Contestants for the 2nd season of Physical: 100 will battle in an 'underground mine'

Production on the second season of the hit Netflix reality show Physical: 100 is well underway and on Wednesday (Aug 9), producer Jang Ho-gi provided an update on what viewers can expect this season during a press event held for the South Korean media.

Jang showed reporters the set for the final stage of Physical: 100 Season 2 which resembled an underground mine. 

He explained: "Our goal was for the second season of Physical:100 to look different from the first season. The first season's concept was ancient Greece where fighters battled each other. For this season, we thought of underground mines between the 50s and 60s where people sacrificed themselves and where competition and desire were rampant."

Jang also stressed the diversity of the contestants in season two, emphasising that the production team "did everything in their power" to vet their backgrounds – in response to reports that a few contestants in Season 1 had criminal records.

"More than 30 of the 100 contestants are current or former athletes from national sports teams and more female contestants have joined the competition. I personally have high expectations that one of the female contestants will win the final prize this season."

“We did everything in our power to check and verify the potential contestants' backgrounds. Going through every detail in the applications, conducting separate searches and having one-on-one meetings with each contestant. We also conducted ‘mind sessions' where we pair contestants with psychologists so that they do not crumble under the pressure of the competition.”

Fans of the first season will be familiar with the controversy surrounding its finale where the final mission was reportedly repeated three times due to equipment issues. Jang claims that he will ensure such issues do not happen this season, saying: "The nature of our show prevents us from doing rehearsals. As such, anticipating potential problems is a big challenge. Our solution was to run as many simulations as possible and check each part of the equipment. We are also looking at simpler quests that do not require equipment.”

The first season of Physical: 100 saw snowboarding athlete Woo Jin-yong take home the grand prize of 300 million won (S$315,000) after defeating cyclist Jung Hae-min. Netflix has yet to announce a release date for the second season of Physical: 100.