Surprised. But it shows the show still has managed to capture the nostalgia enough.
I'm almost certain season 2 getting in to air is a no brainer, but I unfortunately expect no higher results in the future!
Source: IMDb Ratings by episode (as of 04/21/2026)
So I've been watching the OG series on Prime/YouTube and am currently on season 5.
This was a real game changing season for multiple reasons:
The redesign of the set/logo
Departure of Larry Csonka/addition of Lisa Malosky
Storm, Diamond and Viper leave
Ice returns plus Hawk and Jazz are added to the roster
Elektra, Dallas, Tank and Rebel only appear sporadically as fatigue/injury replacements
The Maze and Human Cannonball are replaced by Tug of War and Whiplash
Plus we get to see Wesley "Two Scoops" Berry, Peggy Odita, Kimberly Tyler, Troy Jackson, etc compete.
This is surprising considering how vast mixed feedback it has gotten!
If the second season gets in air, they seriously need to tweak it though. Too flashy, too much backstories, too much crowd and too little actual competitions.
I know they probably have already produced it. But they can still save it by making the right things in post production phase. Make it watchable for everyone. Not for just me.
And holy FUCK does it suck. Like...what the hell is this? Literally everything about this is wrong.
I made it 10 minutes in, and I was skipping all the backstory bullshit, pointless celebrating, families in the crowd and the overall pomp and circumstance. The Miz and the Rosci chick suck as hosts, and not only does Chris Rose suck at commentating, but the camera is WAY too close, and he's not even in the building; he's commentating clearly after the fact. It's a joke.
What made the original version so great is that it was quick. Introduced the contestants with a side graphic. Name, age, weight. That was it. Events were up and then done. No cameras in the crowd watching either side celebrating for eternity. Because of that, they could have 5, 6 events, PLUS The Eliminator. Commentators actually in the building, commenting on what was happening and not attempting stupid impressions.
Everyone involved with this should be fired.
Strange that there are still THREE of the gladiators yet to be introduced after >! three first episodes !<!
What do we think each of their specialist events could be? I think Lightning will handle tackling based games i.e. Edge and Ring, while the girls, being quite tall ladies, could handle Wall, Atlasphere and Gauntlet!
Also, need much more of The Bull and Fang. They genuinely make the show, which is mid at best without them!
Don't get me wrong, I'll never tire of watching people repeatedly faceplant on the Travelator but it effectively makes the events totally pointless when it becomes a crapshoot at the end no matter who has a headstart 😂. Such a bonkers show.
As a UK viewer I have to say I was looking forward to seeing how the American reboot compared with ours. I expected a more flashy OTT show and that was absolutely the case, but three events? That's a poor do, a very poor do considering it is on a steaming platform it makes zero sense to stick to a 40 min format. The brevity of the show is massive downer. Something they need to look at for future seasons.
Wikipedia says the show filmed two seasons at the National Ice Hockey Center located in Cergy, Val-d'Oise, France, north of Paris. American Gladiators, from France.
The reboot definitely has a potential to grow to a great entertainment show.
BUT, the way the editing is done isnt just clicking it in me. The episodes are way too short for what they actually include, and there is too few actual games before The Eliminator at the end....
Add at least one more preliminary event before the Eliminator, so each contender has the equal chance at giving it a genuine go.
Dont get me wrong; the Gladiators THEMSELVES are great characters i suppose. They arent there to be joked abt. They are there to hit hard. The wrestlers also bring their background up nicely, dropping some funny promos once in a while.
While the gameplay lacks something, the graphics and gladiator introductions are fun at least. Fang's introduction before Joust is one example. IYKYK.
I dearly HOPE there will be a 2nd season commissioned, but they need still to improve massively with the editing and the length of the episodes themselves. We do need an International showdown with the UK, so hopefully they wont fumble the opportunity to expand to the greatness, although it has been a slight miss so far!
Season 1 and 2 included. Im psyched we legally have a way to watch this show now. We didnt get the most recent season but its a start! A nice surprise for us the day that the new American Gladiators starts as well!
SO upsetting. After watching the UK version for years now, I couldn't wait for the American version. And this is what we get?
Imagine if a football or basketball game was edited the way these episodes are getting edited. It never holds a camera position for longer than 2 seconds and it feels chopped up and overly-done.
They don't have confidence in their actual content, which is the COMPETITION, so they fall back on flashiness.
We have to haphazardly piece together what is happening because they want everything to seem out of this world.
-We can't appreciate the Gladiators difference in strength or speed
-We can't tell how good the competitors actually are
-We can't even make out if these events aren't staged or scripted with this awful editing
I can't stress how disappointing this is.
What an absolute joke.
I didn't like or understand the format of the new Whiplash. Previously, it was a simple and effective game. The objective was clear - the contender had to pull the gladiator out of the ring or snatch the bone; the gladiator had to last the full 30s or the contender had to let go. It tested strength (brute force pulling) and also speed/agility (in suddenly changing direction).
