Diving with the stars on ABC's 'Splash'

Several personalities are taking a major plunge, to their own surprise as well as others'.

In January, Fox tried a celebrity diving special that -- pardon the phrase -- tanked, but ABC is forging ahead with a weekly variation. Premiering tonight at 8, "Splash" is to diving what "Dancing With the Stars" has been to another pursuit, as several famous faces attempt challenging twists and turns after leaping off boards toward the water below. Joey Lawrence and Charissa Thompson are the co-hosts.

Multiple Olympic gold medalist Greg Louganis, who will mentor the contestants, and the judges (London Olympic U.S. Gold medalist David Boudia and Australian Olympic athlete and USA Dive Team director Steve Foley) certainly know the sport, giving them a firm basis to gauge the efforts of competitors. They include basketball icon Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, comic Louie Anderson, actor Drake Bell ("Drake & Josh"), "Chelsea Lately" sidekick Chuy Bravo and extreme skier Rory Bushfield.

Also competing are actresses Nicole Eggert ("Baywatch") and Keshia Knight Pulliam ("The Cosby Show"), Detroit Lions defenseman Ndamukong Suh, reality show star Kendra Wilkinson, and Miss Alabama USA 2012 Katherine Webb, who became a household name when sportscaster Brent Musberger voiced his appreciation of her while she watched her University of Alabama quarterback boyfriend, A.J. McCarron, play recently.

The famously plus-sized Anderson considers "Splash" his incentive to start a new health regimen. He explains: "When I watched the ad for the version of this show that was done in the Netherlands, something clicked inside me and said, 'Hey, I can do that.' They had a big gentleman on that show, and I thought, 'If he could do it, maybe I can do it.'

"I've been asking the universe to send me some message to get me healthier," Anderson adds. "When you have a lifelong struggle with eating, you need something to arrest it. I'm happy to say I've already lost some weight, and I'm also getting stronger , and that's the really amazing thing. You need to be strong to make these dives."

For Webb, "Splash" is one of many opportunities that have come her way lately -- including her stint last month as a Super Bowl XLVII correspondent for the syndicated "Inside Edition" -- especially after the Musberger matter.

SEE PHOTOS50 LIers you've seen on reality TV

"I've already bypassed a lot of the others in my willingness to try new things," she says of her "Splash" effort so far. "I did a back flip off the diving board my third time in the pool, and I think that shows I'm a risk-taker."