After Vance Walker‘s historic back-to-back wins in Seasons 15 and 16, American Ninja Warrior is pulling out all the stops for Season 17! Hosts Matt Iseman and Akbar Gbajabiamila are back to call the action, aided by their intrepid sideline reporter Zuri Hall, as the ninjas take on round after round of challenging obstacles, intense courses, and high-stakes competition. For the first time ever, qualifiers, semifinals and the national finals will take place in Las Vegas, and fan favorites Jessie Graff, Daniel Gil, Abby Clark, RJ Roman, Isabella Folsom, Nacssa Garemore and more return to compete in a new bracket-style tournament. What remains the same is that only one athlete will walk away with the grand prize and the crown of American Ninja Warrior.
If you think all that sounds exciting, you will enjoy this exclusive first look at the upcoming season. The trailer begins a montage of ninjas, including Taylor Greene and Isaiah Thomas, tackling the course. “This place is filled with ninjas who have overcome real obstacles,” declares one ninja. “This is an opportunity for people to break the mold, to be somebody they thought they could never be,” says another.
After more footage of ninjas dominating obstacles, we see ninja/parkour athlete/YouTuber Bob Reese moments after he hits a buzzer. “If you work hard enough, you can achieve anything,” says Reese to Iseman and Gbajabiamila. “That’s what Ninja Warrior is all about,” replies Gbajabiamila. The camera then cuts to Megan Rowe, a beloved ninja who underwent two knee replacement surgeries to compete in Season 17. As we see her move from using a walker to running up the warped wall, her voiceover kicks in. “Going from not being able to walk to walking up on that stage…that’s the win.”
The music swells as more of the ninjas we love—Joe Moravsky, Ryan Stratis, Ginny MacColl and more—tackle the course. We even see Mady Howard’s son cheering her on from the sidelines! The trailer wraps up with a shocking reveal: male and female ninjas will face off against each other on the course in side by side races. “It’s the finals like we’ve never seen before,” observes Gbajabiamila. “Women racing men? Bring it on,” adds Addy Herman confidently. The trailer ends with one last montage of various ninjas conquering the course and achieving glory.
American Ninja Warrior Season 17 premieres Monday, June 2 at 8/7c on NBC