The first season of the American reality competition series Ultimate Beastmaster premiered exclusively via Netflix's web streaming service on February 24, 2017. The show consists of 10 Beastmaster episodes which were released simultaneously on Netflix worldwide.[1] The show was filmed in Santa Clarita, California, over the course of eight nights.[2]
Olympic gold-medal swimmer Ed Moses competed in the second episode, Going for Gold, coming in second place.[3]
In addition to Sylvester Stallone hosting the series, each country has their own set of two hosts/commentators for the competition. They are as follows:
Not only do each pair of hosts provide color commentary for each of the six localized versions, but the foreign commentators also make appearances in each localized version, with their commentary presented by subtitles. If a contestant completes a course, all hosts' reactions are shown on screen. Furthermore, since all host booths are placed in a row on the Ultimate Beastmaster set, commentators from one localization can easily walk into the booth of another localized version.
The obstacle course for the competition is known as The Beast, and it is divided into 4 Levels. Competitors with the highest scores after each level move on while those with the lowest scores are eliminated. Scores accumulate on levels 1–3, with ties decided in favor of the competitor with the lowest time. The obstacles are suspended over a body of red-tinted water referred to as Beast Blood and housed in a giant steel frame that takes the form of a large animal. A competitor is considered to have failed a Level if all four limbs are submerged into the Beast Blood. Failure ends the attempt at the current Level, but confers no penalties; except in the case of Level 3's The Hard Way, in which completing additional challenges nets bonus points but failure removes points.
The winner of each episode is crowned the title Beastmaster. The nine beastmasters of all episodes then compete against each other in the final episode (episode 10). The winner, if completed the entire level 4 (reaching the top of The Power Source and obtained the final Point Thruster at the summit), is crowned the Ultimate Beastmaster and awarded $50,000.
In Level 1 all twelve competitors compete with the top eight scorers moving on.
The Jawbreaker – Competitors must cross a series of parallel horizontal bars.
Mother Tongue – Competitors must scale a 30 ft plank at a 45° angle with no grips, then jump onto a small climbing wall mounted above the ramp and successfully climb onto the ledge.
Brain Matter – Competitors cross a 16" wide (reduced to 6" for the finals) suspended balance beam with the aid of a small gear handle above their head. The first Points Thruster is located midway along Brain Matter.
Throat Erosion – Replacing Mother Tongue and Brain Matter in certain episodes, competitors must use an industrial trampoline to jump and grab a lever releasing a climbing wall.
Faceplant – Competitors stand on a narrow platform, hands braced against panels on either side, as they are tilted forward to a 45° angle. They must then jump to a rope (sometimes a chain) and swing to the next obstacle.
Energy Coils – Competitors must jump across a series of 8 semi-stationary hanging platform at various heights. The second (first if competitors faced Throat Erosion instead of Brain Matter) Point Thruster is located next to a side platform.
Mag Wall – Competitors navigate horizontally across a climbing wall. Periodically the magnetic handholds are released and fall to the Beast's blood. The wall features an inversion, from which the competitors must jump to the finishing platform. A third and final Point Thruster was added toward the end of Mag Wall during the finals.
Each obstacle is worth ten points allowing for a possible total of 60 or 80 Points, depending on The Beast's configuration, with the opportunity of gathering 90 points in the final episode (season finale).
In Level 2 the top eight competitors compete, with the top five scorers moving on.
Spinal Ascent – Competitors must complete a series of vertical jumps, with the largest being 8 feet. Three platforms are fixed, while two are suspended.
Spinal Descent – Competitors must work their way down through a cable web, the cables becoming thinner and thinner toward the bottom. A Point Thruster is located at the bottom.
Stomach Churn – Competitors must traverse three spinning platforms all at varying heights.
Digestive Track – Jumping from the last spinning platform into a tube, competitors must climb the tube before it sinks and jump to the next obstacle.
Dreadmills – Competitors must cross a pair of suspended treadmills and leap to a platform.
Chain Reaction – Competitors must swing across a series of hanging chains. A Point Thruster is located midway across.
Vertebrace – Competitors must hop through a series of five suspended vertebrae-shaped hoops and jump to the finish platform. A Point Thruster is located at the left of the second vertebrae.
Each obstacle is worth 20 points allowing for a possible total of 160 or 200 points, depending on The Beast's configuration.
In Level 3, also known as the Energy Pyramid, the top 5 scorers compete, with the top two advancing to the final level.
The Ejector – Competitors must mount a 14 MPH forward-moving treadmill and attempt to grab a suspended rope handle (attached to Prism Strike).
Prism Strike – Competitors must hold onto the rope handle as it swings through a curved track. A Points Thruster is located to the side of the track roughly midway through.
The Coil Crawl – Competitors must work their way through a tube structure made of pipe and chain before it sinks into the water.
At the end of the Coil Crawl competitors must make a choice between two paths.
If competitors choose to go right (The Easy Way) they only have to complete one more obstacle:
The Extractor – Competitors must climb a series of hanging poles to reach a high platform.
If competitors choose to go left (The Hard Way) they have a chance to do three bonus obstacles:
Bungee Beds – Competitors must traverse three unstable platforms suspended at varying heights by bungee chords. This obstacle has mats beneath, and a competitor fails if any part of their body touches the mat.
Tricky Trapeze – Competitors must use their momentum to swing across three trapeze bars. The first bar is held magnetically in place and will instantly release upon being grabbed. The next two bars are suspended on a pulley which enables them to shift from side-to-side further making traversing them far harder.
Weapon – Competitors must use grip handles to slide across 2 sets of v-shaped bars. The first set descends to the second set. The competitor then must jump to the finishing platform.
Obstacles (excluding those on the bonus course) are worth 30 points. Bonus obstacles are worth 40 points each, and a competitor may choose to accept their bonus score and decline the remaining obstacle(s). Failure on any of the bonus obstacles forfeits any bonus points and suffers a 40-point penalty. The highest possible total is 240 points.
In Level 4 all scores are reset to 0 and the top 2 competitors face each other on The Power Source, an eighty-foot climbing wall, with the top 1 being the Ultimate Beastmaster for the finals.
Foundation – Competitors navigate a wall of increasingly small handholds.
Grid Lock – Instead of handholds, competitors must climb using 2-inch-wide slots cut into the surface in a grid-like pattern.
Ventilator – Competitors must ascend a narrow vertical crevice.
High Voltage – Competitors face a sheer vertical surface with only two extremely narrow ledges.
There is a final Point Thruster at the summit of The Power Source.
Along all four sections of the Power Source are Energy Taps, green buttons which the competitors must touch in order to gain points. Each Energy Tap is worth ten points, except the 2 energy Taps from High Voltage which are worth 40 points. Competitors are given six minutes to accumulate the highest possible score, with ties decided in favor of the competitor who is currently highest on the tower. There is no failure condition for the Power Source, and competitors may attempt to regain their footing if they lose grip on the tower/wall or fall.
The show has six country-specific versions. These have separate hosts, and languages, with two competitors from each country competing in each of the first nine episodes of the series. The countries are the U.S., Brazil, South Korea, Mexico, Germany, and Japan.[4]
Simon Brunner
Heeyong Park
Ricardo de Oliviera
Shaun Provost
Omar Zamitiz
Toyohiko Kubota