American Ninja Warrior has been one of the most in-depth looks at obstacle course running in the world of competitive reality TV, but the show has been suffering from this major editing issue throughout its run. While many come to watch American Ninja Warrior for the show’s incredible feats of strength and the improbable abilities of the athletes, one of the supplementary pieces of the show comes in the form of its in-depth looks into their cast members. The athletes who compete on the show are typically known to viewers, as has been shown on American Ninja Warrior season 17.
With fan favorites filling up a lot of the slots throughout each episode, viewers do tend to have a stake in who’s competing and what they’ve been through since the last time they were on the show. American Ninja Warrior tends to share clip packages that update viewers on the ninja’s lives between seasons, sharing more about their personal life to build a deeper connection between the viewers and the competitors. While the packages are sometimes necessary updates, many viewers have started to find them less necessary than ever, and even feel they’re taking away from the spirit of competition.
American Ninja Warrior Focuses Too Much On Contestants’ Backstories
They Aren’t Showing Runs In Favor Of Other Ninjas’ Updates
Although American Ninja Warrior should build some sense of connection between the audience and the ninjas competing, the way the show has chosen to formulate each episode has started to become more about the personal stories of the competitors and less about their runs. Each episode of American Ninja Warrior focuses on a handful of competitors, both rookies and veterans, and typically provides a couple minutes of introduction for each ninja before they run the course. For new ninjas, the introduction shares who they are and what they’ve accomplished. For veterans, it provides updates on their lives since last season.
While the clip packages are helpful in some cases, they’re often a bit too long and too stylistic. Helping the show to craft narratives, they make sense, but they appear far too frequently on the series. American Ninja Warrior’s audience often misses out on other runs in the qualifying round because of these clip packages, as they’re seen in a truncated form after commercial breaks, with the results typically narrated by the American Ninja Warrior hosts Matt Iseman and Akbar Gbajabiamila, or co-host Zuri Hall. Missing out on these runs makes it clear that ANW isn’t valuing every course run.
American Ninja Warrior Has To Refocus On The Courses Themselves
Viewers Are Interested In The Athleticism Over Personal Information
American Ninja Warrior may not be intentional in the way they’re undervaluing some runs and showcasing others, but it’s an issue what viewers have hoped the show would address. While knowing that there are some runs that do end in loss quickly, which are fine to be recapped in a quick manner, some runs end in success and still aren’t shown during the weekly episodes. Though some of the successful runs may need to be edited down to fit into the show’s timeline and allow for others to be shown, the series should be focused on featuring runs, not updates.
Throughout American Ninja Warrior’s most recent season, competitors like Daniel Gil have gotten sections of the show dedicated to their runs, while some smaller competitors have been relegated to post-commercial commentary, or aren’t being shown at all. American Ninja Warrior should refocus itself to be more about the obstacle course runs, ensuring the athletes who compete on the show get to be seen by the audiences who watch. In providing more of the runs moving forward, American Ninja Warrior can prove that it’s always been about the athleticism of the sport, rather than crafting a narrative about their best competitors.
American Ninja Warrior airs Mondays at 8 p.m. EDT on NBC.
Source: American Ninja Warrior/Instagram