A spin-off from the Japanese reality series Sasuke, it is hosted by Matt Iseman, Akbar Gbaja-Biamila, and Zuri Hall.
[3] Filming for qualifiers moved to San Antonio, Texas, while the semifinals and national finals remained in Los Angeles, California, and Las Vegas, Nevada, respectively.
This season marks the return of Akbar's Gbajabia-Moments (for the first three episodes), a segment reprising the most unusual outings of the night, where competitors usually fail on the earlier obstacles.
In addition, 15-year old Jordan Carr, a former American Ninja Warrior Junior competitor, set a record as the youngest woman ever to beat the Warped Wall.
Veterans Jessie Graff, who had returned after missing the previous season because of knee and shoulder injuries, and Sandy Zimmerman, the first mother to ever clear qualifying, also were unable to advance to the semifinals, failing on the Serpent and Carnival respectively.
Also, 2020 Olympics silver medalist MyKayla Skinner joined Matt and Akbar in the booth and reported the run of her husband, who also failed on the Serpent.
Former speed skater K. C. Boutiette, who now fights his daughter's 1p36 deletion syndrome, attempted and advanced to the semifinals in 30th place, and former artistic gymnast Shawn Johnson covered the run of her husband in the booth with Matt and Akbar.
Three more new obstacles were introduced: the Shattered Panes, the Despica-balls (created to promote the 2022 film Minions: The Rise of Gru) at Split Decision, and Final Frontier.
Present on the sidelines in this episode was Rowdy, the mascot for the University of Texas at San Antonio Roadrunners, alongside the UTSA cheerleaders.
Making his ANW debut in this episode was reigning American Ninja Warrior Junior champion Jackson Erdos, who had just turned 15 prior to the filming of this competition.
Another veteran competitor, Josh Levin, made his return for the first time since season 10 after spending the last three years attending Harvard University, where he earned his master's degree in learning design, innovation and technology.
Other notable ninjas not to advance to the finals were Brett Sims, 15-year-old Jordan Carr (the youngest woman to complete a qualifying course) and rookie Ryan Hermstein (who participated in the semifinals despite finishing 31st overall).
Her fiancé, Chris DiGangi, also fell early (his failure occurring on Hopscotch) and failed to advance to the National Finals for the second year in a row.
In another surprising moment, James "The Beast" McGrath also fell on Kaleidoscope, and his comeback season ended without a qualification to the National Finals.
Due to testing positive for COVID-19, Najee Richardson and Joe Moravsky both had to withdraw from the National Finals, with their places given to notable rookies who otherwise failed to advance by themselves.