In November, the park was sued by its landlord at 7150 Leetsdale Drive, which sought to evict the 37,000-square-foot indoor park and collect $237,588 in back rent. The park had signed a 10-year lease in March 2023 and, after $1 million in renovations, opened in June 2024.

Nine days after being sued, ANWAP fired back, accusing its landlord of negligence.

The American Ninja Warrior Adventure Park “has experienced problems with criminal activity that sends a message to its customers that the shopping center is not a safe place to bring their families,” that company alleged in a countersuit on Nov. 29.

Between April and August, the same suspect burglarized the park five times, there were drug overdoses, a bag of drugs was found at the back of the park, homeless folks slept behind the building, and there were “routine drug deals in the parking lot,” ANWAP claims.

Finally, in early November, four men were shot just a few doors from the park, which could not open that day because police tape blocked the parking lot.

The tenant accuses its landlord of failing to act on security concerns and low-level crime there in the months before the shooting, and also failing to repair a roof. Leaks occur every time it rains and have required the park to close several times this year, according to the countersuit.

7150 Leetsdale is owned by Antero Retail Group LLC, a subsidiary of Legacy Capital Partners, a private- equity firm in Denver. Christina Schaefer, director of operations at Legacy, declined to discuss the case with BusinessDen at length because it remains in active litigation.

“However, I can assure you that the property owner has consistently worked to address tenant concerns, including those related to roofing and security, within reasonable timelines and in accordance with the lease agreement,” Schaefer wrote in an email.

On Dec. 16, American Ninja Warrior Adventure Park agreed to leave 7150 Leetsdale by 11:59 p.m. on Jan. 12. That resolves the eviction portion of its dispute with Antero. But the debate over who breached the lease and owes money must still be decided by a judge.

A spokesperson for ANWAP did not respond to requests to discuss its decision to close, the timing of that closure and whether it will seek another location in Denver.

Jan. 1, 2023. While many adults work off their hangovers and sleep deprivation on New Year’s Day, kids are raring to go. That makes it the ideal time to look for free, all-ages and low-cost activities that tire them out while you plot the rest of your day.

One such activity is ice skating at Downtown Denver Rink (Skyline Park), which is completely free — so is Denver International Airport’s, but we’ll let you decide if you want to go anywhere near there — while Aurora’s Southlands and Loveland’s WinterSkate offer cheap skate rentals and time on the ice. Lace up and bring a jacket! Visit our friends at for details on these activities and many, many more.

Ring in the new year with laughs

Through Saturday. Comedy fans have no shortage of chances to send off the old year and ring in the new this week. Comedy Works is hosting Finnish comic ISMO, Thursday, Dec. 29-Saturday, Dec. 31. Comedy Works South in Greenwood Village is hosting “American Ninja Warrior” host and Denver native Matt Iseman during the same dates which, like downtown’s shows, include a New Year’s Eve package that begins at 10 p.m. and ends with champagne, party favors and a countdown with the comics.

Both runs also feature a rare, all-ages show at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 31. Some shows are sold out; $25 for remaining seats at The Denver Improv at Northfield is also offering shows, Dec. 30-31, from stand-up Capone ($27, ).

A (non-holiday) kids musical in Arvada

Through Saturday. This weekend is the last to catch Arvada Center’s production of “Disney’s Beauty and the Beast,” which ends its month-long run on Saturday, Dec. 31. The officially licensed show marks the 30th anniversary of the Disney animated version, with songs from the film as well as “numbers created for the Broadway musical adaptation,” producers said.

It’s directed by Kenny Moten, with musical direction by Jordan Ortman and choreography by Jessica Hindsley. Tickets: $45-$90, with discounted options available. Various times at the Arvada Center, 6901 Wadsworth Blvd. in Arvada.

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter, In The Know, to get entertainment news sent straight to your inbox.

Secorra, a 14-year-old freshman at Silver Creek High School, got to live that dream this year.

Secorra has now been on “American Ninja Warrior” twice — first as part of “American Ninja Warrior Junior” and for a second time for a special edition, in which she competed alongside her sister Anabella Heinrichs, 17, and dad, Shawn Heinrichs, for “American Ninja Warrior Fit Family,” which hasn’t yet aired.

Secorra can be seen competing in the , starting in episode four of the third season. The episode aired Sept. 23.

Secorra first applied to be on the show in 2018, but didn’t make the cut. Her sister, Anabella, was chosen to compete on the show in 2019, which aired in early 2020.

Secorra applied again in January. This time, she learned she would get to compete in June in Los Angeles.

“I’ve been wanting to be on the show for a very long time, so it felt like a dream come true,” Secorra said. “I was extremely excited, but also a bit nervous.”

Secorra’s family has watched “American Ninja Warrior” alongside her. It inspired her and Anabella to transform their backyard into a homemade obstacle course, using any landscaping materials they could find lying around: ropes, boards and leftover two-by-fours.

