There’s lots negativity and fluff on TV these days. I think immediately of cable news, or your average a-bunch-of-people-in-a-place-together reality show. Or ESPN, which has devolved into sportswriters arguing about things sports people said. It can be a real drag. Frankly, the best episodic TV’s on streaming platforms now, with the rare exception.
American Ninja Warrior is one of them.
I think a lot of people don’t know this show’s still going strong. It’s a competition unlike anything you’ve ever seen, with incredibly difficult obstacles in a race that literally baffles pro athletes and Olympians on a regular basis.
Imagine five impossible looking obstacles, designed to test the will of the fittest person. Run through those? Cool. You’ve gotta run through double that amount to make it to the national finals, and triple once you get there.
Anyone can be a Ninja. Anyone. They hold open casting calls all over the nation. And every Ninja has a story. From a dude who likes to eat cake before he runs, to a worship leader, to a working mom of four, the personalities on this show are elementally real, self-made, unique.
I love that it’s so profoundly American, as the name suggests. Working hard to achieve your goals using your God-given gifts is pretty much our nation’s pastime.
The Ninjas (and the cheering crowd looking on) all encourage each other from the sidelines. And everyone strives to do their individual level best, competing against the course and against each other for the best times.
It’s a sport on the level of anything you’d see on ESPN. I’d highly recommend watching it every Monday night this summer on NBC.