2009–2011 The
first season of
American Ninja Warrior began production in July 2009. The season premiered on December 12, 2009, on G4, and concluded on December 19, 2009. It consisted of 8 30 minute episodes. The qualifying and semifinals rounds took place in
Venice Beach, where a tryout was opened, meaning competitors from across the United States had to fly themselves there to compete. Levi Meeuwenberg was the Last Man Standing, having gone the farthest in the least amount of time among the American competitors on
Sasuke 23. The
second season premiered on December 8, 2010, on G4, and concluded on December 23, 2010, after 10 hour-long episodes. Qualifying and semifinals were held in
Venice Beach in August. Out of the 10 competitors sent to Japan to compete on
Sasuke 26, five completed Stage 1, four completed Stage 2, while none completed Stage 3. David Campbell was the Last Man Standing, having been the American gone the farthest in the least amount of time on Stage 3. The
third season had the same format as the second season but aired in the summer. Qualifying and semifinals were held in
Venice Beach in May. It premiered on July 31, 2011, on G4, and concluded on August 21, 2011. The finale was aired again on August 22, 2011, as a two-hour primetime special on NBC. In addition to the 10 Americans sent to compete on
Sasuke, one fan of
ANW got the chance to compete as well. This was the result of an
eBay auction in which proceeds were sent to the
American Red Cross to help with recovery efforts following the
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan. During
Sasuke 27, four of the six competitors who reached Stage 3 were American—a new record. Previously, only one American would reach Stage 3 per
Sasuke competition. David Campbell was again the Last Man Standing, having gone the farthest in the least amount of time among the American competitors on Stage 3.
2012–2015 during the fourth season The
fourth season was notable for differentiating
American Ninja Warrior from
Sasuke. Following the ratings success of the third season's NBC primetime special, the fourth season aired on both G4 and NBC. It premiered on May 20, 2012, on G4, and concluded on July 23, 2012, on NBC. Regional qualifying was aired on G4, while the regional finals courses aired on NBC. With an increased production budget, preliminary rounds were held in three locations across the United States. Six regional competitions took place in
Venice Beach,
Dallas, and
Miami. During the National Finals, which were held for the first time in
Las Vegas, Brent Steffensen was the only competitor to reach Stage 3 and became the Last Man Standing. He went further on Stage 3 than any American had ever gone before, including on
Sasuke. The
fifth season premiered on June 30, 2013, on G4, and concluded on September 16, 2013, on NBC. City qualifying and finals courses aired on both G4 and NBC. City competitions were held in four cities. During a qualifying round,
Jessie Graff became the first woman to qualify for a city finals course. During the National Finals, 41-year-old Joyce Shahboz became the first woman to compete there twice in two years, while Brian Arnold fell on the final obstacle of Stage 3 and won the title of Last Man Standing. The
sixth season premiered on May 26, 2014, and concluded on September 8, 2014, with original episodes airing solely on NBC. During qualifiers,
Kacy Catanzaro became the first female competitor to make it up the Warped Wall. Later in the city finals, she became the first woman to complete a city finals course. Catanzaro's two runs have been described as the first "viral moment" of the show and are credited with increasing the seventh season's submissions ten times over. During the National Finals,
Joe Moravsky fell on the third from the last obstacle of Stage 3 and became the sixth season's Last Man Standing. The
seventh season premiered on May 25, 2015, and ended on September 14, 2015. A special military edition was held in front of the
USS Iowa in
San Pedro for competitors who are either current or former members of the
U.S. Armed Forces in addition to five base locations. During the National Finals, a record of 38 competitors completed Stage 1, and 8 athletes completed Stage 2, and both
Isaac Caldiero and
Geoff Britten completed Stage 3, marking the first time any competitor completed it in the regular season. During Stage 4, Britten completed the rope climb in 0:29.65 seconds, becoming the first American Ninja Warrior to complete all six courses (city qualifying, city finals, and all four stages of Mount Midoriyama) in a single season and the first runner-up to achieve Total Victory, while Caldiero completed the rope climb in 0:26.14 seconds, earning the trophy and the $1,000,000 prize due to him having the fastest time, therefore becoming the second American Ninja Warrior and the first champion.
2016–2019 The
eighth season of the series began on June 1, 2016, and concluded on September 12, 2016. The eighth season marked a 40 percent increase in the number of female submission videos from the previous season. During the finals in Philadelphia, no competitor completed the course for the first time in the series' history. During National Finals, Jessie Graff became the first woman to complete Stage 1. However, only 17 competitors advanced to Stage 2, marking the lowest number in the series' history. Only two of them, Drew Drechsel and Daniel Gil, managed to beat Stage 2, but none of them completed Stage 3. Dreschel fell further on the course and was declared the Last Man Standing. The
ninth season premiered on June 12, 2017, and ended on September 18, 2017. A record of 41 competitors successfully completed Stage 1 during the National Finals, while Allyssa Beird became the second woman to complete it. Stage 2 saw every competitor eliminated except for three veterans. However, none of them could complete Stage 3.
