American Gladiators is an American competition television program that aired weekly in syndication from September 1989 to May 1996. The series matched a cast of amateur athletes against each other, as well as against the show's own "gladiators", in contests of strength and agility. Following the success of American Gladiators, other countries began to produce their own versions of the show. It finished its run in 1996 after seven seasons, but the show has been revived with the 2008 and 2026 versions aired.
Background and history The concept was originally created in 1982 by Johnny C. Ferraro and Dann Carr. Carr gathered the Gladiators and hosted the show, and Ferraro financed and produced the original competition at Erie Tech High School in Erie, Pennsylvania so Ferraro could have the event on film so as to shop the new creation. In 1983 Ferraro financed, developed and packaged the American Gladiators as a movie project. In 1984 Carr sold his interest in a literary purchase to Flor-Jon Films. Ferraro had been the main driving force behind the American Gladiators brand since 1982. In 1987, Flor-Jon Films then licensed the unscripted rights to The Samuel Goldwyn Company (now a part of MGM). Ferraro is the sole creator of the 1994 kids' version of the series, Gladiators 2000 (a.k.a. G2).
An all-star, one-off primetime celebrity special, Superstar American Gladiators, aired on ABC on May 4, 1995.
Flor-Jon Films, Inc and the Samuel Goldwyn Co in 1993 granted a license to Chariot Entertainment in an effort to launch a live American Gladiators show on the Las Vegas Strip, but the president of Chariot became mired in a securities fraud prosecution, through no fault of Flor-Jon Films or The Samuel Goldwyn Co, and the live show went unrealized.
2008 revival
MGM Television, the successor company to the Samuel Goldwyn Company, during the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike, sold to NBC a prime-time revival that was closer to the British version than the American, with hosts Hulk Hogan and Laila Ali, and Van Earl Wright the play-by-play voice. That version lasted two seasons.
Potential revivals In July 2014, it was reported that American Ninja Warrior producer Arthur Smith had been pitching a reboot of American Gladiators with MGM Television, which would have had a "darker" and more "serious" post-apocalyptic theme inspired by works such as The Hunger Games. He explained, "it's a little less red, white and blue. And there's no spandex. Spandex has left the building."
In August 2018, it was reported that MGM was pitching another revival with actors Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg as executive producers; it did not make it to air. In September 2021, Deadline Hollywood reported that MGM Television had partnered with professional wrestling promotion WWE on co-producing a potential revival, which would have featured WWE talent.
In April 2024, it was reported that Johnny Ferraro had signed Range Sports as a representative to develop new "TV, film, attractions, merchandise and live events" within the American Gladiators franchise, in a decision that was accelerated by the success of a BBC reboot of the British version that premiered earlier in the year. In June 2024, it was reported that the reboot had been ordered by Amazon Prime Video, produced by MGM Television (MGM had been acquired by Amazon in 2021) in association with Ferraro's Flor-Jon Films. On May 12, 2025, MGM announced that WWE performer The Miz would serve as host. On June 12, 2025, it was announced that Rocsi Diaz, Chris Rose and Maurice Jones-Drew will become his sidekicks.
Competition American Gladiators featured four competitors, two men and two women, in most episodes. The players, referred to throughout the series as "contenders", faced off in a series of physical games against each other and against a cast of costumed athletes looking to prevent them from succeeding (the titular "Gladiators"). Each match saw the competitors trying to advance in a tournament, with one man and one woman crowned champion at its conclusion.
Initial tournament format When the series premiered in the fall of 1989, ten men and ten women were selected to participate with several more chosen to be alternates in case one or more of the contenders had to withdraw due to injury.
The tournament was spread out over the course of twelve episodes. The first five episodes served as the preliminary round, and the winners of those five matches automatically advanced to the quarterfinals of the tournament. To round the field out at eight, the three highest scoring runners-up would be given wild card berths in the quarterfinals. From this point forward, the tournament became single-elimination, and any alternates (if needed) would be taken from the pool of defeated contenders.
Any contender that advanced beyond the quarterfinals was guaranteed to receive a prize. Reaching the semifinals of the tournament guaranteed that a contender would receive at least $2,500 in cash. A finalist was guaranteed to leave with at least $5,000, and the winner of the tournament would take home $10,000 for his/her efforts.
Originally, as mentioned multiple times over the course of the first series of episodes, the male and female contenders who won the tournament would become Gladiators themselves for any subsequent competitions. However, as noted by male tournament winner Brian Hutson in a 2020 interview with the Columbus Dispatch, the producers decided against this because both he and Tracy Phillips, the female winner, were both significantly undersized when compared to the troupe of Gladiators they had just finished facing. In addition, the response the initial series of episodes was positive, and the producers decided to conduct a second tournament to begin airing immediately after the conclusion of the first.
