“We need heroes”: Gladiators a return to fun says Liz Ellis
Liz Ellis remembers the original 1990s Gladiators and hopes to bring a little bit of action, high camp and sheer fun to summer.
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It was first seen on Australian television in 1995 with hosts Aaron Pedersen and Kimberley Joseph screening for 18 months on Seven before it was revived in 2008 with Tom Williams and Zoe Naylor.
Now 16 years on, Gladiators is back with hosts Beau Ryan and Liz Ellis, this time on 10.
12 Australian and New Zealander athletes, with names like Cobra, Phoenix, Dragon, Halo and Elektra, take to the arena to face off against contenders in games such as Powerball, Pyramid, The Wall and The Eliminator.
Screening as 10’s summer entertainment fare ahead of ratings season, the show lands just a day after the franchise was also revived in Britain, after its last incarnation 15 years ago.
“Maybe in the world at the moment with the way it is, we need heroes, we need fun,” says host Liz Ellis.
“We need television that sort of takes us away from all of the misery that you see when you turn on the news.
“You can have people dressed as superheroes having fun, going up against each other. But it’s a really good spirit.
“When we filmed the show, there was a lot of trash-talk and stuff that goes on before. Sometimes it’s funny. Sometimes it’s like, ‘Oh, my goodness!’ Because you don’t want to fire your opponent up.
“But at the end of it, they all hug and say ‘Well done.'”
The show also nods to its past seasons, with 1995’s Hammer (Mark McGaw) now returning as Referee.
“I remember the ’90s version with Mark McGaw because I was a Rugby League fan, and I just remember them being larger than life,” she recalls.
“I remember seeing little kids pretending to be Gladiators. I just feel like that was a pivotal moment in television, because it was like the first reality franchise to mix sport and entertainment. We’d had the wrestling beforehand, but this was something that was probably accessible.
“Gladiators was so over the top … and the poor contenders getting pummelled. But I remember it was a real family thing, everyone sat down to watch it.”
Ellis, who even admits to failing a dance audition for It’s a Knockout, also acknowledges the high camp and theatre of the production.
“Gladiators didn’t take itself too seriously. So when we went into production for this version there were a couple of things that I wanted to really lean into. For the contenders, this is like a World Cup. They’re fit, they’re strong, they want to test themselves… so you have to respect the athletic component of it. Beau and I were very keen to do that, because we come from athletic backgrounds.
“But you also can’t take the whole thing too seriously, because it’s not the Olympics.”
The cast includes a Hollywood stuntwoman, CrossFit Games athletes, Bodybuilders, UFC mixed martial artists, ex-NRL players, and Ironman Jett Kenny as Viking. In Gladiators they are likened to super-hero characters.
“(Producers) Warner Brothers kept talking about ‘A Marvel-esque universe with characters and costumes really inspired by that.’ When you walk into the arena it looks like this big mythical place with lightning, clouds and golden orbs. So you need the Gladiators costumes to match that,” she continues.
“Chaos is the strongest woman, potentially the strongest person, I’ve ever met. She does have this chaotic energy about her when she’s on the set. Cyclone is a beautiful bloke out of costume, and it took him a while but by the end he was so strong and had grown into his character beautifully.”
Filming of 13 episodes took place at Disney Studios in Sydney in October with Ellis, in her first big entertainment hosting role, crediting co-host Beau Ryan with his generous insight.
“It took a few days to get my brain fit-for-purpose to be able to keep thinking about doing the same thing a different way over and over to give the editors something else to work with. I was really fortunate to have Beau with me because he’s hosted entertainment shows before and he was able to give me a lot of advice. He’s super generous, super fun to work with, high energy,” she says.
“I often liken him to a big puppy. Way too much energy, but funny as! You could mistake that for being scatterbrained, but he’s quite the opposite. He’s got a real knowledge. He’s a craftsman in that respect. He’s done his work. He knows where the edit points are. He knows what they’re trying to do.”
Yet while she’s hoping for further seasons, Ellis is also realistic about what ratings the show may attract during summer. Then again, it’s also someone else’s problem.
“I had a great sports producer years ago who just said, ‘Don’t worry about ratings. As a host or as a commentator, you just worry about producing sport.’ So I all I cared about was doing my best, learning with Beau, showcasing the contenders, allowing the Gladiators to grow into their personalities and I think we’ve done that.”
Gladiators screens 7:30pm Monday – Wednesday on 10.
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24 Responses
Love how everyone wants something new and different but when it is served up everyone wants to play armchair critic. Give the show a go and stop comparing it to the past. I for one is enjoying something different to the same old, same old. Don’t like then read a book.
Fast Forward did a great skit on the original series with cardboard cutout audience just like the real show had to have!!
Full Frontal, not Fast Forward.
Disclaimer : Huge Glads fan who was mighty excited for this return here… But remember the first time you walked into Aldi, expecting something similar to Coles or Woolies and you thought “Something just ain’t right here..”? Well this is how I imagine walking into a not-quite-right Aldi store would feel like.
All of the cast was very well chosen. But: That canned audience was badly distracting; The odd image quality differences between the commentators sequences and everything else; The obvious holding back in challenges by everyone making for some very lifeless rounds; The odd floating cloud things that might have originally been destined for a high school play, or an ostentatious wedding; Oh and those awful stabs at jokes in the on screen player profiles, strewth!
I totally get concessions had to be made for budget and to reduce the filming schedule but the ducks were lined up for something great and this fan fears the targets ain’t being hit.
Too overly produced, too polished, and the commentary is “Hole In The Wall” overkill.
Not sure if it was just the camera but it looked like the hosts were in front of green screens for a lot of it? As if they taped their bits first and then the competition happened.
Television performers “ hero’s” ohhh ffs.
Gladiators may hold a special place in our memories, but the show’s 90s charm wouldn’t translate well to today’s diverse television landscape. Back then, its Saturday-only schedule and lack of options kept viewers glued to their screens. Today, audiences crave more sophisticated content, and the show’s dated elements might fall flat.
30 minutes watching this crap was way too long! Show still thinks it’s the early 90s. The Gladiators had little personality and we barely got any information about the contestants. First ” battle” lasted all of 2 seconds and didn’t take place till 15 minutes into the show! Second battle wasn’t much longer. So after 30 minutes no contestant had scored any points! Absolutely gripping!!!!
Wouldn’t be surprised to find it is moved to a late slot on 10 Bold or 10 Peach next week
I wouldn’t even last a minute if I could at all be bothered
For 13 episodes once a week like the original ran for 3 months which would ge perfect for a Saturday night… e nights a weeks for 2 and a bit weeks…. tho beau and Liz would be perfect to host the jungle
Okay, I enjoyed it for what it was, but here’s a few things I noticed:
I wish they used all the Gladiators, but get why they held a few back.
It’s all smaller, and it needs to be a spectacle. Bring back the crowd next series. I get that there is probably a reason behind the decision for this season, but next season needs the crowd. And not just the family members watching from the sidelines. We need the foam hands and cardboard signs. Whilst I like the lights, we need the people.
The eliminator seems reliant on loads of climbing this time. I miss the zip-line, but love making them climb the pyramid. Oh, and the handbike too.
Loved the hosts, you can see they were having fun. And having an OG gladiator as the ref is nice nod to the og series.
I wish we saw at least one of the new games tonight.
That being said, I’ll give it another go.
From what I can gather, this – a reboot of a 30 year old show- is the only ‘big’ new show any Australian commercial television network is launching to start 2024. That would have to be the saddest start to a television ratings season ever and a sad indictment of why an entire generation of young Australians have given up on Seven, Nine and Ten. Hats off to Nine though, everyone else seems to have given up taking on MAFS now.
Loved it!
It was not great in the 15-20 min I lasted.
10 will roadblock the premiere across Peach and BOLD tonight at 7:30pm.
The amount of ads i saw for this while watching tenplay is ridiculous I won’t be watching not because of the amount of ads for it but because these type of shows don’t interest me
One of my flops on the 2024 Bingo Card.
I expect a large debut and a drop off, if it didn’t work in 2008 I can’t see how it will work now.
Three nights a week is too much for a show like this.
Completely agree. This is 100% a once a week format.
I can’t wait to get stuck into this. And whilst Beau is in danger of taking out the 2024 TVT Most Overexposed award, I think he’s gonna have – and be – a lot of fun with it. It will seem weird not watching this on a Saturday night but game on!
Can’t wait to watch it. Looks like fun.
Unfortunately for some unknown reason the Australian version of these kind of shows gets changed for the worse and they fail, or just hang on with ratings slimy, except MAFS I suppose. I don’t like Beau Ryan but I do like Liz so I will check it out. Wishing it well!
This did extremely well in the UK, premiering to 6m (with a peak of 6.4m) just this Saturday night for its return.
It stuck to its known arena set and all gladiators were in the old school Lycra (and kept the original 90s into theme which the audience was raving about) – the clouds from what I see in the photo with beau and Ellis look very tacky and the costumes some of the gladiators are wearing look a bit ridiculous (and not in a fun camp way).
Sadly, I – think – this may be a flop – but more than happy to eat my words and be proven wrong. In fact, I hope I am.