Physical (TV series)
Physical is an American comedy-drama television series created by Annie Weisman that premiered on Apple TV+ on June 18, 2021. In August 2021, the series was renewed for a second season ahead of its first season finale which is set to premiere on June 3, 2022. Premise. Set in 1980s San Diego, "Physical" is a dark comedy following Sheila Rubin (Rose Byrne) through her journey of self discovery via aerobics. Production. Development. In January 2020, it was reported that Apple was nearing a series order for "Physical", created and written by Annie Weisman, with Tomorrow Studios  set to produce. In December 2020, Craig Gillespie, Liza Johnson, and Stephanie Laing were announced as directors for the series, with Gillespie set to direct the pilot episode. The series is a half-hour long and consists of ten episodes. On August 4, 2021, Apple TV+ renewed the series for a second season. Casting. In January 2020, Rose Byrne was reported as headlining "Physical". In December 2020, it was announced that Byrne was playing the role of Sheila Rubin, with Paul Sparks, Rory Scovel, Lou Taylor Pucci, Della Saba, Dierdre Friel, and Ashley Liao joining the cast. Geoffrey Arend joined  the cast in January 2021, with Ian Gomez joining in April 2021. Filming. Filming for the first season began in November 2020 and ended in March 2021. The second season began filming in November 2021 and is expected to end in March 2022. Release. The series premiered on June 18, 2021, on Apple TV + globally with the first three episodes available immediately and the rest debuting on a weekly basis, every Friday. The second season is scheduled to premiere on June 3, 2022. Reception. On Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 67% based on 48 critic  reviews, with an average rating of 6.49/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Not even a magnetic performance from Rose Byrne can save "Physical" from its exhausting parade of unpleasant characters and plot choices." On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 60 out of 100, based on 21 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". German online magazine "Spiegel" was delighted and pointed out the difference between American and European reception, saying "that snarky social satire pitches into body cult and consumeristic insanity to our veritable pleasure; American critics were rather appalled – without any reason."