Joe Moravsky fell on the penultimate obstacle and became the Last Man Standing. The
tenth season began airing on May 30, 2018, and ended on September 10, 2018. For the first time in the show's history, a Last Ninja Standing prize of $100,000 was introduced. The first city qualifying, held in
Los Angeles, was dedicated to the release of
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and featured cameo appearances of
Chris Pratt and
Bryce Dallas Howard. Drew Drechsel and Sean Bryan were the only competitors to reach Stage 3 of National Finals both fell during their runs. Drechsel and Bryan fell on the same obstacle, but the former made it faster to it, making him the Last Ninja Standing. The
eleventh season started its premiere on May 29, 2019, and ended on September 16, 2019. City competitions were held in six locations. One of them featured obstacles dedicated to the release of
The Angry Birds Movie 2. New rules regarding the Mega Wall, which was introduced in the previous season, came into effect. Competitors were given three chances to make it up the wall, but the prize money decreased after each attempt, starting at $10,000, then decreasing to $5,000, and finally $2,500. During the National Finals, 28 of the 86 finalists completed Stage 1, and a record 21 athletes completed Stage 2. Drew Drechsel and Daniel Gil completed Stage 3. Gil was not able to complete the rope climb on Stage 4 in the 30-second time limit, but Drechsel was able to climb it in 0:27.46 seconds, earning him the $1,000,000 prize and becoming the third American Ninja Warrior and the second champion.
2020–present On January 22, 2020, the series was renewed for a
twelfth season, which premiered on September 7, 2020. Qualifying cities originally included returns to
Los Angeles and
St. Louis with a new location,
Washington, D.C., with the National Finals initially set to be held in
Las Vegas. However, production of the season was postponed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, being interrupted in the middle of production on the show, a day before filming was set to begin. Instead, a reduced season, consisting of eight episodes only, returned to St. Louis and was fully filmed at
The Dome at America's Center.
ANW was the first NBC series to have completed a full season of episodes during the pandemic. The schedule for each episode changed multiple times, switching from one timeslot to another. For the first time, a Spanish-language version airs on
Telemundo. 150 athletes, which were 50 notable contestants and two teammates for each one, participated in the season. The season finals course consisted of 10 obstacles, with top 8 contestants moving for a face-to-face
knockout stage on the Power Tower. Daniel Gil won over Austin Gray in the final playoff stage and earned a reduced $100,000 prize. Drew Dreschel, the winner of the previous season, was put under arrest with charges related to
sexual misconduct on August 4, 2020, six days after filming of the season completed. NBC responded to his arrest by cutting ties with him and removing any mentions of him out of the season, including his appearance in special episodes. However, his two teammates were briefly shown. Per his teammates, Dreschel had not reached the Power Tower playoffs. At the moment of his arrest, his lawyer claimed Dreschel would plead "not guilty," but his case was terminated on June 1, 2023, when he signed a Waiver of An Indictment and entered an Application for Permission to Enter Plea of Guilty. On June 19, 2023, he officially pled guilty to one count of receiving child pornography and one count of knowingly persuading, inducing, enticing and coercing a minor to travel interstate to engage in sexual activity. On June 26, 2024, Dreschel was sentenced to 121 months in federal prison, 15 years of supervised release (along with registering as a sex offender), and was ordered to pay $100,000 in restitution to his victim. The
thirteenth season consists of 12 episodes aired from May 31 to September 13, 2021. For this season, several invitations to compete have been sent to teenagers from 15 to 19 years who made achievements in spin-off shows despite no official age lowering was announced. The season format had the filming of 5 qualifying episodes in the
Tacoma Dome in
Seattle/Tacoma, with the 4 semifinals taped at
Universal Studios Hollywood in
Los Angeles. The finals returned to its usual spot on the
Las Vegas Strip. In the National Finals, Jesse Labreck became the third woman to complete Stage 1 of the regular season. Four contestants made it to Stage 3, two of whom were teenagers. 15-year old Kaden Lebsack was the only one to complete Stage 3, but timed out on Rope Climb and became Last Ninja Standing. The
fourteenth season consists of 12 episodes. The season format is similar to the previous season, but the filming of qualifying episodes was moved to the
Alamodome in
San Antonio. One of the qualifying nights included a
Minion-themed balance obstacle dedicated to the release of
Minions: The Rise of Gru. The qualifiers saw the record 10 people complete the Mega Wall, while 15-year-old Jordan Carr became the youngest to complete the Warped Wall. Five contestants have passed Stage 3 of the National Finals, but all of them failed to complete the Rope Climb in under 30 seconds; Kaden Lebsack became Last Ninja Standing for the second consecutive time. The
fifteenth season consists of 14 episodes. The season saw a few changes. First, competitors who ranked 12 and 13 (or 4 and 5 for women) raced for the final spot in a Runoff. Second, the semifinals was all races (seeded 1 vs 24, 1 vs 8). Third, the top 24 competitors would advance to Stage Two, regardless of completing the course. Fourth, Stage Two was just like the Semifinals with races, but the four fastest losers would compete in Runoffs. This guaranteed a minimum of 14 competitors would advance to Stage Three. Taylor Greene made history by hitting two buzzers in her first two runs. Also, she went farther than any women this season and being the youngest woman to do so at the age of fifteen. A record-breaking eight reached Stage 4. Only two completed the rope climb: Daniel Gil, who finished in 27.99 seconds and became the fourth American Ninja Warrior and the second runner-up to achieve Total Victory, and Vance Walker, who clocked in at 26.75 seconds, being the fifth American Ninja Warrior and the third champion. The
sixteenth season premiered on June 3, 2024. Five ninjas reached Stage 4. Only two completed the rope climb: Vance Walker, who finished in 27.60 seconds, being the first two-time American Ninja Warrior and champion, and Caleb Bergstrom, who finished in 28.90 seconds and became the sixth American Ninja Warrior and the third runner-up to achieve Total Victory. The seventeenth season premiered on June 2, 2025. For the first time ever, the season is a nod to the past, present, and future of
ANW. Some of the past competitors were invited to compete alongside the well-known competitors. Qualifying remained the same with six obstacles, and the semifinals was back to ten for the first time since season fourteen. For the first time ever, the tournament was a straight knockout elimination bracket on a head-to-head race course, featuring fan-favorite obstacles in ANW's history. The champion wins $250,000. ==Special episodes==