Netflix Korea on Wednesday confirmed the return of its flagship survival competition show, “Physical: 100,” for a second season.
“Physical: 100,” which premiered in January, caught local and global viewers’ attention as 100 contestants battled it out in intense survival matches for the title of the most physically fit.
It became the first Korean variety show to soar to the No. 1 slot in the platform's global top 10 chart of non-English TV shows.
The nine-part sports entertainment series recorded more than 192 million hours of viewing for six consecutive weeks, beating other Netflix Korean dramas like “Hellbound” (2021), “Juvenile Justice” (2022) and “Money Heist: Korea -- Joint Economic Area” (2022).
Some participants, such as female wrestler Jang Eun-sil, bodybuilder Kim Chun-ri and choreographer Jeon Young -- among others, were propelled to fame by their appearance on the show.
“We (the production team) are well aware of the fans’ compliments and criticisms about ‘Physical: 100.’ And we decided to change everything in the second season, except the program’s fundamental goal of finding the strongest physique,” a Netflix press release quoted director Jang Ho-gi as saying.
Jang added that he will invite new talents to compete and aims to develop more exciting, challenging missions with experts.
While it was popular, “Physical: 100” also came under fire over its handling of the final matches.
Olympic cyclist Jung Hae-min -- the runner-up -- told a local media outlet that the finals had to be suspended twice and claimed that his request to air the rematches was ignored.
Meanwhile, director Jang explained that the match was stopped twice due to "unexpected incidents," a decision that was eventually agreed upon by the two athletes in the finals. He also claimed that the staff members did not engage in any unfair manipulation to influence the match.
Other controversies surrounding the cast also surfaced.
Kim Da-young, a stunt actor, posted an apology on her social media admitting that she said abusive and hurtful words to discipline her junior in middle school. But Kim denied accusations by a purported ex-schoolmate who said that Kim extorted cash from others, took her friends to a karaoke room and physically assaulted them.
A former South Korean rugby national team member was indicted on charges of physical assault against his girlfriend, which he later admitted in the first trial held in April.
Detailed information about the release date, participants and the number of episodes are yet to be announced.
