American Gladiators was an American competition television program that matched a cast of amateur athletes against each other, as well as against the show's own "gladiators", in contests of strength and agility.

The first competition sponsored by Dan Carr and John C. Ferraro was held at Erie Tech High School in Erie, PA and sold to Samuel Goldwyn Productions/MGM where the format was expanded into "American Gladiators."

The show was taped at Universal Studios Hollywood until 1991, then moved to Gladiator Arena for the rest of its initial run. The National Indoor Arena, home to the UK version, hosted the International Gladiators competitions.

The series, a co-production of Trans World International and Four Point Entertainment, was distributed by Samuel Goldwyn Television.

An effort to launch a live American Gladiators show on the Las Vegas Strip became mired in a securities fraud prosecution. However, the series was restarted in 2008.

This version of the show currently airs in the USA on ESPN Classic, and several episodes have been made available for download on Apple's iTunes Service.