Gladiators (2024 Australian TV series)

The second possible revival of the Australian version of Gladiators was rumoured to be produced soon after the second British revival was announced. Casting for contenders to compete against the Gladiators was announced in August, and it was revealed that the show would air in early 2024 on Network 10. The episodes were filmed at Disney Studios Australia in Sydney, New South Wales. The first official teaser trailer for the series was released on 6 November 2023, featuring eight of the Gladiators of the show (females Arrow, Chaos, Comet, Halo, and males Cyclone, Phoenix, Spartan and Viking). ==Format==

The show involves permanent competitors known as "Gladiators" that compete against "Contenders" (formerly called "Challengers") in several events made to test out both their physical and mental capabilities. In each episode, two men and two women compete for points against the Gladiators across four different events, with separate events for males and females. After this, each pair then competes against each other in "The Eliminator", a grueling obstacle course, of which any points they have won previously go towards time for a head start on their opponent. The winner of this is dubbed the champion of the episode, and will advance to the Finals, in hope to be crowned as the overall champions. The winners of the series had the opportunity to become a Gladiator in the next series of the show and face off against new challengers, though there was never going to be another series. ==Events==

On the show, the Challengers will face the Gladiators in events testing their speed, strength, stamina, agility and power. The series sees the return of some classic events, with a few brand-new events. Each episode featured four events chosen at random, with every episode finishing with The Eliminator obstacle course. In the first series, the following events were introduced in this order: • In the Heats, events Duel, Powerball, Pyramid and The Wall were played with a rotation. • In the Quarter-Finals, two new events, Tilt and Hang Tough were introduced. • In the Semi-Finals, new events Whiplash and The Edge premiered. The Edge The Edge is a brand new event in Gladiators Australia, in which the challenger goes head-to-head against one gladiator in a criss-cross-shaped platform 5 metres above the arena floor. The challenger must make it to the other side without being knocked off the Edge by the gladiator. Each cross is worth a point. The game is based on the British event with the same name. The Eliminator The final Eliminator obstacle course includes nine different obstacles: • Over-under bars • Balance beams (The grand final also featured the seesaw) • Six meter rope climb (No platform in the grand final) • Hand ladders • Climbing up and down the Pyramid • Cargo net climb • Fire pole dismount • Travelator • Through the "foam brick" wall ==Gladiators==

The 12 Australian and New Zealander athletes, appearing as Gladiators, were announced on 26 September 2023. Black Ops—real name Bertrand Venail—was also revealed during the airing of the series – bringing the total to 14 Gladiators. The grand prize for the winners of the season, Kalani Lenehan and Taylah Bisshopp, was the title of Gladiator. ==Episodes==

;Notes Episode summary In the final eliminator round, each point is equal to 0.5 second head start for the leading challenger. Heat 1 ;Female ;Male ;The Eliminator • Winners: Makedonka and Jonny Heat 2 ;Female ;Male ;The Eliminator • Winners: Taylah and Chris Heat 3 ;Female ;Male ;The Eliminator • Winners: Tee and Danny Heat 4 ;Female ;Male ;The Eliminator • Winners: Julia and Daine Heat 5 ;Female ;Male ;The Eliminator • Winners: Sam and Kalani Heat 6 ;Female ;Male ;The Eliminator • Winners: Janice and Jason Quarter Final 1 ;Female ;Male ;The Eliminator • Winners: Tee and Chris Quarter Final 2 ;Female ;The Eliminator • Winners: Janice and Kalani Quarter Final 3 ;Female ;Male ;The Eliminator • Winners: Taylah and Daine Semi Final 1 ;Female ;Male ;The Eliminator • Winners: Taylah and Daine Semi Final 2 ;Female ;Male ;The Eliminator • Winners: Janice and Kalani Grand Final ;Female ;Male ;The Eliminator • Winners: Taylah and Kalani Challenger's progress Color key: : Series champions : Runners-up : The challenger won the episode and advanced : The challenger was medically withdrawn from the competition : The challenger was a wildcard and qualified : The challenger lost the episode and was eliminated == Reception ==

Critical reception The return of Gladiators has received mixed–to–poor critique. The series received a lot of negative comments via social media, relating to the "poor set design", and the slow pacing. The lack of audience and variety of events were also denounced. Ratings Ratings data is from OzTAM and represents the top 20 viewership from the five largest Australian metropolitan centres (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth). NR = Did not rank in Top 20 • From 28 September 2023, OzTAM ratings changed. The Grand Final ranked 21 on the Total TV Overnight Top 30 Programs with a reach of 697,000. == References ==