“They have a good home gym now, but the first ones were definitely makeshift,” said Secorra’s mom, Danielle Heinrichs.

Danielle said she’s proud of her ninja warrior family and that they’re recognized for doing something they love.

“They hadn’t been in any organized sports before they did ninja,” Heinrichs said. “To walk in the ninja gym and have both your daughters light up — and it����ap just like, where has this sport been my whole life? To have both your girls love the same sport and support each other and cheer each other on is kind of cool.”

For the past 4 1/2 years, Secorra has been practicing her ninja warrior skills at the Warrior Playground, 33 S. Pratt Parkway in Longmont, and Ninja Nation, 1700 Coal Creek Drive in Lafayette. She trains for about seven hours a week and competes in state, national and world-level leagues.

One of the major challenges in “American Ninja Warrior” is that contestants don’t know in advance what obstacles they will be facing. Secorra, who is only about 4 feet, 11 inches tall, also faced off against kids who were taller and larger.

The junior edition of the show is a spinoff of “American Ninja Warrior.” Competitors face off in side-by-side racing that involves multiple rounds and triple elimination in each episode. The competition uses a bracket system, and ninja warriors run the same course over and over again.

The obstacle course for “American Ninja Warrior Junior” was filmed outdoors, with temperatures reaching into the 90s.

Nerves buzzing, Secorra said she felt like she was going to pass out at the start line.

“I really felt the pressure of the moment, because I would probably remember that moment for the rest of my life, and whatever I did would go on national television,” Secorra said. “It����ap very nerve-wracking, because I wasn’t completely confident that I could do everything, because I second-guessed myself.”

But, Secorra persevered.

Secorra remembers clearly the third obstacle she encountered in that run: It was a series of tilting boards hanging roughly 10 feet in the air over a pool of water that was about 3 feet deep. Players don’t have the security of safety harnesses to catch them if they fall.

“It was very difficult to get through, (but) I completed it in all of my races,” she said.

During the Knockout Round against opponent Jordan Fernandez, Secorra made it through the course and was the first to hit the buzzer on the other side.

“I had always dreamed of hitting the buzzer, seeing everyone do it on the show,” she said. “You hit it, and smoke flies out of it.”

After winning three races, she secured a place in the quarterfinals. The rest viewers will have to find out themselves. People can watch the show on fuboTV or Peacock, as well as streaming services.

Secorra saw the chance to be on the show as a good opportunity to showcase her skills and learn from fellow ninjas.

“Being on set was a very cool experience,” she said. “I got to watch other ninjas go on the course.”

Secorra was chosen to return to the show to compete with her dad and sister at an indoor course in Seattle, Washington, in April.

Being a ninja warrior isn’t easy. It takes endurance, good sportsmanship and an aptitude to keep calm in stressful situations — anxious trembling doesn’t bode well with balancing. There are many things about the sport that resonate with Secorra: One is always encountering a new challenge.

“Soccer, it����ap the same thing: running and kicking a ball, but in ninja there’s a wide variety of things you can do,” she said. “You sort of never get bored. There’s always room for improvement and variations.”

Secorra’s other interests fall in the same vein. At 10, she became a certified scuba diver and has been underwater in close proximity to sharks, snakes and sea turtles, in a spot her family visits on an Indonesian island.

In addition to competing in leagues, Secorra said she plans to keep her skills sharp and apply to be on the show again, likely within the next year.

For all those aspiring to be ninja warriors, Secorra said perseverance is key.

“You can do anything you put your mind to as long as you train hard,” Secorra said.

Denver’s Bowen Yang is enjoying another hot streak after turning heads in 2019 as one of the few openly gay and Asian-American In July, he made history by becoming one of the first Chinese-Americans — and the first-ever “Saturday Night Live” featured player — . Show vet Kenan Thompson also grabbed an “SNL” nom, but Yang isn’t yet a full cast member, and his nomination broke the long-running show’s mold.

Yang, sadly, lost the Emmy earlier this week to Brett Goldstein (“Ted Lasso”) but doesn’t seem to be sweating it. The New York-based writer and comic’s “Las Culturistas” podcast continues to nab listeners, and Time Magazine last week named him to its list, which includes the magazine’s picks for the 100 most influential people in the world. Yang was one of a handful of comedians on the list alongside “Ted Lasso” star (and “SNL” vet) Jason Sudeikis.

“In 2018, someone sent me a clip of Bowen Yang lip-synching to my ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ character, Cristina Yang,” actor . “I was like, ‘Oh my god — look at this kid. He’s way better at this monologue than me.’ … I am so proud to see him finding his way on his own terms.”

Yang was born in Australia, but starting at age 9 grew up in Aurora and eventually attended Smoky Hill High School. (His Instagram previously identified him as being from Denver, but Aurora still claims him as its own.)

Denver comic Josh Blue, who rocketed to national headliner status after winning the fourth season of NBC’s “Last Comic Standing” in 2006, finished an impressive run on the season-ending episode of “America’s Got Talent” on Sept. 15.

