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Updated as of February 2020
We first brought you this article way back in 2016 for season eight of American Ninja Warrior. The show was experiencing a boom back then and things have only gotten bigger. It was time to update the numbers below to accurately reflect the huge, yet close-knit family of crew that come together every year to bring Ninja Warrior to your TV set. Heading into season 12, that family has only grown.
On TV, everything just magically comes together. The course. The crowds. It all flows. What the broadcast doesn't show is the beehive of activity taking place for days both before and after the filming to create those magical American Ninja Warrior moments.
The crew will typically arrive on location approximately a week before the first night of competition and they'll leave a couple of days after it's over. Then there are the crew members that don’t travel, staying put so they can work on post-production, or prepare for a coming location. This is how many people it takes to make an episode of American Ninja Warrior.
- 30 Editors and post staff back in LA
- 18 Art department personnel
- 8 Audience coordinators
- 2 Travel managers
- 28 Lighting/Grip crew
- 25 Production assistants
- 23 Camera department members
- 18 Security staff
- 20 Obstacle course builders
- 4 Professional course testers
- 26 Semi trucks (This is WAY up from the 13 semi trucks that took the show around in season eight!)
- 12 Producers in the field
- 9 Tech crew
- 9 Production staff
- 8 Transportation team
- 6 Casting department
- 6 Audio crew
- 5 Catering staff
- 3 Accountants
- 3 Medics and EMTs
- 2 Make-up and hair crew
- 2 Wardrobe staff
- 3 Assistant Directors
- 1 Director
Crew grand total in season eight: 219
Crew grand total in season 12: 271
271 people who are dedicated to creating American Ninja Warrior each season. Throw in around 100 competitors each episode and a few hundred more audience members and you start to realize how many people surround this show each week.