''Strong'' (stylized onscreen as ''S.T.R.O.N.G.'') is an American competition

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

series that aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

from April 13 to June 2, 2016. It was hosted by former professional volleyball player Gabrielle Reece.

Premise

''Strong'' features 20 contestants: 10 male trainers and 10 female trainees. The trainers help their trainees improve physical fitness, focusing not only on weight loss but also, according to the series, "achieving a balance between mind and body, and getting into shape both physically and mentally". In each episode, teams train and compete in physical challenges across disciplines such as

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

, strength and endurance training, and boxing. After challenges, two teams face off in a physical competition in the Elimination Tower; the losing team is eliminated from the series. The winning team receives a cash prize of up to $500,000, dependent on their overall performance.

Contestants

The contestants for season one of ''Strong'' were::

Trainers

*Leyon Azubuike (33), a professional strength and condition coach from

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

*Todd Durkin (44), a personal trainer and author from

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

*Ky Evans (43), a personal trainer and ballet dancer from

Marina del Rey, California Marina del Rey ( Spanish for "Marina of the King") is an unincorporated seaside community in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The eponymous harbor is a major boating and water recreation destination of the Greater Los Angeles ar ...

*Drew Logan (41), a celebrity trainer and nutrition expert from

Manhattan Beach, California Manhattan Beach is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States, on the Coastal California, Pacific coast south of El Segundo, California, El Segundo, west of Hawthorne, California, Hawthorne and Redondo Beach, and north ...

*Mathew Miller (34), a strength and conditioning coach from

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

*Wesley Okerson (37), a personal trainer from

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

*Adam Von Rothfelder (33), a strength trainer and former MMA fighter from

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

*Chris Ryan (35), a personal trainer and fitness model from

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

*Dan Wells (41), a gym franchise owner from

Studio City, Los Angeles Studio City is a neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, United States, in the southeast San Fernando Valley, just west of the Cahuenga Pass. It is named after the studio lot that was established in the area by film producer Mack Sennett in ...

*Bennie Wylie (39), a strength and conditioning trainer from

Tuscola, Texas Tuscola is a city in Taylor County, Texas, United States. The population was 850 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Abilene, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a tota ...

Trainees

*Brittany Harrell-Miller (26), algebra teacher from

Lawrence, Kansas Lawrence is a city in and the county seat of Douglas County, Kansas, United States, and the sixth-largest city in the state. It is in the northeastern sector of the state, astride Interstate 70 in Kansas, Interstate 70, between the Kansas River ...

*Jill May, mother from

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

Teams

: The team won ''Strong''. : The team was the runner-up of ''Strong''. : The team won the power challenge and sent someone to the elimination tower. : The team came in last in the medallion challenge, but saved themselves by winning the power challenge and chose two teams to compete in the elimination tower. : The team won the medallion challenge and gained immunity for the week. Starting Week 5, the Power Challenge and the Medallion Challenge were merged into the Ultimate Challenge. The winner of the Ultimate Challenge gets to choose one team to compete in the elimination tower against the last-place finisher. : The contestant won entry back into the competition. : The contestant came back for a chance to win re-entry into the competition, lost, and was eliminated again. : The team was sent to the elimination tower by the winning team, but was not eliminated. : The team lost the medallion challenge, was sent to the elimination tower, and was not eliminated. : The team was sent to the elimination tower by the winning team, and was eliminated. : The team lost the medallion challenge, was sent to the elimination tower, and was eliminated.

Team Medallions

Production

Executive producers included Dave Broome, creator of the competition reality series ''

The Biggest Loser ''The Biggest Loser'' is a reality television format which started with the American TV show ''The Biggest Loser (American TV series), The Biggest Loser'' in 2004. The show centers on overweight and Obesity, obese contestants attempting to lose ...

,'', and Holly Wofford, a producer on the sports competition show ''

American Ninja Warrior ''American Ninja Warrior'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''ANW'') is an American sports entertainment reality show based on the Japanese television reality show ''Sasuke (TV series), Sasuke,'' which also serves as a successor of ''American Ninja C ...

''. Other executive producers included

Sylvester Stallone Sylvester Gardenzio "Sly" Stallone (; born July 6, 1946) is an American actor and filmmaker. In a Sylvester Stallone filmography, film career spanning more than fifty years, Stallone has received List of awards and nominations received by Syl ...

and Kevin King-Templeton, who also collaborated on the sports drama film ''

Creed A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) which summarizes its core tenets. Many Christian denominations use three creeds ...

'' (2015). The series was produced by

Sony Pictures Television Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production company, production and broadcast syndication, distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, California, it is a division o ...

in association with 25/7 Productions. Paul Telegdy, NBC president of alternative and late-night programming, stated that ''American Ninja Warrior'' prompted interest in ''Strong'' and that pitches for shows were considered based on the question: "If there was a show that would get people ready to be a contestant on ''American Ninja Warrior'', what would it be?" Host Gabrielle Reece described the show's physical challenges as a "high level of difficulty" and said of the series,: "I think it has a really human quality to it. The cast's stories are stories that everyone can relate to." The series debuted with back-to-back episodes as a sneak preview on April 13, 2016, before moving to its regular timeslot on Thursdays at 8 p.m. The sneak preview followed a live episode of the NBC musical competition series '' The Voice''. It preceded ''

The Blacklist ''The Blacklist'' is an American crime thriller television series created by Jon Bokenkamp and developed by John Eisendrath. It stars James Spader as Raymond Reddington, an international criminal and one of the FBI's Most Wanted fugitives ...

'' in the NBC schedule. ''Strong'' was the third show to air in NBC's Thursday 8 p.m. timeslot that season, following '' Heroes Reborn'' and ''

You, Me and the Apocalypse ''You, Me and the Apocalypse'' is a British-American comedy-drama miniseries. The series was green-lit on 8 January 2015. It debuted on Sky 1 on 30 September 2015 and on NBC on 28 January 2016. Sky 1 said in March 2016 there would be no sec ...

''. According to ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'', the title ''Strong'' is an acronym for 'Start to Realize Our Natural Greatness'.

Episodes

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 4698826 2016 American television series debuts 2016 American television series endings 2010s American reality television series American English-language television shows Fitness reality television series NBC reality television shows Television series by Sony Pictures Television Reality competition television series