The Australian revival of the iconic game show Gladiators has been officially cancelled by Channel 10 after just one season. Premiering on 15 January 2024, the show struggled to find an audience and faced negative reviews, ultimately leading to its swift cancellation.
Hosted by Beau Ryan and Liz Ellis, with Mark “Hammer” McGaw as referee, the series aimed to recapture the magic of the original 1990s version. A new group of Gladiators, with names like Arrow, Chaos, and Viking, faced off against contenders in a series of physical challenges.
The revival debuted with a solid audience of 395,000 metro viewers, but numbers quickly dropped, with only 196,000 returning for the second episode. The show’s lack of a live audience, its set design, and pacing were called into question on social media.
Dan Monaghan, Network Paramount’s Director of Programming, acknowledged the issue, defending the hosts and the casting while conceding, “Sadly, the series just didn’t maintain performance.”
Gladiators joins a list of recent game show revivals that have failed to recapture their former glory. The Australian version, with its unique blend of physical challenges and larger-than-life characters, was unable to replicate the success of its 1990s counterpart, which ran for three seasons from 1995 to 1996.
The original Australian series, which aired on the Seven Network, spawned international versions, including long-running adaptations in the UK, USA, and several other countries. The format’s blend of athletic competition and entertainment captured audiences worldwide, but the latest attempt to revive it in Australia fell flat, unable to withstand the competitive landscape of modern television.
