“American Ninja Warrior” has been picked up for a sixth season, TheWrap has learned. Matt Iseman will return as host for the next season, along with co-host Akbar Gbaja-Biamila and sideline reporter Kristine Leahy.
The NBC series has been a summer staple for the network, providing a solid Monday night base, with an average live-plus-seven-day audience of 7.2 million and a 2.1 rating in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic.
Originally based on a Japanese format, the show bowed in 2009 on G4, NBC’s gaming-centric cable channel which no longer exists, having been replaced by Esquire Network. In 2012, “American Ninja Warrior” made the leap to NBC proper, though encores air on Esquire.
For those who haven’t seen the clips of insane physical feats that have gone viral, contestants must complete obstacle courses of ever-increasing difficulty on the way to compete in the Las Vegas Finals for $1 million. Only one person in the American version’s history has claimed the prize.
Particularly in the fitness community, the show has proved wildly popular. The show received 70,000 submissions last spring, hot on the heels of viral sensation Kacy Catanzaro being the first woman to make it to the finals. The show also received its first Emmy nomination, for Reality-Competition Program, this year.
The series is executive-produced by A. Smith & Co. Productions’ founders Arthur Smith and Kent Weed (“Hell’s Kitchen,” “Spartan: Ultimate Team Challenge” and “That Awkward Game Show”) along with Brian Richardson and Anthony Storm.
The Season 5 finale of “American Ninja Warrior” airs tonight at 8/7c on NBC.