# Erikoisjoukot

Erikoisjoukot (Finnish, 'Special Forces') is a Finnish quasi-military training television programme based on the British SAS: Who Dares Wins format. The show first premiered on streaming service Ruutu in May 2022, and later premiered on Nelonen network early 2023. The second season began to air in March 2024, with a third season has already been confirmed by the channel.

## Format

Following the premise of the original, British adaption, a group of celebrities are put into a shortened version of the Special Forces’ selection course. Over the course of two weeks, the recruits must face their fears and complete in various tasks designed for those who aspire for the Finland's Defence Forces' Special Forces. At the end of the course, the Head Instructor and his fellow Directing Staff will decide, who has passed the selection process.
The conditions of the recruits during the course are considered rudimental as they reflect a real combat base. They are accommodated at the Abandoned Limestone Factory in the town of Lohja, the surrounding environment of which is not only versatile, but one of the roughest in the country. The recruits will not receive any special treatment, but will be completely at the mercy of the Directing Staff.
Unlike many other reality competition series, there are no straight eliminations. However, the recruits can be culled by the Staff, or withdrawn, in case of any injuries or medical reasons to be quitted from the course. The recruits can also decide themselves, to voluntarily withdraw from the competition, if the pressures are getting too high – and hand their armband to one of the Directing Staff instructors.

## Cast

The Directing Staff consists of four ex-Special Forces soldiers of the Finnish Defence Forces, with the combined experience of over four decades of war fighting and operations. The Head Instructor ('Pääkouluttaja') is Janne Lehtonen, an ex-Finnish Navy Special Forces Sergeant, Combat Diver, Scout Sniper and Combat Medic in Counter-Terrorism contracts, with 13 years of experience on the fronts. The other Directing Staff instructors are: Jan Knutti, a former Navy Combat Diver and Finnish Border Guard's Officer for the Counter-Terrorism unit; Matias Petäistö, a former Pioneer and team leader for the Finnish Army's Utti Jaeger Regiment; and Robin Hendry, a former Navy's Combat Diver and Combat Medic.
| Name | Position | Series | Series | Series |
| Name | Position | 1 (2023) | 2 (2024) | 3 (2025) |
| Janne Lehtonen | Head Instructor | Main | Main | Main |
| Jan Knutti | Directing Staff | Main | Main | Main |
| Matias Petäistö | Directing Staff | Main | Main | Main |
| Robin Hendry | Directing Staff | Main | Main | Main |
| Antti Oksanen | Head Medical | Main | Main | Main |

## Seasons
### Series overview

| Season | Season | Subtitle | Episodes | Originally aired | Originally aired |
| Season | Season | Subtitle | Episodes | First aired | Last aired |
| | 1 | Toughest Reality on Finnish TV | 10 | 2 January 2023 (2023-01-2) | 27 February 2023 (2023-02-27) |
| | 2 | Breaking Point | 13 | 12 March 2024 (2024-03-12) | 4 June 2024 (2024-06-04) |
| | 3 | III: At The Limits of Tolerance | 13 | 18 March 2025 (2025-03-18) | June 2025 (2025-06) |

### Winners

| Season | Winners |
| 1 | Elias Kaskinen, Amanda Harkimo and Viivi Altonen |
| 2 | Aleksi Hakanen, Elina Gustafsson, Oona Tolppanen and Noora Räty |

### Season 1 (2023)

The filming began on early August 2021 at Abandoned Limestone Factory, in the city of Lohja, Finland. 14 well-known finnish Celebrities took part in this Season.

#### Recruits

| Recruit | Celebrity | Known for | Episode left | Status |
| 1 | Ville Lång | Badminton player | 10 | Culled |
| 2 | Henna Virkkunen | Member of the European Parliament | 4 | Culled |
| 3 | Sauli Koskinen | Media personality | 7 | Voluntarily Withdrew |
| 4 | Amanda Harkimo | Reality TV star, DJ | 10 | Passed |
| 5 | James Nikander | Rap-artist, "The Black Barbarian" | 3 | Culled |
| 6 | Sara Chafak | Miss Finland 2012 | 1 | Voluntarily Withdrew |
| 7 | Heikki Sorsa | Snowboarder | 7 | Voluntarily Withdrew |
| 8 | Sami Jauhojärvi | Former cross-country skier | 6 | Voluntarily Withdrew |
| 9 | Amin Asikainen | Former professional boxer | 6 | Culled |
| 10 | Sunneva Sjögrén | Beauty entrepreneur | 1 | Voluntarily Withdrew |
| 11 | Kimmo Ohtonen | Journalist | 10 | Culled |
| 12 | Tom Packalén | Member of Parliament | 7 | Medically Withdrew |
| 13 | Viivi Altonen | Miss Finland 2020 | 10 | Passed |
| 14 | Elias Kaskinen | Singer-Songwriter | 10 | Passed |

