Where To Watch TV Parents Compete Against TV Kids

MALIBU, CA – A team of actors who played parents on television series from the 1980s until June will face a team of "TV Kids" on the sixth episode of "Battle of the Network Stars" airing at 9 p.m. Thursday evening on ABC.

The TV Moms & Dads team includes Chad Lowe and Lesley Fera, castmates on the teen drama mystery thriller "Pretty Little Liars," which ran on ABC Family and Freeform from 2010 through June 27. The rest of the team consists of Greg Evigan ("My Two Dads"), Ted McGinley ("Hope & Faith") and Jackee Harry ("Sister, Sister.")

The team is coached by retired NFL outside linebacker and defensive end DeMarcus Ware.

The "TV Kids" team is comprised of Jimmie Walker ("Good Times"), Mackenzie Phillips ("One Day at a Time"), Jonathan Lipnicki ("The Jeff Foxworthy Show"), Krista Marie Yu ("Dr. Ken") and Jeremy Miller ("Growing Pains.") It is coached by MMA champion and Olympic judo bronze medalist Ronda Rousey.

Evigan, McGinley, Walker and Phillips all appeared on the original version of "Battle of the Network Stars," which ran as a series of specials on ABC from 1976-88. Like the new version, it was conducted at Pepperdine University.

A difference in the current version is that teams are based on characters the participants portrayed instead of the networks their shows aired on.

Yu said "it was awesome" being coached by Rousey.

"She is a terrific coach," Yu told City News Service. "She has an amazing positive energy and contagious smile. I always could hear her voice throughout the events -- especially during the rope wall when she said to keep my focus on my feet."

As a coach on "Battle of the Network Stars" Rousey said she "plagiarized and repeated" advice she received from her coaches over the years.

"I've told them pretty much just to try as hard as possibly and not to think about how tired and uncomfortable you're going to be afterward," Rousey said during a break in production of the fifth episode to be produced in the 10- episode series.

"A couple of them were worried about getting tired out or getting nauseated or dizzy or a headache from trying to hard. One thing I just tried to get across to them was trying as hard as you could do is worth a little nausea and a headache and being a little dizzy.

You don't avoid working hard so you can avoid feeling uncomfortable. You work hard and you deal with the discomfort when it comes."

Yu was coached by both men and women as a figure skater during her childhood in Northern California.

"I was definitely empowered having a woman as a coach" on "Battle of the Network Stars," Yu said. "Ronda is such an inspiration to me."

City News Service

Image via Shutterstock