The 42-year-old’s and endearing stage presence (he has cerebral palsy, but his act’s not solely about that) propelled him into the finals, along with aerialist Aidan Bryant, magician Dustin Tavella, singer Brooke Simpson, and comedian Gina Brillon.

The winner of the NBC show’s 16th season turned out to be Tavella, whose magic act and heart-tugging personal tales won over judges and the online-voting public. Still, it followed weeks of Blue appearing in , and certainly didn’t hurt his drop-in performance at Denver’s High Plains Comedy Festival on Friday��(a veteran of High Plains, Blue typically receives a hero’s welcome there).

All in all, Blue finished third in the competition, with Tavella first and Bryant second.

“This has been so much fun,” Blue said from the stage last week before launching into his final, five-minute act on the show. He ended with a line that sent show creator and “American Idol” icon Simon Cowell into tearful laughter: “Thank you, that’s the end of my career!”

Further viewing: Blue’s new, one-hour stand-up special “Broccoli” is streaming on Prime Video, Apple TV, Vudu and other services (). You can also catch him at the birthday roast of Dr. Kevin Fitzgerald, another Denver-based TV regular (Animal Planet’s “Emergency Vets”) on Wednesday, Sept. 29, at Comedy Works South. Blue will headline Comedy Works downtown Dec. 22-23. ()

Related: HBO Max is streaming the Denver-based truTV show “Those Who Can’t,” created by Denver’s Grawlix trio (member Adam Cayton-Holland also co-founded High Plains), and it features a who’s-who of national and local comic guest stars.

Fifteen-year-old Kaden Lebsack of Castle Rock won the 13th season of NBC’s “American Ninja Warrior” on Sept. 13, walking away from the imposing Mount Midoriyama course on the Las Vegas strip with $100,000. He just missed the $1 million prize, however, having failed on Stage 4 of the course (i.e. not making it to the top of his rope climb in 30 seconds). Still, he had the best overall time.

Significantly, this was the first season that the main show allowed for competitors over the age of 14, according to NBC, which put Lebsack in competition with adult contestants from Colorado such as Jake Murray and Ethan Swanson of Golden; Austin Gray and Nate Hansen of Boulder; and Jonah Munoz of Broomfield. The show in the past has also been dominated by Colorado contestants such as Isaac Caldiero, who won in 2015.

Further viewing:��Longmont’s Secorra Heinrichs will appear this week on the third, just-launched season of “American Ninja Warrior Junior.” Taylor Greene, of Broomfield, is also looking to advance on the show, having competed in the Ultimate Ninja Athlete Association world championships over the summer. And Porter Fagnant, of Castle Rock, is hoping to add to her town’s “American Ninja Warrior” import. The third season continues Thursday, Sept. 23, on the NBC’s Peacock.

Related: Longtime “ANW” co-host and Emmy-winner Matt Iseman hails from Denver and occasionally performs stand-up here (no current dates, though). The show has also filmed multiple times at downtown’s Civic Center park.

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter, In The Know, to get entertainment news sent straight to your inbox.

Other kids would follow Taylor up, but then get stuck, Becca said.

Taylor, who turns 14 Wednesday, recently competed in the Ultimate Ninja Athlete Association world championships and over the summer filmed for the third time a run on “American Ninja Warrior Junior.” She’s in her fourth year competing in ninja after getting hooked on the activity at a birthday party she went to when she was 9.

“When I look back at baby pictures now, if we would have known what ninja was, we would have known she was a ninja,” Becca said Wednesday as she watched Taylor spring around the Ninja Nation training facility in Lafayette.

Videos of Taylor swinging, jumping and climbing through ninja courses have gone viral, and she’s defeated ninjas several years older than her in competitions.

The Broomfield High School freshman grew up doing gymnastics, but after the ninja birthday party asked her mom to sign her up for classes.

“It was just a really cool experience for me because it����ap nothing I’d ever done before,” Taylor said. “I thought it was the most fun thing in the world, and a year later I started competing and training.”

When asked when she realized her potential as a ninja, Taylor said, “it����ap kind of weird in your first competition, you podium. That����ap not very normal in most sports. That was kind of my realization, I guess.”

Becca said someone initially reached out to them about Taylor competing on the “American Ninja Warrior Junior” TV show following a video of 9-year-old ninja Taylor beating a 16-year-old boy on a course. The show is broken into divisions based on age: 9-10, 11-12 and 13-14, and Taylor has competed in all three divisions. When Taylor turns 15 she’s going to try to compete on “American Ninja Warrior,” which recently lowered the minimum age to compete to 15.

In a normal competition, Taylor explained the ninjas are competing against themselves.

“And in the (TV) show, you’re competing actually next to another person,” she said. “You’re competing side-by-side with the other person racing them. It����ap a whole different mindset you have to go through. The whole TV experience is just so much different.”

