‘Gladiators’ head back to the arena

A revival of the 1989-96 syndicated competition series “American Gladiators” will premiere at midseason on NBC, which is promising “splashy twists including special effects, water skills and the latest technology.”

As in the original, the new version of “American Gladiators” will pit contestants against eight gladiators in a series of competitions, with the Joust, the Wall, Hang Tough and the Eliminator returning.

The series is a co-production of MGM Television and Reveille, which plans to have locally produced versions outside the U.S., just like the original.

Reveille was founded by Ben Silverman, now co-chairman of NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios. Silverman has put his ownership of Reveille in a blind trust and will not profit from any new Reveille projects, an NBC official said, adding that all NBC deal-making with Reveille is reviewed at the highest corporate level.