Now, it's not clear how you even win. You can't pull the gladiator out of the ring by going to the edge and pulling yourself, because that causes you to to step out of the ring. It seems that you have to use the bone to force the opponent out of the ring while staying inside yourself, which is awkward. Indeed, one tactic seems to be to allow the opponent to pull you out and suddenly let go so that they fall out the ring.
The judges needed to be called several times to rule on whether somebody was dragged out of the ring or fell out of the ring due to thier opponent letting go. In addition to making the game more arbitrary (as the outcome depends on the referee's judgement), it also worsens the game as a spectacle as the result is announced by the referees, rather seeing it yourself.
And I agree 100% with the other comments on three games and annoying editing. I was a massive fan of the original show (both UK and US), have enjoyed the UK reboot and was looking forward to this one, but very disappointed. Let's hope it improves so that it gets renewed.
Let's talk Episode 1.
I'm still holding my breath to see how this series unfolds. Season 1 of any new show takes some time to mature.
I will say the first two things that I wished were different were that Whiplash wasn't using a comically large bone and out of fairness, like in the original series, both contenders should be competing against the same gladiator.
Just watched the first event of episode 1 and I cant follow it at all! The camera jumps to a new angle every couple seconds. I could barely tell what was actually happening.
I'm an OG fan. The events are exciting enough! No need to cut around like an action movie. Makes it feel less real and borderline unwatchable. I'm here to see the events, not the fanfare.
Hi everyone. As the title says, does anyone have any clues or hacks about how to watch the new show in the UK. I'm a Prime subscriber and have tried using a non-UK VPN but that doesn't work. I've asked Amazon but all I get is an AI chatbot and some information that its a Rights and Distribution issue (correct) because the UK isn't in the EU (cautious about this).
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
So back in like 1991 or 1992 the AGs did a thing at Raging Waters in SoCal. I met a few of them . A couple of them were not kind at all, but Hawk was the MF man. I was super excited to meet him and he seemed happy to meet me as well. Later that day, I'm in line for a water slide and I feel someone behind me ruffle my hair. It was Hawk. I turned around and he said "Hey (my name)!" He was really a helluva dude and great to his fans.
Hawk passed away 10 years ago at 49. I hope that those that knew and/or admired him know what an absolute Gladiator this man was. RIP brother.
>!So far all 3 women that deserved to advance were eliminated because they couldn't make it up the conveyor belt at the end of the Eliminator. All 3 of them dominated the whole episode, and had huge leads on The Eliminator, only to come up short on the conveyor belt.!<
>!It seems like the bigger/heavier women have an advantage making it up the conveyor belt, as all 3 losers were smaller/lighter than the winners. So dumb that the 3 clearly most competitive women thus far have been eliminated, especially Karizma from episode 3.!<
Who you're placing your bets on?! 😁
I wanna ask you Guys who do you among The American Gladiators are the Counterparts of the British Gladiators?
Here is My choices
Steel (Jessie Godderz) & Legend (Matt Morsia) - Both Have Larger Than Life Persona's
Neon (Ayinde Warren) & Nitro (Harry Aryeetey) - Both are Energetic
Mayhem (Fessy Shafaat) & Viper (Quang Luong) - Both have a bad temper persona but I could be wrong.
Lightning (Joseph Hall) & Steel (Zack George) - I just love their good vibes
To remind everyone here are the list of Gladiators and their real names
Female American Gladiators
Blaze (Abigail Lay)
Voltage (Dani Means)
Crush (Dani Speegle)
Striker (Emily Nelson)
Supernova(Jessica Roden)
Hurricane (Kailey Latimer)
Empire (Lu Faustin)
Huntress (Sydney Hunter)
Male American Gladiators
Neon (Ayinde Warren)
Ace (Drew Aggouras)
The Bull (Eric Bugenhagen)
Mayhem (Fessy Shafaat)
Eagle (Jason "Jay" Peele)
Steel (Jessie Godderz)
Lightning (Joseph Hall)
Fang (Michael Wardlow)
Female UK Gladiators
Athena (Karenjeet Kaur Bains)
Comet (Ella-Mae Rayner)
Cyclone (Lystus Ebosele)
Diamond (Livy Sheldon)
Dynamite (Emily Steel)
Electro (Jade Packer)
Fire (Montell Douglas)
Fury (Jodie Ounsley)
Sabre (Sheli J. McCoy)
Male UK Gladiators
Apollo (Alex Gray)
Bionic (Matty Campbell)
Giant (Jamie Bigg)
Hammer (Tom Wilson)
Legend (Matt Morsia)
Nitro (Harry Aryeetey)
Phantom (Toby Olubi)
Steel (Zack George)
Viper (Quang Luong)