But after filming for her third time on the show, Taylor said she’s gotten used to it. She filmed for the TV series this summer, which is scheduled to air Thursday on Peacock TV.

“I just want to keep with it because I love it so much right now,” Taylor said of ninja. “I don’t really have any other sports that I’m doing. It����ap kind of my whole life; I don’t want to give that up any time soon.”

Becca said her favorite part is seeing Taylor’s persistence and determination.

“I’m just proud that she had the guts to choose to compete at the pro level,” Becca said. “She started competing pro when she was 11 in the local competitions and did really, really well with that. … This year she (competed) all pro and decided to compete pro in finals and ended up winning. That was pretty darn cool as a 13-year-old to win in the pro division. It was exciting; she was up against some pretty big names.”

Monday. Castle Rock’s own Kaden Lebsack, a fan favorite and serious contender on NBC’s “American Ninja Warrior,” has said he has been training for this moment since he was 10 years old. On Monday, Aug. 9, he’ll enter the semifinals of the notoriously brutal physical endurance show, having survived the recent qualifying rounds. Tune in to NBC at 8 p.m. on Aug. 9 to see how he fares in his quest for the $1 million championship. — John Wenzel

Don’t fear the cockroach

Tuesday-Wednesday. Westminster’s Butterfly Pavilion doesn’t just house thousands of beautiful, delicate invertebrates. The nonprofit museum and zoo also offers high-quality virtual classes that illuminate our amazing world. On Tuesday, Aug. 10, Colorado local Reed Timmer — host of The Weather Channel’s “Storm Chasers” — will teach a class about wild summer weather, while Aug. 11 features in-house program leader Calais Thomas leading a squirm-inducing session about cockroaches (and the important role they play in our ecosystem, of course).

The 45-minute, interactive, all-ages classes stream live at 1:30 p.m. Aug. 10, and 2 p.m. Aug. 11, respectively. Virtual attendance is free with registration at , which developed the curriculum with the Butterfly Pavilion. — John Wenzel

The glory of outdoor cinema

Through September. Whether it’s at Red Rocks or in your friend’s backyard, outdoor cinema can be a breezy experience that pairs nicely with summer activities. In addition to Denver Film’s ongoing Film on the Rocks series, a number of smaller screenings beckon families and film buffs this week.

Regis University’s free, outdoor series ends on Friday, Aug. 6, with “Raya and the Last Dragon,” at 6:30 p.m. at the Northwest Denver Campus. (Central Park’s South Green is also screening the film for free on Aug. 6.) Southlands Shopping Center’s affordable ($5 per group) Movies on the Square also concludes Tuesday, Aug. 10, with “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”�� Littleton’s Backcountry Outdoor Movie Series has “Guardians of the Galaxy” on Saturday, Aug. 7; Thornton’s Movies in the Park has “Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse” at Quebec Highlands Park that same night; and Glendale’s Infinity Park has a Monday, Aug. 9, screening of “Footloose.” Visit our drive-in guide for a full list of drive-in events, too. — John Wenzel

Grab your dancing shoes

Through Aug. 13. This week is your chance to brush up on Denver’s indie music scene. MCA Denver’s hip, tightly curated B-Side Music Fridays are winding up this month with shows from Gestalt and Down Time (Aug. 6) and Dog City Disco and Los Mocochetes (Aug. 13). Single tickets cost $30; four-top tables are $120 per group. All-ages shows are at 7 and 8 p.m. on MCA Denver’s rooftop, with doors at 6:30 p.m. Visit for more.

Also this week: Denver DJ, guitarist and author Jason Heller returns with a Friday, Aug. 6, “Off the Wall” dance night — his first since the pandemic started. The night, which has hopped around but always features deeply curated, 45 RPM records, is returning to its formative venue, the Hi-Dive, where it packed the house every Wednesday night in the club’s early days. The show starts at 9 p.m. at 7 S. Broadway. $5 cover; 21-and-up. Email jasonheller@gmail.com or visit . — John Wenzel

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter, In The Know, to get entertainment news sent straight to your inbox.

“Being in a historical district that used to be predominantly black and has seen so many hardships, this is big for us,” said Dickerson, co-owner of��Welton Street Cafe in the Five Points neighborhood. “But the story is really about my mom and how she’s made it through these hardships to be where she is today.”

RELATED:��Where has Denver’s soul food gone? In a historically black neighborhood, the last restaurant of its kind turns 20

The March 6 episode on Food Network, which focuses on the 55-year-old cook (and Fathima’s mother) Mona Dickerson, fetes Welton Street Cafe as one of the last few black-owned eateries in Five Points.��The��Denver soul-food institution has been��praised for its fried chicken and warm, personal atmosphere.

“My mom’s kind of a stage-fright person, so our family had to talk her up,” Fathima said. “But it����ap important to recognize all her hard work, and all the people who believed in her.”

