Justin Amirkhani goes behind the scenes at Medieval Times, interviewing his friend, the knight Max Shkvorets:
When I asked if he ever got too invested in the imagination of the show, Max told me, "It’s a little bit of an unhealthy way to think about things, but I remember the very first time I won a fight as the red knight and I got to kill a guy. For a split second after I killed him, I felt in it—completely in it—I had just killed a man for someone’s amusement and felt the glory of the Earth."
Amirkhani nods:
Although I had only seen the show once before meeting the cast, I completely understood their sentiments. As Max explained it to me, "Combat is literally the purest form of drama." It’s the reason you get a thrill when watching a clip of a lion taking down a zebra and the reason folks gather around to gawk at people brawling in the streets. [… Medieval Times] lets the audience bask in their natural desire for carnage without any of the first world guilt that comes from watching people permanently destroy themselves for someone's entertainment.
The Dish 