It’s impossible to watch American Ninja Warrior and not smile. Now entering its 17th season, the NBC competition series has a legion of dedicated fans who have followed and tracked these ninja athletes throughout their careers. After Vance Walker’s historic back-to-back wins in Seasons 15 and 16, the show is getting back to basics. Mount Midoriyama may be gone, but the series is bringing back iconic old school obstacles like the quad steps, log grip, block run, spin cycle, and more to test a new generation of Ninjas and challenge the muscle memory of the vets. “As we celebrate the past, we’re looking towards the future,” said host Akbar Gbaja-Biamila.
Gbaja-Biamila, who has been with the show since 2013, is in awe of the “evolution [of] these Ninjas” who “just continuously getting better year after year.” Because of their skills, American Ninja Warrior changed its format this year to turn its National Finals into a bracket-style tournament of side-by-side and head-to-head races. “The show has gone from being a TV show, to becoming a sport, to establishing itself as a culture that brings people together,” said Gbaja-Biamila. And Gbaja-Biamila is not wrong. Thanks to the growing sport’s global popularity, Ninja will be part of the modern Pentathlon in the 2028 Olympics.
Matt Iseman, who joined the show back in 2010, knows that Ninja is a home for everyone, but especially those people with “athletic desires” who didn’t gravitate toward “team sports for whatever reason.” Iseman pointed out that a lot of Ninjas were “homeschooled” and “work with charities.” These athletics had to learn how to be “responsible and disciplined,” which translates to their own Ninja training. “It’s exciting to be a part of this community and to watch this generation of Ninjas grow into good people,” said Iseman. “It speaks volumes about the athletes who came before them who fostered this community into something special.” Iseman noted that he feels “lucky and proud” every day that he’s in the host tower.
Zuri Hall, who started as a sideline reporter in 2019 and is now a host with Gbaja-Biamila and Iseman, loves American Ninja Warrior because its competitors remind her of the people she grew up around in Ohio. “I really take a lot of pride in Midwestern values that stress community, family, faith, loyalty, love, and kindness,” explained Hall. These are qualities that all Ninjas embody. “American Ninja Warrior was the first space in Hollywood for me that really felt like home,” said Hall. “To be able to come together every year with these guys and this Ninja community is such a gift.”
An outsider could question what keeps audiences coming back year after year, and the answer is easy: it’s the people. In times when turning on the news can be a scary and frustrating experience, American Ninja Warrior offers viewers and competitors a safe place to celebrate who they are and to push themselves to be better than they ever thought they could be.
American Ninja Warrior airs Monday nights at 8/7c on NBC