Beginning in early 1990, an additional twenty men and women began competing in the second tournament. As before, the five winning contestants automatically advanced along with the three highest scoring runners-up. The male and female winners of this tournament would face Hutson and Phillips in one final match, dubbed the Grand Championship, with the winners becoming the overall season champion. Those contenders would receive additional prizes (see below).
From then on until 1994, two tournaments per season were conducted with each comprising half of the season and the Grand Championship concluding the season. The second season used the same format as the first, while the format was changed for season three and again for season five.
Changes
Season 3–4
For these two seasons, a total of twenty-four men and twenty-four women were selected to compete. Six preliminary matchups were played, with the winners advancing to the quarterfinals; unlike before, the preliminary round was single-elimination.
The six remaining contenders on each side competed in three quarterfinal matches, with the winners automatically advancing. To even out the semifinal field at four, the highest scoring contender among the losing quarterfinalists advanced as the lone wild card in the competition. The two semifinal winners would then face each other for a berth in the Grand Championship.
Season 5 32 contenders competed over the course of the season.
For the first time, there were no wildcard spots used in the tournament. Instead, the preliminary round was used for the purposes of seeding, as all eight of the competitors on each side were guaranteed a spot in the quarterfinals, known in this season as the elimination round. After the preliminaries, the contenders were seeded 1-8 based on their performance. The tournament then proceeded as normal.
Season 6–7
The tournament for season six was held over the course of the entire season. A total of 64 competitors were selected, and the format used was similar to the one employed on the British version of the program. In addition to winning, each contender hoped to have one of the four highest score totals of the season; the contenders that did so would face each other in the semi-finals, with the winners facing off for the Grand Championship.
Season seven's tournament was conducted as one single-elimination tournament with a total of sixteen contenders. The Grand Champions for this season would be granted automatic berths in the second installment of International Gladiators to be held at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, England, which was where the British series was staged and which had also played host to the first edition of the tournament. The second international competition would comprise most of the second half of season seven, and ultimately would conclude the series for American audiences.
The set During the first half of the first season, the show's set resembled that of an ancient Roman gladiatorial arena, with the stands raised high above the ground. For the second half, the show's set was changed into a modern indoor sports arena style. An onscreen clock was added in the second half of the season, which allowed viewers to see how much time a contender had left to complete an event.
The hooded figures that officiated the games were replaced by veteran NFL referee Bob McElwee (No. 95). Starting in Season 2, former Pacific-10 football referee Larry Thompson became the referee. In case of ruling explanations, a host would interview the referee for an explanation.
Production base The first two seasons were recorded on Stage 27 at Universal Studios Hollywood. Beginning with the third season and continuing for the rest of the run, the show relocated production to the CBS Studio Center in Studio City, Los Angeles. The studio used to tape the show was referred to on air as “Gladiator Arena”.
Events
In each episode, the contenders competed in a series of events. Six to eight events were played per show, varying from season to season. Most of the events tested the contenders' physical abilities against the superior size and strength of the Gladiators, who were mostly pro or amateur bodybuilders and former football players. In most events, the contenders were not directly pitted against each other, but against the Gladiators. In each event, the contenders earned points based on their performance. In the first half of season one, the points in each event were given in minimum 5-point increments, with 100 points usually the maximum in every event. After the first half of the first season, single point increments were used, with most events offering a 10 point maximum.
Some events had objectives where each contender had to perform a certain task against the Gladiator, while the Gladiator was trying to do the same thing to them (such as attempting to knock each other off the platforms in Joust). In these types of events, where a clear winner could emerge, contenders were usually awarded ten points for defeating the Gladiator and five points if the event was a draw. No points were awarded to the contender if the Gladiator won.
Other events had no maximum score, with the objective being to perform a task as many times as possible (such as scoring goals in Powerball) within the set time limit for the event. Points in this case would be awarded based on how many times the contender accomplished the objective during the event.
Starting with the fourth season, the final event before The Eliminator, was labeled "Crunch Time", and was played for more points.
Season six used a format in which events were referred to as "rounds" due to more than one game played per round. Three games per show were played by both males and females and three were split between the males and females, two each in a round. In split rounds the men went first. Including the Eliminator, ten events appeared in each episode, and the lineup of single and split rounds changed during the season. The sole exception to this format was in the semi-finals and grand championship, in which each round was a single event.