Australian Ninja Warrior — BrandWiki

Australian Ninja Warrior

genre	Family fun
creator	Ushio Higuchi
presenter	Leila McKinnon Jim Courier Will McMahon Woody Whitelaw
country	Australia
language	English
num seasons	6
num episodes	57
location	Cockatoo Island, New South Wales (2017–2018) Spotswood, Victoria (2019) Melbourne Showgrounds (2020) Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney Olympic Park (2021–2022)
runtime	1 hour and 20 minutes (without ads)
company	Endemol Shine Australia
channel	Nine Network
first aired	July 9, 2017
last aired	July 11, 2022
related	Sasuke Australian Ninja Warrior vs. The World American Ninja Warrior Ninja Warrior UK

Australian Ninja Warrior was a sports entertainment competition spin-off of the Japanese television series Sasuke which premiered on 9 July 2017 on the Nine Network.[1] It features hundreds of competitors attempting to complete series of obstacle courses of increasing difficulty, in hopes of advancing to the finals and becoming the season's "Australian Ninja Warrior."

On 15 September 2022, the series was cancelled by Nine and wouldn't return in 2023.[2][3]

History

The series was announced in 2016 with applications open until 9 September 2016, with filming between November & December 2016 on Cockatoo Island.[4] The series was officially confirmed at Nine's upfronts in November 2016 with Rebecca Maddern announced as host.[5]

Cast and seasons

Season 1 (2017)

The first season premiered on 9 July 2017, on the Nine Network and concluded on 25 July 2017. The season was filmed on Cockatoo Island, Sydney where 50 ninjas ran in each of the six qualifying heats, with the top 18 from each heat moving on to the Semi-finals. From the three semi finals, the top 7 competitors moved on to the Grand Final. 9 Competitors finished stage one of the Grand Final, but none completed stage two.

Season 2 (2018)

The second season premiered on 8 July 2018, on the Nine Network and concluded on 31 July 2018. The season was filmed on Cockatoo Island, Sydney. In this season there was a total of over 300 ninjas, each was placed into one of the six heats, with the top 20 in each heat advancing to the semi-finals. In each of the four semi-finals, the top 8 competitors continued to the Grand Final. In the Grand Final, stage one was completed by 24 competitors, though none of them completed stage two.

Season 3 (2019)

The third season premiered on 8 July 2019 on the Nine Network. The season was filmed in Spotswood, Victoria; and featured 200 ninjas competing across five heats.[38] The top 18 ninjas in each heat advanced to the semi-finals, and the top ten competitors in each of the three semi-finals qualified for the Grand Final.[38]

In the Grand Final, there were eleven ninjas who successfully completed the first stage of the course. Five competitors progressed to stage three, however all failed to complete this stage. Despite all five ninjas failing at the same obstacle, Charlie Robbins was deemed to be the "Last Ninja Standing" and awarded the $100,000 prize as he was the fastest ninja to reach this point. However, the series did not have an official "winner", as to win one must conquer the mountain. This season was the first time on Australian Ninja Warrior that any contestant had qualified for the third stage of the course.

Season 4 (2020)

The fourth season premiered on 26 July 2020, on the Nine Network. The season was filmed at Melbourne Showgrounds, Melbourne. In this season there was a total of over 140 ninjas, each was placed into one of the four heats, with the top 16 in each heat advancing to the semi-finals. In both of the two semi-finals, the top 12 competitors continued to the Grand Final where eight ninjas successfully completed the first stage of the course, four completed the second stage and three completed the third stage. Ben Polson was the fastest of the remaining three and was able to climb Mount Midoriyama in 25.56, earning him the title as the first legitimate winner of Australian Ninja Warrior and received $400,000.[39]

Season 5 (2021)

The fifth season premiered on 20 June 2021, on the Nine Network. The season was filmed at Sydney Olympic Park, New South Wales. In this season there was a total of over 200 ninjas, each was placed into one of the four heats, with the top 20 in each heat advancing to the Semi-finals and with each winner of the Power Tower advancing straight to the Grand Final or getting a second chance advantage and winning $200,000.

Season 6 (2022)

The sixth season premiered on 27 June 2022, on the Nine Network. The season was filmed at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney Olympic Park, New South Wales. In this season there was a total of 75 ninjas, each was placed into one of the four heats, with the top 18 in each heat advancing to the semi-finals and with each winner of the Power Pool gaining an advantage in the semi-final.

Specials

ANW: State of Origin

Announced in August 2020, a two-part series set to premiere on 16 August 2020, will see the best four ninjas from each state competing against each other on a new custom built obstacle courses with the winning team receiving $100,000.[54][55][56]

The special will have 20 returning contestants split into four groups from five different states, the power tower will also return for both parts.[57][58]

Ben Poulson of Team Western Australia won the special coming head to head against Ashlin Herbert of Team Victoria in the final round, the team received $100,000 giving all four team contestants $25,000 each.[59]

Courses

Night 1

On Night 1, the same course is used in the first three rounds, but with different number of members (4, 2, solo) on the course that comprises 9 obstacles.

At the end of each stage, the fastest team advance straight to Day 2. At the end of the three stages, the two slowest team select a member compete in the power tower. The slowest is eliminated.

Snake Run (1st leg, 1st leg)
Propeller Bar to Single Rope Swing (1st, 1st)
6m Spinning Log (2nd, 1st)
Salmon Ladder to 2 Flying Shelves (2nd, 1st)
2 Basket Tosses (3rd, 1st)
Warped Wall (3rd, 2nd)
Barrel Rolls (4th, 2nd)
Spider Jump (4th, 2nd)
Chimney Sweep with Double Door at the top to buzzer (4th, 2nd)

Night 2

Night 1

On Night 1, the same course is used in the first three rounds, but with different number of members (4, 2, solo) on the course that comprises 9 obstacles.

At the end of each stage, the fastest team advance straight to Day 2. At the end of the three stages, the two slowest team select a member compete in the power tower. The slowest is eliminated.

Snake Run (1st leg, 1st leg)
Propeller Bar to Single Rope Swing (1st, 1st)
6m Spinning Log (2nd, 1st)
Salmon Ladder to 2 Flying Shelves (2nd, 1st)
2 Basket Tosses (3rd, 1st)
Warped Wall (3rd, 2nd)
Barrel Rolls (4th, 2nd)
Spider Jump (4th, 2nd)
Chimney Sweep with Double Door at the top to buzzer (4th, 2nd)

Night 2

With South Australia eliminated, four remaining teams will battle in three rounds, where one team is eliminated at the end of each round.

Round 1

In round 1, the team will be split into pairs, and each pair run course A of 6 obstacles. The team with the fewest obstacles cleared or the slowest time to finish all 12 obstacles will be eliminated. Western Australia had Sam Goodall running the course twice, but in different order because Zed Colback is medically eliminated due to migrane.

Rope Jungle (1st)
Spin Hopper
2x Bar Hops
Double Squirrel (2nd)
Double Ferris Wheel
20/30/40 kg Wall Lifts

Ratings

Australian Ninja Warrior: Record Breakers

In 2021, the TV special follows a day after the broadcast of Grand Final. This was also the final show that Ben Fordham would be hosting.[64] It is so called as Australian National and Guinness World Records (previously held in the American series) for each obstacle would be attempted, and AU$15,000 for each obstacle conquered, including the World Record for the highest warped wall (5.8m), the highest salmon ladder (where the final 35m Mt. Midoriama climb is replaced by a 29-rung salmon ladder climb), Ferris wheel race between Olivia Vivian and Andrea Ha, the first woman to ever made it up the warped wall.