January 22, 2008
Beginning on February 4, American Gladiators will expand to 90 minutes. On February 4 and February 11, Gladiators will start the night off at 8pm on NBC, run for 90 minutes, and will be followed by 90-minute versions of Deal or No Deal. This is in anticipation of Gladiators' first season finale. The two-hour finale is set for Sunday, February 17. It will begin at the special time of 7pm, and will be followed by the tw- hour TV movie/backdoor pilot for the reincarnation of Knight Rider. Medium, which is going to be pre-empted on January 28 thanks to the State of the Union Address, will not return until February 18, where it will begin a six week run of new episodes.
January 18, 2008
Who could have predicted this, right? If you were to tell me six months ago that NBC would revive my childhood favorite American Gladiators, make it a prime time event and that it would become a major hit for a network in desperate need of such a hit, I would've told you to put down the bong and take a nap. It's astonishing, really, that American Gladiators, the formerly syndicated late-night cult hit featuring 'roided up beasts beating the crap out of Joe Six-Pack in a series of contrived athletic events, is now receiving over ten million viewers per episode in prime time. In some ways, it makes me really happy. In others, it makes me question where this country is going. Mostly, it's just nice to have Assault back in my life. On the heels of Gladiators' ratings success, NBC has already green lit a second season that will air this summer in the weeks leading up to NBC's coverage of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Along with NBC pillaging the country music reality series Nashville Star from sister network USA, the Peacock has designated their summer programming as “NBC's All-American Summer.”
January 15, 2008
On Monday, Craig Plastis, Executive Vice President of NBC's Alternative Programming Development and Specials, announced that the network has picked up a second season of its latest reality series, American Gladiators. The show premiered on Sunday, January 6, and has continued to draw in strong ratings for the network.
"American Gladiators has delivered everything we were hoping for and has come out of the gate as a top contender," Plestis said. "We couldn't be more pleased with the audience reaction to this top-notch show all ages can enjoy."
January 14, 2008
After the successful premiere of NBC's American Gladiators and the promising debut in its regular time slot last Monday, the competitive series will attempt to flex its ratings with tonight's new episode.
Read on to find out what's in store for the third episode of American Gladiators.
January 9, 2008
In an unexpected move, NBC has decided to offer its owned and affiliated stations a second run of the first three episodes of its latest reality TV revival of American Gladiators for non-primetime broadcast on the weekends of January 19-20, January 26-27 and February 2-3.
The idea behind the network's decision comes from the recent NBC Affiliate Board meeting, which aims to increase the new show's audience sampling.
January 7, 2008
American Gladiators is what it is. Cheesy fun, with underdog contestants, awkward interviews and sometimes gripping action. After tuning in to the two hour premiere of the new American Gladiators (the original closed down shop 13 years ago) last night, one thing was clear – the show is almost exactly like the original. Format is the same, most of the challenges are the same, and it's as corny as it was in 1988. It's amazing what the writers' strike has turned prime time TV into: a series that was on Saturdays at midnight in syndication is now a prime time event. That being said, I wouldn't be surprised if Gladiators becomes a significant hit in this current reality TV-infused network landscape. The show has its merits - anything that involves an excess of tight spandex usually does.
December 18, 2007
Following NBC's official announcement of the fresh batch of warriors, consisting of six men and women, to battle on American Gladiators, the news about their contenders are gradually surfacing the media. One of the first contenders to grace the ultimate “David and Goliath battle” is professional skateborder Chad Knight, who is expected to appear on the premiere episode airing on Sunday, January 6.
December 11, 2007
Following the release of the names of most of the male and female participants on NBC's upcoming primetime revival of American Gladiators, new details about the identities of the remaining male gladiators have surfaced the internet.
As reported last week, five male gladiators have already been named, which leaves Toa and Hammer as the unnamed gladiator and the unnamed alternate gladiator, respectively. Now, curious fans can get to know the persons behind these aliases.