According to TV Series Finale, American Ninja Warrior has been renewed for a sixth season on NBC and a ninth season on Esquire Network. The competition series is hosted by Matt Iseman and Akbar Gbajabiamila with Kristine Leahy as co-host. Original episodes of the show will premiere on NBC then air as an encore on Esquire. The season five finale of American Ninja Warrior premiered on September 12th on NBC. This season placed a lot of emphasis on the fact that there were a lot of women competitors who joined the ranks. For example, Jessie Graff became the first woman to compete Stage One in the Las Vegas finals shows.

The show is produced by A. Smith for NBC and Esquire. Serving as executive producers are A. Smith & Co. Productions’ founders Arthur Smith and Kent Weed along with Brian Richardson and Anthony Storm. The fifth season of American Ninja Warrior drew its most-ever total viewers and earned its first Emmy Nomination. Paul Telegdy, the President of ALternative and Reality Group at NBC Entertainment stated “The increased popularity of American Ninja Warrior on air, as well as its growing social and cultural impact, is a testament to the athletes who push themselves beyond their limits. We couldn’t be more proud to see this show reach new heights and watch the affect it has on those who compete and strive to be their best.”

The popularity of American Ninja Warrior has skyrocketed with as many as 70,000 submissions last spring. “We are in constant awe of the extraordinary athletes on American Ninja Warrior who make the show as exhilarating to watch as it is to produce,” said Adam Stotsky the President of E! and Esquire Network. Adding “It is incredibly exciting how the series has evolved from an unconventional Japanese game show with a cult following to the global .hit phenomenon that it is today in partnership with NBC – and we are looking forward to many more seasons to come.”

The series follows competitors as they tackle a series of challenging obstacle courses in both city qualifying qualifying and city finals rounds throughout the country. If a player successfully completes the finals course in their region, they move on to the national finals round in Las Vegas, where they must participate in a four-stage course modeled after the famed Mt. Midoriyama course in Japan. The champion takes home a grand prize of $1 million. American Ninja Warrior is based on Sasuke, a Japanese original series which is now in its 32nd season in Japan. Currently, only four contestants have completed the Japanese course.