Survivor’s Lisa Whelchel to compete in Battle of the Network Stars tonight

Well, “Survivor’s” Lisa Whelchel might be disingenuous, as she will compete on Team TV Kids in the Battle of the Network Stars’ debut episode.

Long before she coasted her way to a second-place finish on Survivor Philippines years ago, Lisa Whelchel stole America’s hearts as Blair Warner on Diff’rent Strokes spinoff, The Facts of Life. She, along with Kim Fields, stayed strong as sitcom TV kids for nine long seasons during the late 70s and 80s, too young to compete in Battle of the Network Stars during its initial run.

Several decades later, ABC has brought the show back, with Battle of the Network Stars debuting later tonight at 9 p.m. ET. Episode one, kicking off ABC’s “Summer Fun & Games,” will see actors from TV Sitcoms of the past taking on TV Kids, even though some of those kids were also on sitcoms. Look, ABC has a roster of 100 former TV stars set up to compete over the next 10 weeks; that’s what’s most important!

"The TV Sitcoms team of Bronson Pinchot, Tom Arnold, Dave Coulier, AJ Michalka, and Tracy Gold take on the TV Kids team of Joey Lawrence, Corbin Bleu, Nolan Gould, Lisa Whelchel, and Kim Fields."

Lisa Whelchel is well prepared for Battle of the Network Stars. Lasting 39 days on Survivor Philippines taught her determination, the lack of recognition from anybody but Penner from her cast taught her to be humble, and the frequent reward and immunity challenges day in and day out improved her strength and resilience.

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These Survivor fans would like to wish Lisa Whelchel good luck in tonight’s debut episode!