Netflix's hit Physical: 100 franchise is heading to Italy, bringing together 100 competitors in a test of strength, endurance, agility and mental resilience.
Physical 100: Italy, officially titled Physical Italia: Da 100 a 1, will have its premiere on September 11 and is the first country-specific adaptation of the South Korean reality competition.
The original series became a global hit after launching in 2023, bringing together contestants from vastly different sporting backgrounds and putting them through increasingly gruelling physical challenges until only one remained.
Its success led to Physical: Asia, which expanded the concept into a battle between national teams. Eight countries featured in the show: South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Mongolia, Turkey, Indonesia, Australia and the Philippines.
Netflix has since announced several international versions of the format, including for the US, Mexico and Sweden.
What is the format of Physical: 100?
The 100 contestants on the show, both women and men, are known for their physical prowess and come from various sporting disciplines. They include Olympians, MMA champions, bodybuilders and CrossFit athletes.
Contestants are put through contests that test their strength and endurance. For instance, in Hanging Challenge – the first competition in season one – contestants were required to hang from a bar raised above water for as long as they could, with the highest scorers earning special privileges.
In the Death Match Challenge, which has appeared in multiple seasons, contestants wrestle one-on-one in an arena to gain possession of a ball within a stipulated time frame to proceed to the next round.
With participants eliminated after each challenge, the last person walks home with prize money of 300 million Korean won ($210,000).
The first two seasons of Physical: 100 were both won by CrossFit athletes: Woo Jin-yong and Amotti.
Who's in Physical 100: Italy?
Similar to the South Korean version, the focus will return to individuals for the Italian adaptation.
Contestants range in age from 22 to 60, and include Olympic champions, professional athletes, fitness specialists and celebrities. More unusual disciplines represented include skeleton racing, triathlon, wrestling, Hyrox, American football and calcio storico fiorentino, the centuries-old Italian sport that combines elements of football, rugby and wrestling.
Netflix says more than 1,000 potential contestants were approached during an extensive casting process, which included 187 Zoom auditions and 137 in-person callbacks.
The competition was filmed at Lingotto in Turin, the sprawling former Fiat factory that has become one of the northern Italian city's best-known landmarks.
While the complete line-up of 100 contestants is yet to be revealed, here are seven famous faces to know.
Federica Pellegrini, swimmer
One of the biggest names in Italian swimming, Federica Pellegrini, 38, has represented Italy at five Olympic Games and became Olympic champion in the 200-metre freestyle at Beijing 2008. Four years earlier, aged 16, she had won silver in the same event at the Athens 2004 Games.
She has won 11 World Championship medals, including six golds, and dominated the 200-metre freestyle for much of her career. She became the first swimmer to reach eight consecutive World Championship finals in the same event.
Pellegrini retired from competitive swimming in 2021.
Jury Chechi, gymnast
A former artistic gymnast, Jury Chechi, 56, won five consecutive world titles between 1993 and 1997, as well as four European titles.
His greatest triumph came at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, when he won gold on the rings. Eight years later, at the age of 34, he returned to the Olympic podium with bronze in Athens, where he was also Italy's flag-bearer.
Now in his fifties, Chechi will be among the older contestants on Physical 100: Italy.
Tania Cagnotto, diver
Another Olympian joining the competition is Tania Cagnotto, 41, one of the most successful divers in Italian history. Cagnotto competed at five Olympic Games, making her debut at Sydney 2000 when she was only 15.
She won a silver medal at Rio 2016 in the synchronised three-metre springboard alongside Francesca Dallape, and bronze in the individual three-metre event. She is also the first Italian woman to win a World Championship diving medal and, in 2015, became a world champion in the one-metre springboard.
Cagnotto comes from an Olympic family. Her father, Giorgio Cagnotto, was also a diver and won four Olympic medals representing Italy, while her mother, Carmen Casteiner, competed at the 1976 Montreal Olympics.
Mirco Bergamasco, rugby player
Mirco Bergamasco, 43, is a former rugby union player with an international career spanning more than a decade.
He has represented his country at three Rugby World Cups and became a familiar figure in the Six Nations. One of his most memorable moments came in 2011, when he kicked the winning penalty as Italy recorded its first Six Nations victory over France.
Rugby also runs in the family. Bergamasco's older brother, Mauro, played alongside him for Italy, while their father, Arturo, also represented the national side.
Elisabetta Canalis, kickboxer and TV personality
Elisabetta Canalis, 47, may be better known as a television personality, actress and model, but has trained in kickboxing for years. In 2022, she made her competitive debut at the Night of Kick and Punch event at the Reggia di Venaria near Turin.
She faced Rachele Muratori in a three-round bout and won on points.
Canalis famously dated George Clooney for two years before they broke up in 2011.
Alvise Rigo, rugby player and TV personality
Alvise Rigo, 33, has already made the transition from sport to entertainment. The former rugby player is now a popular television personality, best known for competing in Italy's version of Dancing with the Stars in 2021.
Luis Sal, YouTuber and fitness content creator
A wild card among decorated athletes and Olympians, Luis Sal, 29, is a YouTuber known for his comedy videos, music and fitness-related content.
But that contrast has always been the appeal of Physical: 100, where the competition is not necessarily designed for the fastest runner, strongest weightlifter or most decorated athlete.
When is Physical 100: Italy being released?
Physical 100: Italy will be released on Netflix in four batches.
The first three episodes will arrive on September 11, followed by episodes four and five on September 18, and episodes six and seven on September 25. The eighth and final episode will be released on October 2.
