Netflix Is Getting Into Reality TV With Sylvester Stallone’s ‘Ultimate Beastmaster’

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Netflix is preparing to conquer another TV format: the reality competition series. The streaming giant has greenlit production on the Sylvester Stallone–produced Ultimate Beastmaster, a ten-episode show in which 108 jocks from around the world compete to complete what Netflix is calling “one of the most physically demanding obstacle courses ever devised,” a.k.a. “The Beast.” The first nine episodes of the show will feature two local jocks from each of the six countries taking on the Beast; the finale will then have the nine episodic winners battling each other for the Ultimate Beastmaster title. While the series, from Stallone and Biggest Loser producer Dave Broome, sounds an awful lot like NBC’s popular America Ninja Warrior, there’s a bit of a twist with Beastmaster. Taking advantage of Netflix’s status as an international distribution platform, localized versions of the show are being simultaneously produced in six different counties: the United States, Mexico, Japan, Brazil, South Korea, and Germany. Each local edition will have its own host and color commentator, making the show a bit like the Olympics (i.e., one competition filtered through the lens of multiple international TV networks.) Here in the States, Terry Crews and Extra’s Charissa Thompson will offer commentary. Netflix says all episodes will stream at once, as per its custom. No word yet on a premiere date, but casting for the show began back in January. Given reality show production schedules, a late-summer premiere — perhaps around the time of the Olympics — isn’t impossible to imagine.

Netflix Greenlights Ultimate Beastmaster