The Cergy ice rink (Val-d'Oise) has put away its skates to host this new entertainment TF1, broadcast this Friday, December 27, 2024. While waiting to know if the concept will break the ice with viewers, it is clear that the big resources put in place are up to the big “biscotos” that will come on the scene.
Gladiators is a kind of marriage between Ninja Warriors and a wrestling match. We find the performances of one and the humor of the other in a remake of David against Goliath, gladiators of well-built women and men facing highly motivated challengers.
TF1 had the idea of launching the production of this star format from the 1990s abroad, when the English channel BBC successfully relaunched it in January 2024. “This format is part of a television trend towards the “gamification” of programs, that is to say by integrating games and interactivity with the program's audience. Viewers will want to get involved in supporting this challenger or this gladiator”deciphers Julien Degroote, director of development and creation of the group TF1.
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We can regret that the French adaptation does not go as far into the second degree as the English, but it pushes the cursor hard on the costumes. The gladiators look like the Avengers, these cinema superheroes, and are not the last in self-deprecation. They also have stage names that set the tone: Furie, Féroce, Diamant, Tank, Viking…
From Miss France to Gladiators
And to raise the atmosphere in the arena, and the small skylight, there are three presenters sharing the microphone: Hélène Mannarino, Denis Brogniart and Jean-Pierre Foucault. When we are surprised to see the latter find himself in an entertainment less glittery than the election of Miss France which he has presented for thirty years, he responds tit for tat. “I was chosen for my physique (laughs)! More seriously, I am very happy with this new adventure. I go from the glamor of the Misses to the big muscles of the gladiators, and I admit that it amused me”.
We discover Jean-Pierre Foucault letting loose more and more, never the last one on the joke. Which made his two other animation partners laugh. “Jean-Pierre and Denis carried me during the recording, remembers Hélène Mannarino. This show takes me out of my comfort zone. For example, I sometimes had difficulty managing my emotions when, behind an elimination, there is a beautiful personal story”.
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As for Denis Brogniart, he achieved quite a feat. He was in the middle of filming Koh Lanta When Gladiators was boxed. He therefore recorded his interventions afterwards, and the challenge was technically met perfectly. It really feels like he's vibrating and commenting on the events of the game as if he were there. “This show brings together what is in my DNA: sport, entertainment, great spectacle… I have been watching the American version for years so I could only want to be part of the French version”.
TF121 h 10.
