Esquire Network to Debut TEAM NINJA WARRIOR, 1/19

Team Ninja Warrior Esquire Network to Debut TEAM NINJA WARRIOR, 1/19

The new spin-off series will feature the world's best ninja warrior competitors racing head-to head in teams of three in a newly designed, but equally punishing, dual running course that incorporates speed, superhuman agility, skill and - because the competitor's paths literally cross as they are racing through the obstacles - a whole new strategy to the game. Hosted by comedian Matt Iseman, former NFL player and sports analyst Akbar Gbajabiamila, and Fox Sports reporter Alex Curry, the eight action-packed episodes of TEAM NINJA WARRIOR, will premiere January 19 at 8/7c, exclusively on Esquire Network.

For the first time in ninja history, the mother of all obstacle courses is now built for two. In Esquire Network's TEAM NINJA WARRIOR, America's fittest athletes will form 24 squads of three, consisting of two males and one female, for an epic sprint against each other. In the first 6 one-hour episodes of TEAM NINJA WARRIOR, four different teams will see their teammates individually race directly against the opposing team's players through the brutal obstacle course.

Each individual win gives the team more points, and at the end of the episode, the two teams left standing will face-off, with the winner of that final relay showdown moving on to the TEAM NINJA WARRIOR finals.

All competitors will be running, jumping, vaulting and rolling through an amped-up version of the world's most intense obstacle course, vying for a cash prize and big bragging rights. From leaping off the "Sonic Swing," and hanging on for dear life on the "Log Grip," to crossing paths and out-maneuvering each other on the "Dancing Stones" to finally, racing up the redesigned "Warped Wall," every episode will feature formidable new obstacles, each harder than the last. And, in the end - only one team will be crowned TEAM NINJA WARRIOR champions.

TEAM NINJA WARRIOR is executive-produced by A. Smith & Co. Productions' founders ARTHUR Smith and Kent Weed (Hell's Kitchen, Unsung, Ellen's Design Challenge), along with Brian Richardson as executive producer. The new series is based on the AMERICAN NINJA WARRIOR format from Tokyo Broadcasting System Television, Inc., which is a co-production between Esquire Network and NBC.