Company sues 'Physical:100' producer for being omitted from credits

Television

Published: 02 Mar. 2023, 18:18

Company sues 'Physical:100' producer for being omitted from credits

A scene from Netflix's reality television show ″Physical:100″ [NETFLIX]

Ascendio, an entertainment company, filed a damages lawsuit against co-producer of “Physical:100” Luyworks Media, claiming that it had participated in the production of the hit Netflix reality television show “Physical:100” but that it had been omitted from the credits of the show, according to local reports Thursday.

Ascendio sued Luyworks Media at the Seoul Central District Court for damages, alleging that Luyworks violated the investment contract for “Physical:100” and that Luyworks Media had spread false information to news outlets that Ascendio had not participated in the production, thereby damaging the reputation of the company.

[SCREEN CAPTURE]

“Physical:100” was co-produced by domestic broadcaster MBC and Luyworks Media, and Ascendio was not on the list of producers.

“In February last year, we signed a planning and development investment contract with Luyworks and paid the costs for production,” said Ascendio to local press in a release. “Since then, we have not received any return on the investment, and the contract is still in full effect. Luyworks Media is claiming that the investment contract had been terminated and that our participation in the production of ‘Physical:100’ is not true. This is a false claim.”

[SCREEN CAPTURE]

Luyworks Media is of the position that it had notified Ascendio of the termination of the contract in question prior to the program’s production, and that Ascendio had not participated in any part of making “Physical:100.”

“Physical:100” is a reality television show featuring 100 contestants in “top physical shape” competing for a crown, and ranked first place on Netflix’s internal rankings of non-English language shows worldwide. The show has been marred in controversy with some contestants having been booked by the police on charges of domestic violence after already having been under investigation for similar charges.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]