/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/58412051/ANW_Social_Season_10_Announcement_Tw.0.png)
Take a deep breath, Ninja fans, we’re getting fresh, new American Ninja Warrior action in March!
It was just announced that American Ninja Warrior: USA vs the World will premiere on Sunday, March 11, at 7pm EST on NBC.
The three-hour special will feature four teams: North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia. The North American team will be made up of Drew Drechsel, Joe Moravsky, Najee Richardson and Sean Bryan.
Here’s the official info from NBC:
“Only two weeks following the conclusion of the Winter Olympics, this special will once again bring athletes from around the globe together for intense competition. Four teams from North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia will battle on the tough, four-stage national finals course featured in “American Ninja Warrior.”
Team USA features impressive veteran ninjas Drew Drechsel and “The Weatherman” Joe Moravsky. A speedy competitor, Drechsel has qualified for the finals in Las Vegas five times and made it to Stage 3 two times. Five-time competitor Moravsky has made it to Stage 3 on the Las Vegas finals course three times, more than any other athlete in the competition. Also joining Team USA this year are former nationally ranked gymnast and head coach/trainer Najee “The Phoenix” Richardson and Sean Bryan, the “Papal Ninja.” Bryan is also a former competitive gymnast and NCAA athlete who enjoyed a breakout season on “American Ninja Warrior” this past summer.
Contestants will tackle “American Ninja Warrior’s” punishing Las Vegas finals course in a head-to-head format that pits members from each team against one another.
Matt Iseman and Akbar Gbajabiamila host and Kristine Leahy co-hosts.
The series is executive produced by A. Smith & Co. Productions’ founders Arthur Smith and Kent Weed (“Hell’s Kitchen,” “Spartan: Ultimate Team Challenge,” “Unsung,”), along with Brian Richardson and Anthony Storm.”
:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10072853/ANW_Social_Season_10_Announcement_Fb.png)
American Ninja Warrior: USA vs the World is an annual special that is taped after the conclusion of the National Finals each season. In 2017, the competition featured three teams: USA, Europe and Latin America. Each team was made up of six athletes, who competed for points on three stages of the National Finals. So it looks like for this year, we’re going down in the number of team members, but up in the number of teams.
Last year’s competition gave us Jessie Graff’s historic run on Stage Two, where she became the only woman to complete that course. Team USA pulled out a win after Drew Drechsel put up a stunning run on Stage Three.
Team North America has a strong line-up, but nothing is set in stone on the course. We can’t wait to see how the competition stacks up on March 11!