Joe Otterson TV Reporter The two-part “30 for 30” documentary on the seminal 1990s competition show “American Gladiators” has now concluded, wrapping up an epic saga that cut right to the core of the American Dream. The documentary dove deep into the largely unknown history of the show, which dominated the TV landscape in its initial run in syndication on US television and around the world. It revealed stories of love, lust, betrayal, friendship, injury, agony, and everything in between from the creators of the show and the Gladiators themselves. So how did a nearly three-hour doc about a show famous for events like jousting with things that looked like huge cotton swabs and rolling around in giant steel balls called Atlaspheres come together? According to the doc’s co-director Ben Berman, he was skeptical when initially approached by Vice about the project but changed his mind once he learned more about the story.
