NBC has announced the summer debut and schedule for American Ninja Warrior 5. The show is set to kick off on Monday July 1st with a special two-hour show from 8-10 pm ET. The next week American Ninja Warrior will settle into its regular time-slot for the summer on Monday nights from 8-9 pm ET. Unfortunately this summer it will not benefit from following NBC’s smash show America’s Got Talent.

The newly named Esquire Network (formerly G4) will also be airing American Ninja Warrior 5 this summer. Apparently it will follow the same structure as last season, meaning the opening round of a given region will air on Sunday night on Esquire, and then the finals for that region will air the next night on NBC. With only 4 regions this season, as opposed to 6 last year, I suppose this means they will have more episodes covering the national finals in Vegas (4 instead of 2) in order to achieve an 8 week summer season.

Long-time host and favorite Matt Iseman will be returning, and former NFL player and sports analyst Akbar Gbaja Biamila (NFL Network) will replace Jonny Moseley as c0-host alongside Matt Iseman. Two-time Emmy Award-winning sports broadcaster Jenn Brown (ESPN) will serve as a co-host as well, providing on-the-spot commentary and competitor interviews, replacing Angela Sun.