It isn’t the only Colorado place (or person) to be featured on TV in the coming weeks. Here’s a quick roundup of shows to watch with Centennial State connections (not including sports broadcasts).

“America’s Got Talent: The Champions”

Following regular appearances on the show in recent weeks, dance group will compete for the final prize on “America’s Got Talent: The Champions” at 7 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 17, on NBC — also known as the Results Episode. The pliable team is angling for a win, having placed as runner-up in Season 6 of the series.

“American Ninja Warrior Junior”

The second season of this “American Ninja Warrior” spin-off will feature an : Bradi Brownfield (Parker), Taylor Green (Dacono), Olivia Kosanovich (Boulder), Emily Keener (Arvada), Anabella Hienrichs (Boulder), Kaden Lebsack (Castle Rock), Ceri Evans (Kittredge), Kaden Forsha (Littleton), Daisy O’Brien (Longmont), Anika Pivetta (Berthoud) and Kayla Dodge (Broomfield). Hosts and Akbar Gbajabiamila will be joined by new co-host Victoria Arlen, a Paralympian gold medalist, as they guide the kids through the show’s famously challenging obstacle courses. Season 2 premieres at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 22 on Universal Kids.

“Black in Space: Breaking the Color Barrier”

Following a private screening at History Colorado last week, “Black in Space: Breaking the Color Barrier” will air on the Smithsonian Channel at 8 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 24. The show traces the contributions of African-American astronauts, including Denver resident and nationally renowned artist Ed Dwight, who underwent groundbreaking training to become the world’s first black astronaut during the Kennedy administration. (Dwight never made it into space, and his replacement died in a plane crash in 1967).

“These Woods Are Haunted”

The spooky Travel Channel show will feature a Colorado-rooted story in its Saturday, Feb. 29, episode, which airs at 9 p.m. “Monster in My Backyard,” as the segment is called,��looks at “a terrifying forest creature stalk(ing) a mother and daughter in the Colorado mountains.” Where, exactly? Even a Travel Channel rep didn’t know. “It����ap about 100 miles outside of Denver,” she said via email. Keep your eyes peeled for landmarks, if any.

“J��DZ貹�����”

Natalie Hathcote, a junior at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., hails from the southeast Denver suburb of Parker. Her hometown will likely be out in force (or in their living rooms, anyway) supporting her when she competes on the “J��DZ貹�����” College Championship series, airing April 6-17 (6 p.m. daily on Fox in Denver). The winner gets��a $100,000 grand prize and a berth in the next edition of the Tournament of Champions.

“MasterChef Junior Live”

OK, so this isn’t broadcast TV, but it����ap close enough to warrant inclusion. The touring stage version of Fox’s “MasterChef Junior” takes over the Paramount Theatre on Friday, April 10, with a kid-friendly cooking show featuring Jasmine (Season 5 winner), Malia (Season 7 finalist), Quani (Season 6) and Reid (Season 6). Tickets for the 7 p.m. show are $30 to $60 and available at .

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter, In The Know, to get entertainment news sent straight to your inbox.

��

Molly Jansen can’t reveal much about her time on “Naked and Afraid,” the six-year-old Discovery Channel series famous for putting au naturel competitors in brutal, do-or-die environments.

But she did say the secretive, month-long separation from her family — and civilization-at-large — nearly killed her. More than once.

“I have to tell you, it was as real as it comes,” Jansen, 45, said from a couch in her tidy but hulking red-brick Victorian on Capitol Hill this month. “And that part is frustrating when I see comments from people saying it’s fake. They didn’t live it day in and day out like I did.”

“She was literally battling for her life,” said Matt Wright, a “Naked and Afraid” veteran and Colorado survivalist with whom Jansen was paired. “This upcoming episode has everything you could put into an entire season of the show, and a lot of first-time things in the show’s history. We had moments where somebody’s life was literally holding on by a thread and had to be saved on the spot.”

Of course, Jansen and Wright signed legal documents saying they wouldn’t talk about the results under pain of lawsuit — which seems like an afterthought, given that their lives were on the line for the sake of our entertainment.

“I’ve had some pretty sensitive conversations with my daughters about how these traumatizing events are going to be portrayed,” Jansen said of her girls, ages 12, 15 and 17. “I wanted to prepare them.”

That’s especially true as Discovery advertises Jansen and Wright’s episode as taking place in an “African Kill Zone where they are stalked by lions, dozens of crocodiles and a herd of 100 elephants.”

“There’s lots of very, very close encounters with venomous snakes and large animals and predators,” Wright said.

We’ll know how Jansen and Wright did when their two-hour episode premieres on the Discovery Channel at 6 p.m. March 24. Jansen is celebrating with a viewing party at Stoney’s Bar and Grill (1111 Lincoln St.), with a $10 cover benefiting the nonprofit SafeHouse Denver, which provides assistance to victims of domestic violence.

Jansen is expecting a sizable crowd, considering her unusual profile in the community.

