Now the corresponding producer of the Special Forces is talking

Titled the toughest reality ever in Finland, the Special Forces started this week.

In a series based on the British Who Dares Wins format, 14 public figures live in rudimentary conditions at the Lohja lime plant and perform tasks similar to the entrance examinations for the Defense Forces.

Not only physical but also mental fitness is tested. Injuries were seen in the very first episode.

However, it did not come as a surprise to any of the participants that they had joined.

– Everyone knew what the format was about and participants were asked to watch a series of foreign episodes before agreeing, Special Forces Producer Alex Laszlo Banijay from Finland says.

According to Laszlo, all participants also attended extensive health and fitness examinations in advance and at a psychologist’s office.

The producer in charge does not comment on whether some of the potential participants had to be shelved because their health or psyche could not withstand the hardships.

– Injuries are always nasty and the risk of injury in this program is higher than in less severe programs. Participants are fully insured on behalf of the production company, Laszlo says.

Thus, if someone were to suffer a long-term injury while doing the program, the insurance costs of the production company would be reimbursed.

Worth it all

Miss Sunneva Sjögren mumbled her previously operated knee in the first episode as she sank into the swamp. At a special forces press conference, he said the knee is still, almost a year after the filming, okay.

– The cruciate ligaments went from the knee to the thigh, a secondary injury. The magnetic images showed that it was there and that it should have been cut.

– I used robot plaster six days a day. I continue to rehabilitate my leg with a physiotherapist so it is still not completely fine. For example, I did not dare to ski once this winter, Sjögren said.

Is it worth taking part in a reality TV show, then, to put your own health at stake?

– The participants were quite drummed right at the beginning of the program and their persistence was even surprising. But if participation was worth it, you have to ask them, Laszlo says.

Sjögren said at the program’s press conference that even though the knee went and he was passed home from the program right in the first episode, participation is not regretted. Sjögren was firmly of the opinion that it was worth going because he specifically wanted to challenge himself.

Competition inside the head

The corresponding producer emphasizes that the tasks of the Finnish Special Forces series are as tough as in the British format.

– Finns are at least as tenacious as the British, so there is no reason to ease tasks.

– The assignments are based on the entrance exams of the right special forces, they have only been slightly modified to better suit the program.

At the beginning of the program, sensitive viewers will be warned about the harsh content.

– I hope sensitive viewers have heeded the warnings. As a parent, I would first look at myself and then decide whether a child under the age of 12, for example, could watch the series, says the producer in charge.

For example, one of the participants in the program, an ex-skier Sami Jauhojärvi has said his 10-, 6-, and 3-year-olds are not allowed to watch the series in all respects.

Laszlo reminds that all tasks are carefully planned and security and medical personnel are constantly involved in the descriptions.

– I can’t say what everything can be put into doing it in the name of television entertainment, but in this format, adults have volunteered. No one is forced to stay either, Laszlo emphasizes.

– The tasks are about challenging yourself and overcoming fears. This is not a competition that only one could win. There’s not even a physical prize, but the competition is held inside your own head, he continues.

One may also ask whether it is appropriate to present a belligerent and fear-raising program now that war is at war in Europe.

– The horrors in Ukraine are certainly on everyone’s minds.

– However, the series does not play war, but is a reality program that tests the mental and physical endurance of the participants. The program takes place in an environment similar to a special forces entry test, but it has nothing to do with war, Laszlo summarizes.