‘American Ninja Warrior’ goes all-in on Las Vegas
“American Ninja Warrior” originated on cable’s G4 as a way to stand out in an era when there were far more channels than anyone knew what do with. It’s been running so long, some of this season’s competitors weren’t yet born when it launched.
For its 17th season, debuting at 8 p.m. Monday on NBC, the obstacle course competition managed to mark another series first: Every run, including the qualifiers, took place in Las Vegas.
“We spent almost three weeks in Vegas,” host Matt Iseman says. “And it felt like Ninja-palooza, because virtually all the athletes were there.”
Aside from the COVID-tightened 2020 season, Las Vegas has hosted the finals — and only the finals — every year since 2012. When this season was filmed in September, it was just the second time all the action took place in one location.
“It heightened the competition, because everyone is on top of each other, and they’re not spread out from city to city to city,” host Akbar Gbajabiamila says of the change. “They’re sharing notes. They’re all getting ready.”
The experience reminded him of the Olympic Village, where he and Iseman hosted coverage from Tokyo in 2021.
“There was such a vibe, and we just felt the energy,” Iseman says. “And it was so cool seeing all the athletes kind of feeling out this new season and being in Vegas. … Akbar and I just kept slapping each other when we were up in the host tower. We just kept going, ‘I think this is the best season we’ve ever done.’ ”
Several fan-favorite competitors were brought back, with Iseman singling out amputee firefighter Gary Weiland and Ryan Stratis, who took part in the first 11 seasons. William “The Spartan” Brown, he says, “hadn’t been out for more than a decade and still looked awesome.” And Rob Moravsky, known as “The Adonis,” turned in what Iseman called “one of the all-time greatest appearances on ‘Ninja Warrior.’ ”
Obstacles that hadn’t been used in years were revived to create new challenges for the competitors, who range in age from 15 to 72-year-old phenom Ginny Maccoll.
“Some of these Ninjas grew up watching some of these legends, and they saw some of these obstacles,” Gbajabiamila says. “But for them, it was the very first time they got to compete on these obstacles. … So that was pretty cool, just to see their eyes open up and them get giddy.”
Also new this year, the national finals feature a bracket-style tournament and head-to-head races.
“We’re grateful to the Las Vegas community for embracing us from the start,” A. Smith & Co. executive producer Anthony Storm, who oversees the show, said in a statement. “The energy and spectacle of the city perfectly match the electricity of our courses. There’s no better backdrop for our Ninjas and this competition.”
Contact Christopher Lawrence at clawrence@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4567.