In addition to running her own law firm (Molly Jansen Law Group) and practicing criminal defense, the Denver native is a longtime morning DJ on hard-rock station KBPI 107.9-FM (Mondays 8:30-9:30 a.m.), a mountaineer, a ski instructor at Beaver Creek, a licensed real estate broker (Falk Ryan LLC), a yoga instructor, a former candidate for Denver district attorney, and a single mother of three who hails from a prominent Denver family known for its philanthropy.

Now Jansen can add “Naked and Afraid” survivalist to the list — a title that seems impossibly distant from her debutante past. Teasers for her episode advertise her as a “super fan” of the series, and one who was paired with “Naked and Afraid” veteran and Lakewood-based Wright. (A fan-favorite “all-star,” Wright counts the equivalent of more than three months of filming for the show.)

The “super fan” tag is true now for Jansen, having watched every episode twice. But it wasn’t when she started.

“There’s a part of me that has a lot of adrenaline because I like to do unique things, like heli-skiing in Iceland or running marathons,” she said. “So when I got back from an 18-day climb in Nepal last April (part of her training for a May 2020 attempt to summit Mount Everest), I saw a random message on Facebook asking if I wanted to apply.”

She had only seen a few clips of “Naked and Afraid” at that point, and admits she was naïve about producers’ interest in her, despite already knowing how to start fires and build life-saving caves in snow.

“They recruited me out,” she said. “I’m not a hunter. I fly fish, but not for food, you know? I have had to save somebody’s life on the mountain.”

But never her own — at least not until she was flown to a South African desert last year and inserted, sans-clothing, into her competitive environment. After meeting up with Wright, she later joined another pair of contestants — fellow “super fan” Blair Braverman and show veteran Greg Golding — to form a foursome battling the elements, geography and animal life.

As with all of the show’s competitors, Jansen was allowed to bring one item with her. She chose a knife. She made her shoes — useful for hiking to the show’s extraction point, but also for surviving the burning-hot desert sand — out of the skin and hair of a wild boar she and Wright killed during filming.

But how real is this reality-TV competition? Cameras swirl while competitors talk into an always-on microphone hidden in their show-provided necklaces, which communicate with a wireless transmitter hidden in their show-provided satchels. Jansen was skeptical going into it — even knowing that the camera crew can only intervene if someone’s about to die. She was soon disavowed of that skepticism, she said.

“I laugh when people ask me if it’s real,” said Wright, whose (together they run the Lakewood-based Extreme Instinct outdoor/sporting goods company) will appear on the show’s March 31 episode. “It’s way more real than you will ever see on the TV screen. You can never portray in that amount of time what really happens. For 24 hours a day for 21 days, there is no break.”

For viewers, and especially Colorado residents, “Naked and Afraid” is more than just bee-sting and bad-tattoo schadenfreude. Reality TV contestants from Colorado’s fit, high-altitude climes dominate on “American Ninja Warrior,” and have been finalists on shows like “Survivor,” “The Amazing Race” and other .

Despite her physical fitness and outdoors experience, Jansen credits her mental discipline for getting through the ordeal. It was especially useful when thoughts of her children began to crowd her mind, as they naturally would for any parent confronting death.

“The (compartments) of my life don’t cross very much,” said Jansen, who was raised Lutheran, but who parents her own girls “with a Buddhist flare.”

“That’s where my balance is.”

When contestants leave the show’s harsh filming environments, whether they made it the entire 21 days or not, they quickly realize that’s only the first step in rediscovering their suddenly small, safe lives back home. The second is weathering the public response after the episode airs. For Jansen, that’s nearly as life-or-death a prospect as surviving the “African Kill Zone,” given that negative reactions and social media-savaging could harm to dismantle her reputation as a lawyer and public figure.

“I went into this knowing that might happen, but I didn’t do it to be on national TV,” she said. “True primitive survival seemed like an intriguing challenge to me. It wasn’t, ‘Oh, wouldn’t it be cool to be naked on (that TV show)?’ I’ve already got recognition.”

Well, that and — as we’ll see on March 24 — countless other harrowing experiences under her figurative belt.

“You don’t come in cocky, or lacking confidence, but rather with a realistic perspective,” she said. “You don’t say, ‘I’m going to do it for 21 days.’ You say, ‘I’m going to do it every day.’ ”

At the moment it����ap only about a dozen people, all quietly watching the 40-year-old Denver School of the Arts alumnus��pose for photos in a white-walled studio in River North’s Taxi development.

Someone occasionally flits in front of the camera to fine-tune his hair or makeup. Mostly they’re smiling and whispering to one another.

Guerra, Denver’s best-known fashion designer, has shown his designs on catwalks and in retail outlets internationally. Today he’s wearing a black-and-white plaid suit and busy, floral-print shirt. The mixed patterns are united by their monochromatic scheme and vividly shattered by a hot pink tie, all accented by Guerra’s thick black frames, fashionably short pants and shiny black dress shoes (no socks).

