The Pitch: For an indoor ’90s kid, no weekend was complete without watching incredibly buff people in spandex beat up brave challengers inside Gladiator Arena — the showmanship, the inventive games, and the strong personalities of American Gladiators were perfect Saturday morning entertainment (once the cartoons were over). Of course, indoor ’90s kids had no idea that behind the scenes, life for the American Gladiators had its ups and downs, something that the new documentary series Muscles & Mayhem: An Unauthorized Story of American Gladiators explores over five episodes.
While billed as “unauthorized,” the Netflix series is anchored by interviews with numerous people from the original production, including director Bob Levy, Samuel Goldwyn executives, and of course some former Gladiators themselves, including Gemini (Myke Horton), Nitro (Dan Clark), Ice (Lori Fetrick), Zap (Raye Hollitt), Blaze (Sha-Ri Pendleton) and Laser (Jim Starr). All of them have some wild stories to tell — not just about what it was like to be Gladiator famous, but what happened to their lives afterwards.
Hang Tough: As an exploration of the ups and downs of the American Gladiator phenomenon, Muscles & Mayhem proves to be an engaging, eye-opening, and at times even touching story. Directors Jared Hess and Tony Vainuku don’t avoid tough topics like steroid use and why multiple Gladiators were fired following an incredibly successful multi-city tour, while still capturing the very specific magic that made the show notorious in its time, and a source of fond nostalgia today.
Central to its success are the participants, with the former Gladiators in particular speaking candidly about both the good times (the fame, the camaraderie) and the bad times (the drug use, the post-fame depression). No one on camera has any illusions or pretensions about the show that made them famous, and reflect on their experiences with the honesty that comes with age.
Dan Clark, the iconic Nitro, in particular stands out with his openness, humor, and self-awareness — the directors don’t hesitate to point out moments when his stories might not be fully accurate (such as the embellished story of him giving a post-date piggyback ride to one of his fellow Gladiators). He’s legitimately hilarious when reflecting on his sunnier days of fame, but also quite heartbreaking as well, from discussing the racism he experienced early in his career as a half-Asian model to his depression after leaving the show to his relationship with his father. (A lot of Gladiators seem to have complicated relationships with their fathers.)
Breakthrough & Conquer: Production-wise, there’s the somewhat puzzling aesthetic choice to do all the present day interviews in essentially an unfinished construction site. It does at least differentiate the talking head footage from the slicker, studio-shot set-ups of other documentaries, but I pity the sound team who had to make that environment work.
Muscles & Mayhem: An Unauthorized Story of American Gladiators (Netflix)
On the plus side, Muscles & Mayhem mixes up its talking head interviews with plenty of archival footage as well as animated reenactments of the stories being told by the Gladiators. The animation is pretty much identical to the animation quality and style you might remember from those ’90s Saturday morning cartoons that aired before Gladiators, with the cute touch of always depicting the Gladiators in their original uniforms — even in scenarios where someone is on a date or attempting to smuggle steroids across the border from Mexico.
It might be a little much at times; despite a lifetime of shows like American Gladiators rotting my brain, my imagination is still intact enough to visualize a story as it’s being told. But it’s a choice that keeps things lively, while also playing into the nostalgia inherent in exploring this time period and property.
More exciting is the archival footage, which includes plenty of clips from the original show (oftentimes chosen specifically to highlight a specific stunt or injury being discussed) as well as tons of behind-the-scenes candid footage of the Gladiators hanging out in the locker room or on their tour bus. Having visual evidence of how the Gladiators would casually interact together at that time only enhances some of the wilder stories (In particular, Lori Fetrick, a.k.a. Ice, has a incredible story about the ongoing competition to hook up with contestants).
Muscles & Mayhem: An Unauthorized Story of American Gladiators (Netflix)
The Verdict: Even with five episodes, Muscles & Mayhem feels like it could have been a bit longer in some places, and there are areas where things could have been pushed further. For example, the production executives interviewed offer great background on the development of the show, but aren’t pushed too hard on topics like pay inequity or injuries suffered by those playing these games. There’s also no mention made of the 2008 NBC reboot, which wasn’t a huge hit, but did run for two seasons.
That said, the personality-forward approach to the storytelling makes every episode exceptionally compelling, humanizing the God-like figures of our childhood. What’s perhaps the strongest takeaway from the series is the real sense of the bond that the Gladiators share (the alumni frequently refer to each other as brothers and sisters), something which is born out as the story brings us to the present day. Their stories aren’t all tragic (one of the Gladiators is still happily married to their trainer!), and it’s genuinely touching to see how far so many of them have come, and the way they’ve managed to stay connected over the years. From the title alone, Muscles & Mayhem seems like it’s just promising scandal. Instead, it’s a family portrait.
Where to Watch: Muscles & Mayhem: An Unauthorized Story of American Gladiators is streaming now on Netflix.
Trailer:
