Mid-90s Ryan Seacrest to be syndicated

Ryan Seacrest circa the mid-1990s could be reappearing on American TV screens later this year.

MGM's domestic television distribution arm is offering up Gladiators 2000, a kids' TV version of the eponymous show, for launch in syndication this Autumn. 39 half-hour episodes of the show, which ran from 1994 to 1996, will be available for stations around the country to pick up.

"The series offers stations a unique alternative to weekend programming, and with the current success of the new NBC version of Gladiators, it's a great fit," MGM Worldwide Television co-president Jim Packer told The Hollywood Reporter.

MGM is producing the new version of American Gladiators for NBC in co-operation with Reveille. Executive producer Johnny Ferraro said: "It took almost eight years to get the first American Gladiators on television but only a few months to get Gladiators 2000 on the air because of the tremendous popularity of the original series. Bringing the show back for today's hard-to-reach audience is a wonderful initiative."