Netflix is the home of a variety of original series, ranging from comedies to dramas to documentaries. Now, the streaming service is crossing into a genre not yet explored by its original programming, as it's finally getting a reality series, and it’s not starting small. The show will be called Ultimate Beastmaster and pit contestants against one another in a brutal obstacle course called “The Beast.” And Sylvester Stallone is one of the names behind it.
Ultimate Beastmaster will run for ten episodes of one hour each, and the contestants will hail from the United States, Brazil, South Korea, Mexico, Germany, and Japan. Each episode will follow twelve contestants as they face off to pursue the title of “Beastmaster,” but while the first nine episodes will see nine lucky competitors earn the “Beastmaster” title, the “Ultimate Beastmaster” glory goes to the person who comes out on top at the end of the finale that pits all nine Beastmasters against each other in the most brutal obstacle course of them all. The competitors may not all speak the same language, but something tells me that they won’t need translators to get the gist of how to destroy each other. There’s no confirmation just yet of whether or not there will be a physical crown involved, but I sure hope so.
As much as Ultimate Beastmaster seems like the reality TV version of The Hunger Games, Netflix has brought together an unlikely but potentially fantastic duo to bring the show to life with a unique twist or two. Actor Sylvester Stallone and Biggest Loser executive producer David Broome will produce Beastmaster. Considering that Stallone made his name as an action movie star and Broome has proven that he knows what works to craft a popular reality series, Ultimate Beastmaster may be just what Netflix needs to develop into a resource for fans of reality television. Stallone will also be featured on the show, but it's not clear how.
The roster of hosts is combined of sportscasters, athletes, actors, and TV personalities, and the hosts who will be providing the commentary for U.S. subscribers are Terry Crews of Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Charissa Thompson of Fox Sports. They have to send Terry Crews out to do one of the obstacle courses himself, right? I mean, they have to.
Interestingly, Ultimate Beastmaster is not being designed just to appeal to any one national market. Netflix will offer the series in six versions, each of which is customized to the country in which a subscriber is viewing. The versions will feature hosts from each country, commentary in the native language, and focus primarily on the competitors from the given country.
There’s no news of when we can expect to see Ultimate Beastmaster shredding through competitors. Hopefully, we won’t have to wait too long to see how Netflix pulls off customizing one show for six countries. In the meantime, take a look at our list of the greatest Netflix original series, and check out our list of summer TV premiere dates.
