism.
Bex Taylor-Klaus, Deputy

Taylor-Klaus played third base and catcher on high school's varsity softball team before setting on acting which has led her to her role as deputy Brianna Bishop on the modern-day western Deputy.
Liv Tyler, 911: Lone Star

Tyler might be the biggest star on this fantasy edition of Battle of the Network Stars with her nearly 25-year acting career which have included roles in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Incredible Hulk movie to go along with being the daughter of former Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler.
But Tyler could be a very strong competitor as fitness is very important as she has trained with Mary Helen Bowers, a ballerina who helped train Natalie Portman for her Oscar-winning role in Black Swan and David Kirsch, a famous celebrity trainer who has helped Jennifer Lopez, Naomi Campbell and Heidi Klum stay in shape.
Krista Marie Yu, Last Man Standing

Yu, who plays foreign exchange student Jen on the Tim Allen sitcom Last Man Standing, spent most of her childhood taking ballet lessons and figure skating, trying to be the next Kristi Yamgouchi.
While skating and ballet would not be any of the sports used in this fantasy BOTNS, the skating and ballet lessons should pay off for Yu for the obstacle course portion.
CW
Jensen Ackles, Supernatural

Before becoming an actor, Ackles was a sports junkie as he played on the baseball and lacrosse teams at LV Berkner High School  just outside of Dallas, Texas and is a huge Dallas Cowboys fan as well as a fan of basketball.
Melissa Benoist, Supergirl

To get in shape to play the Girl of Steel, Benoist works out 3-6 days a week  doing yoga, Pilates, boxing, and running as well as riding a bike.
Plus, Benoist has a background in dancing as she started taking dance classes when she was she three years old in jazz, ballet, and tap.
Daniel Ezra, All American

Ezra stars on the football drama series All American, so it would be interesting to see if Ezra could translate what he has learned to play the role of wide receiver Spencer James would translate to this hypothetical BOTNS.
Grant Gustin, The Flash

The Scarlet Speedster makes the team thanks to his workout routine where he works out with an Olympic running trainer to get in shape.
Also, Gustin is an classically trained tap dancer as he took up the art when he was 10 years old.
Lucy Hale, Katy Keene

Hale's selection is based mainly on name recognition as Hale is best known for her role on the show Pretty Little Liars which lasted from 2010-2017 and now plays the title role in the Riverdale spin-off Katy Keene which features Hale showing off her musical prowess as he often sings in the show.
Caity Lotz, Legends of Tomorrow

Lotz performs her own stunts in her role as the White Canary on Legends of Tomorrow and was a backup dancer in music videos for Lady Gaga and Selena Gomez among others.
She also is a martial arts enthusiast as she practices taekwondo as well as wushu.
Robert Christopher Riley, Dynasty

Riley played football for Brooklyn Technical High School in Brooklyn, New York which lead him to being recruited by Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania where he played one year before quitting to focus on acting which lead him to the role of Michael Culhane on the CW's reboot of the famous 1980s ABC primetime soap opera Dynasty.
Ruby Rose, Batwoman

Rose made headlines in the fall of 2019 when he she had to have surgery on two herniated discs in her back which she injured during one of her stunts for her role as Batwoman which Rose says could have left paralyzed.
Still, Rose would be a formidable force in this hypothetical competition as she was an amateur boxer and is the goddaughter of the late Lionel Rose, the first Australian boxer to win a world boxing championship.