#### Episodes

| No. | Title (in English) | Timeslot (EET) | Original release date | Finnish viewers |
| 1 | "Character" | Monday 9:00 pm | 2 January 2023 (2023-01-2) | N/A |
| 2 | "Fear" | Monday 9:00 pm | 9 January 2023 (2023-01-9) | N/A |
| 3 | "Aggression" | Monday 9:00 pm | 16 January 2023 (2023-01-16) | N/A |
| 4 | "Control" | Monday 9:00 pm | 23 January 2023 (2023-01-23) | N/A |
| 5 | "Decisionmaking" | Monday 9:00 pm | 30 January 2023 (2023-01-30) | N/A |
| 6 | "Sisu" | Monday 9:00 pm | 6 February 2023 (2023-02-6) | N/A |
| 7 | "Trust" | Monday 9:00 pm | 13 February 2023 (2023-02-13) | N/A |
| 8 | "Power of Mind" | Monday 9:00 pm | 20 February 2023 (2023-02-20) | 125,000 |
| 9 | "Survival" | Monday 10:00 pm | 27 February 2023 (2023-02-27) | 64,000 |
| 10 | "Pressure Tolerance" | Monday 11:00 pm | 27 February 2023 (2023-02-27) | N/A |

### Season 2 (2024)

The 15 celebrity recruits of the second season were revealed in January 2024. Like the first season, this season was filmed at the abandoned Limestone Factory in Lohja, in autumn of 2023. At the end of the season, there is an "Aftermath" episode, in which the recruits and instructors gather to discuss about their journey.

#### Recruits

| Recruit | Celebrity | Known for | Episode left | Status |
| 1 | Mika Parikka | Reporter, radio presenter | 2 | Voluntarily Withdrew |
| 2 | Susanna Koski | Politician | 7 | Culled |
| 3 | Tuomas Kauhanen | Rap-artist | 1 | Voluntarily Withdrew |
| 4 | Mandimai Sundberg | Social media influencer | 2 | Voluntarily Withdrew |
| 5 | Aleksi Hakanen | Social media personality | 12 | Passed |
| 6 | Vertti Harjuniemi | Fitness influencer, Gladiators-star "Titan" | 12 | Culled |
| 7 | Mari Valosaari | Radio presenter, former fitness athlete | 6 | Culled |
| 8 | Pierlin Mpaka Makumbu | Rap-artist, "PapiPike" | 1 | Voluntarily Withdrew |
| 9 | Petra Gargano | Former singer of Tiktak | 4 | Voluntarily Withdrew |
| 10 | Helmeri Pirinen | Professional scooterist | 8 | Medically Withdrew |
| 11 | Oona Tolppanen | Fitness entrepreneur, Gladiators-star "Sapphire" | 12 | Passed |
| 12 | Anni Vuohijoki | Former Olympics weightlifter | 4 | Voluntarily Withdrew |
| 13 | Sami Garam | Cook | 5 | Voluntarily Withdrew |
| 14 | Noora Räty | Ice hockey goaltender and coach | 12 | Passed |
| 15 | Elina Gustafsson | Ex-boxer | 12 | Passed |

