American Ninja Warrior has become one of the most entertaining shows on television, as elite athletes come from far and wide to attempt completing obstacle courses that are all but impossible. It has made headlines all throughout this summer's fifth season as more female athletes than ever before have made their mark, and all the competitors have faced challenges brand new to American Ninja Warrior. Now, as the show generates more buzz and higher ratings, a sixth season has officially been ordered.
NBC has scored record highs with American Ninja Warrior in Season 5, beating out its own records in total viewership from its first four years of competition. Episodes average 7.2 million viewers and an impressive 2.1 rating, and the show draws numbers that have consistently ranked it in the top ten of summer series on ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC. Folks in all of the key ratings demographics seem to be tuning in on a weekly basis to see which athletes flop and which athletes finish. 2016 has also seen American Ninja Warrior score its first Emmy nomination, and it's currently in the running for Outstanding Reality Show Competition.
American Ninja Warrior actually ran for three seasons before being picked up for a primetime NBC slot. It began as a takeoff of the Japanese program Sasuke and aired on the cable channel G4, which later became Esquire Network. The sixth season on NBC will technically be the ninth overall. Episodes currently debut in a primetime slot on NBC before being re-aired in encore presentations on Esquire.
The show certainly won't run out of hopefuls to win the title of "American Ninja Warrior" any time soon. The number of submissions to compete on NBC in Season 5 exceeded 70,000. Athletes traveled to Los Angeles, Atlanta, Indianapolis, Oklahoma City, and Philadelphia to try their hand at the insane obstacle courses.
Season 5 has been especially notable from past years, and not just because of the T-Rex that did his best to complete the Atlanta course. Female competitors made it farther than ever before in the quest to take home the top prize. Supergirl stuntwoman Jessie Graff wowed audiences everywhere with her performances, which were made all the better by the superhero costumes she wore as she tore through courses. Check out her epic National Finals run for a look at some of what Season 5 had to offer:
The renewal for Season 6 comes as great news now that Season 5 is on the verge of concluding. The season finale airs tonight at 8 p.m. ET on NBC. Last year was the first time ever that anybody actually completed the final Ninja Warrior course; we'll have to wait and see if anybody manages again this year. Check out our fall TV premiere schedule to see what you'll be able to watch after Season 5 ends.
