TV has been saturated with American reality competition series that puts their contestants to the test. The most intense and physically demanding series elicit rivalry, bad-mouthed comments, and unsportmanship. But Netflix has broken the cycle with its first reality competition series, Physical 100. The nine-episode series has proven to fans that camaraderie, a non-toxic environment, and support among teammates can make for good TV.
[WARNING: This article contains spoilers for Physical 100.]
‘Physical 100’ had contestants regardless of age, gender, and sport
One hundred contestants joined the Physical 100 hoping to win the competitions series. But when picking the contestants, the production team looked past age and gender to create a well-rounded group of athletes. Not only were there elite male bodybuilders like Kim Kang-min, but also Kim Chun-ri, who has been a female bodybuilder for 17 years. Physical 100 also included non-Korean competitors who have made a life for themselves in the country.
Fans met bodybuilder and dancer Miracle on Physical 100, alongside pro baseball player Dustin Nippert and fitness model Florian. Fans watched as men chose women to compete against during the quests. It was all in the name of the survival series, as Chun-ri defended her match against MMA fighter Park Hyung-gen as fans criticized his tactics.
While the series promoted strength and athleticism among men and women, it also proved that age is just a number. The youngest contestant on Physical 100 was national Taekwondo athlete Kim Byeong-jin. He arrived wearing his school uniform and said, “I’ll show you how fearsome teens can be.”
But one of the biggest competitors of Physical 100 was also the oldest. MMA fighter Choo Sung-hoon is 47 years old and one of the world’s biggest athletes. “I want to show people that even at this age, there’s a way to beat young people,” said Sung-hoon. While the rules of gender and age were out the window, Physical 100 proved that support was a winning factor.
Camaraderie overshadowed drama on the competition series ‘Physical 100’
All the contestants joined Physical 100 for a reason, but as the series progressed, fans were in awe of the kindness and support they showed each other. With American TV series often involving heavy drama and bad blood, Physical 100 was non-toxic. As contestants battled one another, they always respected their competitors and thanked them for giving it their all. During the first quest, fans saw Miracle and Byeong-jin give each other hearts. Choreographer Jeon Young left the series smiling and showing off his moves.
After the bridge challenge eliminations, Ee-ddeum was the only person from her team to be readmitted into Physical 100. In her Youtube video with her teammates, she thanked them for pushing her with encouragement to not fail. “They were cheering for me just so I can survive,” she explained. “I’m really grateful to you guys.” She got emotional watching her team save her bust from breaking when she let go.
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Fans also saw selflessness in the face of elimination. During the Greek mythology challenges on Physical 100, A-reum allowed her teammates to take their preferred challenges. She felt they would have a better chance of surviving than she did. Until the end of Physical 100, all the contestants showed their gratitude for having competed among their newfound friends.
After Jo Jin-hyeong won the Atlas challenge, he embraced Kim Sik and commented, “The joy of winning was great, but the joy of having this great match with Sik for two hours was even greater.” Ma Sun-ho also called it an “honor.” In the Physical 100 finale, Jung Hae-min applauded Woo Jin-yong for his victory. Jin-yong thanked his competitors for the happy memories among people he was “honored” to be with.
The five finalists of ‘Physical 100’ were not after bragging rights or the prize money
Like any competition series, Physical 100 had decent prize money for the victor. But fans soon realized the prize money was far from the competitors’ minds and merely an afterthought. A majority of the athletes were there for one or two things. Many wanted to bring awareness to their sport and prove their hard work and muscles paid off.
Kim Min-cheol, Park Jin-yong, Woo Jin-yong, and Hae-min explained their reasoning for joining the series during the finale. Ice climber and mountain rescuer Min-cheol joined the series to “promote things that aren’t well-known.” As a second-generation cyclist, Hae-min also wanted to show people the sport. The waterworks started with Park Jin-yong and Woo Jin-yong’s stories.
Park Jin-yong is a national luge athlete but admitted, “Athletes always have to live in competition. You have to survive that. Only the good athletes are remembered, and only the good survive.” He joined Physical 100 to bring popularity to the sport for current and future luge athletes. According to an interview with W Korea, Jin-yong focused only on helping promote the sport.
Woo Jin-yong had similar ambitions of joining Physical 100. He was Korea’s first national snowboarding cross athlete. But the country decided not to support the sport due to its unpopularity. Jin-yong’s ambition to reach the Olympics was cut short. “The younger athletes are training hard right now, and I hope they could get a lot of support and that people would take interest in them,” he explained.
