I can remember it like it was yesterday, I was 11 years old and this new TV show came on called American Gladiators and I was hooked instantly. The show was unlike anything I had seen before. As a huge wrestling and football fan, this fit right in with what I wanted to see on my TV (besides cartoons that is). The original American Gladiators show ran from September 1989 through May of 1996. As a kid I remember looking at the Gladiators thinking they were larger than life characters battling these contestants trying to win the prize and it was TV gold for me. Now we are able to get the behind the scenes look at the making of the show as ESPN will have a 30 for 30 tw0-part series on the show.
ESPN will debut the next installment in the Peabody and Emmy award-winning 30 for 30 series, “The American Gladiators Documentary,” a two-part film directed by Ben Berman (“The Amazing Johnathan Documentary”), Tuesday, May 30, at 8:30p.m. ET and Wednesday, May 31, at 9p.m. ET. The film takes an unconventional approach to the epic tale of the famed reality-competition show. What begins as a traditional sports documentary soon gives way to bigger themes of greed, divergent narratives, and ultimately questions how history itself is written. The film, also executive produced by VICE Studios, will be made available on ESPN+ immediately after its premiere, along with the rest of the 30 for 30 library.
From 1989 to 1996, American Gladiators was one of the most popular syndicated programs in television, a competition show that predated the reality TV era but used many of the same techniques to attract viewers. Every week, “amateur” contestants would go up against a cast of “professional” gladiators in a range of physical competitions, setting up David versus Goliath matchups that were popular with big television audiences but also earned considerable criticism for being “crash TV”. The show’s cast and crew look back on it all, with their memories complicated by regret over what it did to many of the gladiators’ lives. And as the behind-the-scenes story of the series is told, from the beginning of the film, the central, most compelling character of the story is clear: Johnny Ferraro, the creator of American Gladiators, a former Elvis impersonator from Erie, PA who came to Hollywood with a dream of putting the show on screen and ended up with a singular success.
“We’re very excited to finally get this story out into the world, and you can trust that it’ll take you to some weird places,” said Berman. “Come for the 90’s nostalgia, but stay for the Elvis impersonators, the burps, the mental torment, the murder plots, aliens, and of course the undeniable atrocity of America’s dark history. And sports. It’s got some sports too.”
The film features original interviews with Johnny Ferraro, Deron McBee (‘Malibu’), Michael Horton (‘Gemini’), Lynn ‘Red’ Williams (‘Sabre’), the late William Billy Smith (‘Thunder’) and Salina Bartunek (‘Elektra’). The documentary is executive produced by ESPN Films and VICE Studios and produced by Ben Berman, Kirk Johnson, Russell Wayne Groves, Danny Gabai and Andrew Freston.
I just remember watching Assault, where the Gladiator was up high with a tennis ball gun shooting them out at ridiculous speeds at contestants while the contestant was trying to hit a target above them with some terrible weapons like a Nerf football rocket launcher. Or playing tackle football in Powerball, where the contestant tried to put a ball in a cylinder only to have the Gladiators try and stuff them. Where you a fan of American Gladiators? Who was your favorite Gladiator? What was your favorite event? Will you be watching the 30 for 30? Let us know in the comments below or hit us up on our Twitter account by clicking here. As always stay tuned to Culture Splat for more content coming your way!
