Physical: 100: Netflix’s wild and crazy Squid Games-inspired reality show

REVIEW: “I got the feeling that it would be like Squid Games.”

It’s taken around half-an-hour, but one of the contestants on Netflix’s latest Korean sensation has finally dared say what anyone tempted to watch this reality competition had been thinking. That while we wait for the much-hyped Squid Game: The Challenge to make its way to the global streamer (it’s currently being filmed in the UK), its crown may have already been usurped by a crazy mix of Celebrity Ninja Warrior and The Crystal Maze.

Coming out of nowhere, Physical: 100 has been a surprise chart-topping sensation in many countries, including New Zealand, over the past fortnight since its debut.

Assembling 100 of Korea’s elite athletes and public figures known for their physiques – everyone from gold-winning Olympic gymnasts to the country’s self-proclaimed strongest man, members of the military, wrestlers, body builders and “influencers” like Bbulkup and Tarzan – it promises to put them through a series of gruelling tasks designed to test their speed, strength, agility, endurance and resilience.

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“We wondered ‘what is the perfect physique?’” the opening voiceover (best heard in subtitle-assisted Korean, rather than the awful Iron Chef-esque American dub) intones. That’s followed immediately by the somewhat shudder-inducing threat that “it won’t stop until someone is shipped out dead”.

Cue the most polite – and slow – gathering of reality show contestants you’re ever likely to see, as one-by-one they turn up in a large hall to stand beside a detailed bust of their torso.

Far from animosity, there is only adulation, as old friends reunite and new acquaintances are formed between these elite athletes and superstars. “Your upper-arm is as big as my face!” enthuses one to his more bulky counterpart, while another wonders aloud if this really a “dating show” in disguise. There’s a married couple, siblings, a US-born baseballer, a Singaporean actress and the World’s Super Featherweight female boxing champion.

Part of the initial joy – for the audience at least – is trying to work out what each of them does. Anticipation rises at one point when one well-built gentleman enters to a succession of “oohs” and fearful looks. Could it be a movie star or a top wrestler? Nope, it’s a car dealer. “Everyone who works out in Korea is here,” one participant rather pithily observes.

After about 30 minutes of meeting our 100, we’re finally into the first of the promised five challenges to determine who will take home the 300 million Won (NZ$379,000) prize. Actually, no, we’re not. There’s a pre-quest mission involving everyone hanging from a metal structure suspended above the floor. When one of our contestants speculates that the floor will disappear from below them, it’s met with derision by a rival. “The floor won’t fall out! You’ve watched too many movies!”

After the first group of 50 are finally in position, you can guess what happens next – revealing a pool, which they will all avail themselves of, as they drop off one-by-one. “They don’t teach this at the gym,” one of the bigger men opines when it becomes clear he’s not going to be in contention to gain the “privilege” winning this mission comes with.

Once everyone has splashed down and the water has settled, this mission’s purpose is revealed – to allow all 100 to be ranked in terms of how long they lasted. Those at the top will now – one-by-one – chose their opponent for a three-minute “death-match” involving an eclectic arena (that looks not unlike a community park) and a medicine ball. Whoever is holding it when the timer runs out is declared the winner. If neither of them are, then there’s an extra period of 60 seconds.

But although it’s fascinating to watch the various tactics, both around choosing an opponent and controlling the match, it all feels just a little too drawn out to really compel. By the end of the second episode, we’re still in middle of the battles and wondering about whether the editors had simply gone on strike at some point during production. Yes, there were some gripping contests and an upset victory or two, but having to live through every second and endure an instant replay of key moments was a bit much.

On the plus side, I am all for the elimination ritual where the fallen competitor is obliged to smash up the replica of their torso. On the evidence so far, it appears somewhat cathartic for them.

Episodes 5 and 6 of the promised nine drop tonight (February 7) – and we’re finally in the middle of the second challenge involving the remaining 50 split into teams of five who have to work together to carry sand across suspension bridges.

It might sound like something straight out of New Zealand’s Treasure Island, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen Bree Tomasel or the producers of that show step in to sabotage a structure part-way through.

Physical: 100 is now streaming on Netflix with new episodes dropping every Tuesday night.