It might not work on anyone else, but Guerra’s style is at once effortless and eye-catching. As the runner-up on Season 8 of Bravo’s fashion-competition series “Project Runway” — and a subsequent winner, mentor and fan-favorite on the show’s all-star versions and spin-offs — Guerra was the first choice to host the new, subscription-only streaming series “Runway Remake,” which is being shot entirely in Denver.

“Back in my day we didn’t have online anything,” Guerra said just before the mid-afternoon photo shoot, which will be used to promote the series. “We couldn’t Google anything. Now there are so many different outlets, but passionate young people still need role models and access to those creative outlets.”

“Runway Remake” is a digital spin-off of “Project Runway” in that installments will be available alongside most new “Project Runway” episodes (nine “Remake” installments vs. 12 “Projects”). The rebooted 17th season of “Project Runway” is to premiere March 14 on Bravo with a format that acknowledges the 15 years since it debuted.

Produced by Denver-based video-learning company Bluprint — formerly Craftsy — “Runway Remake” represents a parallel evolution of the valuable, if aging, “Project Runway” brand. Its goal? To reinforce and expand the show’s vocal, entrepreneurial fan base while showing at-home makers how to do it themselves.

“We’re able to help the audience figure out how to take those challenges on ‘Project Runway’ and actually make things related to them,” said Catherine Balsam-Schwaber, general manager of Bluprint. “It gives them a deeper relationship to the show and it����ap a great opportunity for us to get more exposure and connect with audiences who are already in that state of mind.”

The move also makes economic sense for NBCUniversal, the Comcast-owned conglomerate that controls both “Project Runway’s” parent network Bravo and the Denver-based Bluprint. NBCUniversal bought a controlling stake in Craftsy in 2017, instantly gaining access to Crafty’s 3,000 or so hours of original sewing, cooking and craft-related videos. With that deep library under NBCUniversal’s control, Craftsy has since transitioned from an essentially à la carte video service to a subscription model, charging $8 per month or $80 annually to view its wide variety of how-to lifestyle videos –��and renaming itself Bluprint last summer.

“From��a workflow perspective we have great partnership across all NBCUniversal brands,” said��Balsam-Schwaber, a past NBC veteran after working as chief content officer at toy maker Mattel. “In this case, it����ap working specifically with Bravo. While we’ve worked with them on many projects, this is the biggest one we’ve taken on so far.”

On “Runway Remake,” Guerra will guide a group of DIY makers through a fashion competition while also showing his own designs and practices for the camera. It doesn’t matter that Denver isn’t nationally known for its fashion scene, he said.

“It����ap fun for me because I’m not a teacher,” Guerra said on his second day of filming in mid-February. “I get nervous about that, but at the same time you have to allow yourself just to speak from experience. … It����ap getting a little easier as it goes.”

Guerra isn’t just the obvious choice to host “Runway Remake,” he’s arguably the perfect one. “Project Runway’s” broad fan base contains an unusual but valuable target market for Bluprint����ap videos — people who watch, but who also want to participate. That����ap not exactly revolutionary, given the large amount of “American Idol,” “Survivor,” “Bachelor” and “American Ninja Warrior” contestants (and winners) from Colorado over the last decade.

But it is a new wrinkle in the content-as-loyalty quilt, which all media conglomerates are now embracing. And Guerra has been a fan of the “Project Runway” brand since the beginning.

“When I first watched ‘Project Runway’ in Season 1 and Jay McCarroll won, I remember exactly where I was,” Guerra said. “I was sitting on my mom’s bed watching it on Bravo and I looked at that television and thought to myself — as I was tearing up, overcome with (emotion) — ‘I am going to get on that show, and I am going to win it at some point.’ As a creative person, and as a passionate person, you need to see those other people succeeding if you don’t have the tools around you at that point in your life.”

Guerra’s vulnerability, homespun yet high-fashion persona and bold patterns have always been part of his appeal. As is a social conscience that he comes by honestly.

“In the episode we taped yesterday I designed a tunic dress for my mother, a revision of my original version,” he said. “The challenge on this particular episode of ‘Project Runway’ was design-with-a-cause, so I wanted to really emphasize the importance of open conversation and support systems. That was important to me and my family when I was coming out as HIV positive” — something he first did in his 2010 season of “Project Runway.”

“Runway Remake” has represented a lighting-quick turnaround for Guerra, who was only approached about hosting it in January. But given his history with designing for charity projects, hosting shows and selling his designs via Neiman Marcus and others, as well as the fact that he was born and continues to live in the same metro area where Bluprint is based, it����ap a nearly seamless stitch.

