'American Ninja Warrior' renewed for Season 12, production set to begin in spring
NBC has renewed the high-energy reality competition show, 'American Ninja Warrior', for a ninth season on the network (12th overall) and has said that the show will return in summer 2020, with the exact date to be announced later. Production for the new season will begin in the spring.
The sports entertainment competition is hosted by Matt Iseman and Akbar Gbajabiamila along with sideline reporter Zuri Hall. The ninth season will be shot in three cities — Los Angeles (at the Universal Studios backlot), Washington, DC, (at the DC Armory) and St Louis (at The Dome at America's Center). The national finals will take place in Las Vegas as usual.
The show first premiered on the now-defunct cable channel G4 and airs now on NBC with encore episodes showing on NBCSN. Last summer, the show drew in good ratings for the network, averaging a 1.1 rating in adults 18-49 and 5.4 million viewers overall in Live+7 Nielsens. Digital and linear delayed viewing boosted those numbers to a 2.0 rating in 18-49 and 9.2 million viewers.
The show follows competitors as they complete series of obstacle courses of increasing difficulty in various cities across the United States, in hopes of advancing to the national finals on the Las Vegas Strip and becoming the season's 'American Ninja Warrior'. The winner will take home a grand prize of $1 million. If no winner is crowned, the competitor to go farthest on the course of the national finals will take home $100,000.
Last season, veteran Drew Drechsel was crowned 'American Ninja Warrior'. Drechsel has competed on nine seasons of the show to date and serves as the captain for Team USA on the show’s annual 'USA Vs the World' telecast.
The new season will bring about some changes to the course and the gameplay, including new rules and never-before-seen obstacles, according to NBC.
'American Ninja Warrior' is based on the Japanese program, 'Sasuke' from the Tokyo Broadcasting System Television, which is now in its 37th season. 'American Ninja Warrior' is executive produced by A Smith & Co. Productions’ founders Arthur Smith and Kent Weed. Brian Richardson, Anthony Storm and Kristen Stabile also serve as executive producers.