American Ninja Warrior is an action-packed series that follows competitors as they tackle a series of challenging obstacle courses in both city qualifying and city finals rounds across the country. Those that successfully complete the finals course in their designated region move on to the national finals round in Las Vegas, with the winner taking home a grand prize of $1 million. Recently kicking off a new season on CTV, host Akbar Gbajabiamila gave the inside scoop on what it’s like to deal with an all-night production schedule and what the courses are like (even though his contract stipulates not trying them).
CraveOnline: Tell us about the fourth season of American Ninja Warrior and what it’s like hosting the show.
Akbar Gbajabiamila: It’s very cool. I came in on an audition and I was already a fan of the show. I came in and did a read with Matt Iseman, and we hit it off. I got a call a few weeks later and since then I’ve been committed to it. I have a genuine passion and a lot of respect for the competitors on the battle ground.
Have you ever tried the courses?
I’ve done some of them. In Houston two years ago I got to the third obstacle… until I got caught and they were like, “No, no, get off!” And I was thinking, “Damn, I got busted.” I’d wanted to do it for a long time and just figured I’d ask for forgiveness later.
And you’re also a co-host of NFL Fantasy Live – how does that fit into your schedule?
Well, a lot of people don’t know that we shoot American Ninja Warrior all night long. from about 7pm till 6 or 7am, on the NFL off-season.
What are some of the challenges of hosting that maybe viewers aren’t aware of?
We watch as many as 120 competitors in any given city, and we’re doing that over and over. When you have to watch people fall on the same obstacle forty times in a row, you always have to find creative ways to express the same thing. It can be a challenge.