And if the model seems familiar, it is. Not only does it follow a growing amount of brand partnerships that bridge streaming and on-demand (or over the top) TV content and traditional broadcast/cable networks, it mimics experiments such as a food show that appeared on Bluprint first and then aired on Bravo in conjunction with the latest season of

“We’re primarily focused on enhancing the experience for our members behind the paywall, but we’re also looking for opportunities to work with our television partners on new ways to bring our content to life,” Balsam-Schwaber said. “(‘Six Eats’) really took our cooking content and turned it into something that was ready for TV. We’re already looking at doing other things like that with our family and kids content, and some of our other maker content.”

Whether “Runway Remake” eventually airs on Bravo or remains an online accessory, Guerra is happy he signed up for it. Gaining a new appreciation for the design and fabrication process from start to finish isn’t his only goal in hosting it, after all.

“The jumping-off point for a creative person is understanding that process, knowing that it will always evolve and accepting that,” he said. “But I think it����ap fun for the viewer to actually know that what they’re watching is coming from a very special place, because it means a lot to me. For a lot of creatives and especially for the contestants on ‘Project Runway,’ this is their life. It����ap just exciting for them to share that — and maybe a little scary to capture it all on camera.”

And Colorado’s most-streamed TV show? It����ap the long-running Comedy Central animated series from Trey Parker and Matt Stone, who went on to write the Tony-winning Because of course it is.

I appreciate “South Park” as much as the next foulmouthed naïf��stumbling around Park County — the real-life former mining area 2 hours southwest of Denver that inspired the 22-year-old series.

But is that all Colorado is at this point? A bunch of fixed-speed stoner jokes grinding in 1st-gear juvenalia, blindly supported by a potty-obsessed rabble whose hometown-boys-made-good loyalty comes at the exclusion of all else?

We’re getting ahead of ourselves here.

“South Park” creators, writers and voice actors Parker and Stone hail from Colorado, of course, and first met while attending the University of Colorado’s film program in Boulder, a story that has been well documented over the years. Their continued success has gone past amusing and improbable and back to accepted so many times that it����ap hard to imagine having anything new to say about their gleefully profane, button-pushing aesthetic.

That����ap particularly true among the current flood of subversive, progressive, artful TV coming at us on streaming services, from “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and “American Crime Story” (go watch the Versace-themed Season 2 if you haven’t) to “Atlanta,” “The Great British Baking Show,” “Schitt����ap Creek” and “The Good Place.”

How in the name of Cartman’s mom is “South Park” still among these top shows? It used to be subversive; in recent years it has felt alternately rudderless, mean-spirited and curmudgeonly in a way that only rich-dude libertarians get to feel.

Perhaps the fault lies in the methodology of this admittedly clickbait-y report, which heavily privileges geography.

“Location matters,” a press release for the report reads, “as multiple states love TV shows filmed in their own backyard.” (Note: “South Park” is and always has been produced in Los Angeles.)

While noting that nearly 60 percent of the U.S. “now watches TV via internet streaming, either to replace or supplement cable or satellite service,” howtowatch.com — which has an interest in supporting streaming, given that it����ap a guide to streaming services — said it began by “researching the most popular TV series across four major streaming platforms (Netflix,��Hulu,��HBO Go, and Amazon’s��Prime Video) to create an initial list of 80 shows. Then, we plugged that lineup into Google Trends to pinpoint each state’s most popular TV show.”

So they Googled it, basically.

That����ap not surprising when you see that the favorite shows of many U.S. states are narratively based there. Washington state’s favorite series, according to howtowatch.com, is “Frasier,” which is set in Seattle. California’s is “Narcos,” Utah’s is “Big Love,” New Mexico’s is a tie between “Better Call Saul” and “Breaking Bad,” Louisiana’s is “Treme” — and on and on. If it����ap set and/or filmed there, that state loves it.

Certain shows, like “True Blood,” and “Friday Night Lights,” recur across several states. “South Park” is also, apparently, the most-streamed show in South Carolina.

If that����ap the case, why am I so suspicious that “South Park” is not Colorado’s favorite show?

Certainly, there’s a lot of great data at our fingertips these days. But Googling is not research, at least not the kind most journalists base their work on (some might say drive-by hot takes on pseudo-legit studies aren’t real writing, either. But that����ap neither here nor there). Is “South Park” objectively more popular than all the reality competitions with Colorado contestants, ranging from to ? Is it making more money or grabbing more eyeballs than the average episode of “The Big Bang Theory,” TV’s most popular sitcom? (That is, if we’re going to wade into that broadcast vs. streaming argument, which is difficult to quantify.)

In any event, you can’t blame howtowatch.com for trying, as the report clearly inflamed the critical proprieties of this reporter. But consider this a plea for either deeper research in these types of marketing-driven carrots, or (if it����ap true) at least more curiosity on the part of Colorado’s streaming-TV consumers. “South Park” is great and all, but there’s so much more out there these days.

Yeah, some of it����ap based in Colorado. But as the state continues to draw new people and watch its culture evolve, particularly along the Front Range, I can’t imagine all of them are “South Park” diehards. Or even most of them.