With so many shows and movies being remade for TV these days, it only makes sense that some of them wouldn’t be scripted or led by human beings. Such was the case with the brawling robot competition BattleBots, which returned to TV this summer and apparently impressed audiences and networks execs enough that ABC has decided to renew BattleBots for Season 2.
Creators Ed Roski and Greg Munson hit upon the rare success of rebooting a franchise and nabbing an equal amount of success in doing so. Perhaps that was a given, since ABC would always be a bigger primetime location than Comedy Central and other cable networks that aired BattleBots during its first run over a decade ago. Still, the network was smart to test the waters with just six episodes, and though no specific episode number was attached to this Season 2 order, the producers are beefing up almost all aspects of the competition, so we can probably expect to see quite a few more episodes next year.
For Season 2, the show is getting “bigger, faster and stronger than ever before,” according to ABC. The basic process of robots fighting in elimination battles until one is crowned champion part is the same, but the number of mechanized contestants is getting beefed up to 32. That should offer up a nice variety as far as what kinds of fighters we’ll see, and the press release mentions that next season might even see battles with drones and flying battlebots! We’re living the dream now, people. It’s an open invitation to get bots reviewed by the casting folks, so bring on the drones!
The show will also add to the number of actual people you’ll be seeing on BattleBots. Beyond past competitors returning to join the tournament, we’ll get to see more expert roboticists and garage builders. Here’s hoping they’ll make room for a few celebrity appearances as well. Does Fozzie Bear build robots?
Want to catch the final BattleBots Season 1 fight, in which the king was crowned? Check it out below.
With The Muppets having problems behind the scenes, and a number of shows getting episode orders cut, if not outright canceled, it’s nice that ABC has found something successful enough to build off of. And it makes sense that it’s a show where building is such a core part of the process. Expect to find Season 2 of BattleBots heading to ABC next year.