#### Episodes

| No. | Title (in English) | Timeslot (EET) | Original release date | Finnish viewers |
| 1 | "Character" | Tuesday 9:00 pm | 12 March 2024 (2024-03-12) | 227,000 |
| 2 | "Fortitude" | Tuesday 9:00 pm | 19 March 2024 (2024-03-19) | 245,000 |
| 3 | "Leadership" | Tuesday 9:00 pm | 26 March 2024 (2024-03-26) | 233,000 |
| 4 | "Tolerance" | Tuesday 9:00 pm | 2 April 2024 (2024-04-02) | 272,000 |
| 5 | "Performance" | Tuesday 9:00 pm | 9 April 2024 (2024-04-09) | 263,000 |
| 6 | "Sisu" | Tuesday 9:00 pm | 16 April 2024 (2024-04-16) | 259,000 |
| 7 | "Control" | Tuesday 9:00 pm | 23 April 2024 (2024-04-23) | 245,000 |
| 8 | "Instinct" | Tuesday 9:00 pm | 30 April 2024 (2024-04-30) | 206,000 |
| 9 | "Confidence" | Tuesday 9:00 pm | 7 May 2024 (2024-05-07) | 238,000 |
| 10 | "Endurance" | Tuesday 9:00 pm | 14 May 2024 (2024-05-14) | 241,000 |
| 11 | "Fear" | Tuesday 8:00 pm | 21 May 2024 (2024-05-21) | 178,000 |
| 12 | "The Final Test" | Tuesday 9:00 pm | 28 May 2024 (2024-05-28) | 218,000 |
| 13 | "Aftermath" | Tuesday 9:00 pm | 4 June 2024 (2024-06-04) | 156,000 |

### Season 3 (2025)

The third season was filmed at the factory on Lohja in October of 2024, and is airing in Spring 2025. Seventeen celebrity recruits took part in this season.

#### Recruits

| Recruit | Celebrity | Known for | Episode left | Status |
| 1 | Michael Ntima | Entrepreneur | | |
| 2 | Janne Kopari | Entrepreneur | | |
| 3 | Ansku Bergström | Choreographer from Tanssii tähtien kanssa | 1 | Voluntarily Withdrew |
| 4 | Jessica Reiman | Personal trainer, former Sub-lieutenant of the Defence Forces | | |
| 5 | Kerttu Rissanen | Fitness trainer, former Salatut elämät actress | | |
| 6 | Eino Heiskanen | Actor | | |
| 7 | Mira Ahola | Well-being coach | | |
| 8 | Ömer Acar | Private dentist and nature photographer | | |
| 9 | Viljami Harjuniemi | Advertisement entrepreneur | | |
| 10 | Riku Nieminen | Actor | | |
| 11 | Ville Kaunisto | Politician | | |
| 12 | Daniel Ahola | Media personality | | |
| 13 | Jasmine Pajari | Presenter | | |
| 14 | Rami Hietaniemi | Ex-greco roman wrestler | | |
| 15 | Hanna Tikander | Podcast-host | | |
| 16 | Paula Joukanen | Miss Finland 2023 | 1 | Voluntarily Withdrew |
| 17 | Jari Sorsa | Personal trainer | | |

#### Episodes

| No. | Title (in English) | Timeslot (EET) | Original release date | Finnish viewers |
| 1 | "Character" | Tuesday 9:00 pm | 18 March 2024 (2024-03-18) | N/A |
| 2 | "Trust" | Tuesday 9:00 pm | 25 March 2024 (2024-03-25) | N/A |
| 3 | "Self-control" | Tuesday 9:00 pm | 1 April 2024 (2024-04-01) | N/A |
| 4 | "Leadership" | Tuesday 9:00 pm | 8 April 2024 (2024-04-08) | N/A |
| 5 | "Motivation" | Tuesday 9:00 pm | 15 April 2024 (2024-04-15) | N/A |
| 6 | "Responsibility" | Tuesday 9:00 pm | 22 April 2024 (2024-04-22) | N/A |
| 7 | "Panic" | Tuesday 9:00 pm | 29 April 2024 (2024-04-29) | N/A |
| 8 | "Fear" | Tuesday 9:00 pm | 6 May 2025 (2025-05-06) | TBD |
| 9 | TBA | Tuesday 9:00 pm | TBA | TBD |
| 10 | TBA | Tuesday 9:00 pm | TBA | TBD |
| 11 | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBD |
| 12 | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBD |
| 13 | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBD |

## Reception
### Critical reception

The show has formed mixed reception. While some television viewers have been pleased and open minded towards the format, many people disagree with the physical and mental pain the recruits will have to go through in the series. Some authors of Helsingin Sanomat have criticed for the pointless "maltreatment" of the recruits, and that it "won't raise one's health". For the response, the Head Instructor of the program, Janne Lehtonen has said, that "everything on the program has a purpose", and that by stretching the limits of human body, people can find new sides and characteristics from themselves.

### Awards and nominations

| Year | Awards | Category | Nominated | Result | Ref. |
| 2022 | Golden Venla | Tracking Reality | Erikoisjoukot | Nominated | |
| 2024 | Golden Venla | Tracking Reality | Erikoisjoukot | Nominated | |