Gladiators

The third resurgence of the Gladiators franchise was both a surprise hit in the UK in the early parts of 2024 but also my household. More than just 90s nostalgia it brought back fond memories of foolish American physicality vehicle "Ultimate Tag" and we were instantly invested. Filmed in Sheffield arena and with a slew of new younger gladiators (highlights being the one-who-always-understands-the-assignment Legend and the perennially endearing Fury) the only real flaw is the decision to rely on father-and-son presenting team the Walshes. Bradley has the gift of the gab and Barney is a 2D cut-out of a man. Here's hoping another series brings some changes and breaks up the repetition of repeated games a bit, because I'll always have fond memories of this first one.

The second series is really where new Gladiators came into its own - riding a wave of popularity and even a spin-off Cbeebies show. Massive personality Nitro from series 1 has an injury so hangs around throughout in a rather aimless way. Two new Gladiators appear, the brilliant Cyclone and the fairly nothingy Hammer. The lumbering Atlasballs return, there's a new "chase" style round and thankfully the Gauntlet is given a more challenging time limit. The contestants (apart from one absolute raging fool) are largely great and the winners feel justified but the biggest mistake they make is a misjudged wrestling-style lean into earnest scripted scenarios (particularly a romance between Sabre and Apollo) which are widely hated. Also, my largest issue with series one, the pleasant-seeming but bafflingly vapid son-of-Bradley remains a sadly immovable part of otherwise terribly likeable format.

This was my favourite thing growing up i loved it, so i was really excited to hear about the new series but slightly worried it would be too modernised and take away the magic. I have to say, it couldn't have been any better. The gladiators, the games, music, the presenters were great.. just all of it was so spot on and reminiscent of the original series. I loved that they barely changed anything except add new games, it really kept the show what it was meant to be. I absolutely love this remake and can't wait to watch the rest of it. I'm just as excited to watch it again at 32 as i was at 7!!

"Gladiators" is an enduring classic of sports game shows, no matter what country it is made in. In 2024, perhaps unexpectedly, not one but two franchises were revived: the British and the Australian. Both were pretty good. The British version has a solid line-up of gladiators (Legend is a funny successor to Wolf), and the female winner & runner-up are soooo beautiful and humble. The two major changes that are needed for the second season, which has already been confirmed, are: 1) a longer format. 11 are too few episodes, which leads to some losers of the Heats actually qualifying for the next rounds. The ideal number of episodes has always been 15. 2) the Gauntlet MUST be made more difficult (narrower? One more glad added?), because as it stands now almost every contender is getting maximum points and that's boring. But apart from those two complaints, I have no others. Even the hosts, who seemed a little iffy at first, have grown into their roles. 7.5 out of 10.

Didn't see the original, but this is a change from other Saturday night shows and the ubiquitous quizzes, most of which I love. It's brilliant to have a show all ages can watch together so it works well having Bradley and Barney (father and son) presenting, especially following on from ladies Tess and Claudia doing Strictly before Christmas - we don't need a male and female heading every show as that becomes too samey. There are loads of amazing role models for girls and boys as all competitors and most of the Gladiators are great sports and the remaining Glads make excellent panto villains! Look forward to Season 2.

A fantastic reboot. Faithful to the original but also modern and engaging for a new audience.

As a massive fan of the original (the sky one not so much) I was dubious but was overwhelmed by how good it was.

Few things to tweak (lose Barney. Nice lad the the personality of a dishcloth, tweak the games and gladiators appearing on them. Got a bit repetitive towards the end, shorten the opening credits) but I throughly enjoyed this. It's like I was 10 all over again.

The low star reviews seem to be people complaining it's not like the original. Of course it isn't. Why would anyone do a like for like remake of a show the was axed 24 years before. Clearly they have not gone into it with a open mind. Enjoy it for what it is. Guilt free, fun, Saturday night family entertainment.

Roll on 2025 for season 2!