The battling robots are coming back. ABC has picked up a second season of BattleBots, the epic robot fighting tournament that was revived by the network in 2015.
The summer reality series, from Whalerock Industries and Ed Roski and Greg Munson, creators of the original 
BattleBots franchise, ranked No. 1 in its time period in total viewers (5.4 million) and adults 18-49 (1.7/5), as well as across all key male demos in its first season. BattleBots improved its hour year-to-year by double-digit percentages with total viewers (10%), adults 18-49 (31%), men 18-34 (63%), men 18-49 (73%) and men 25-54 (69%). In addition, the series was Sunday’s top-rated broadcast show of the summer with kids 2-11, according to ABC and Nielsen stats.
The second season again will see robots waging battle in a single-elimination tournament until a champion is crowned. Next season, the tournament will double in size and feature an expanded field to include expert roboticists, garage builders, families on a mission and past winners returning to defend their turf, ABC says.
Lloyd Braun, Chris Cowan, Ed Roski, Greg Munson and Aaron Catling executive produce. MGM Television will distribute the program internationally.
This version of Battlebots is laughable in its seriousness, as opposed to the fun campiness of the original. At the end of the day, they’re not even robots – just retrofitted vacuum cleaners with saws so simple kids can build them.
Bro, most of these bots are from the original show…
This was a fun summer show, I enjoyed watching it with my kids.
Aaron is a great producer! Congrats and can’t wait to see the next season!
“Double in size…” Does that mean 12 episodes? It was great to see the show back, but it went by too quickly, making it difficult for a viewer to “bond” with a robot or team as in the Comedy Central days. Glad to see it coming back, though!