Erikoisjoukot

Last updated
Erikoisjoukot
GenreReality television
Based on SAS: Who Dares Wins by Minnow Films
Directed byEdward Kojonen
Starring
Narrated by Mikko Leskelä
Country of originFinland
Original languageFinnish
No. of series2
No. of episodes23 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersAlex Laszlo [1]
Tatu Ferchen
ProducerMaija Maukonen
Running time45–67 minutes
Production company Banijay Finland
Original release
Network Ruutu
Nelonen
Release2 January 2023 (2023-01-02) –
present
Related
International versions

Erikoisjoukot (finnish for '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. [2] The second season began to air in March 2024, [3] with a third season has already been confirmed by the channel. [4]

Contents

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 Lohja, the surrounding environment of which is not only versatile, but one of the toughest 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 However, the recruits can be culled by the Staff, or withdrawn, in case of any injuries or medical reasons to be quitted from the course.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. [5] 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.

NamePositionSeries
1 (2023)2 (2024)3 (2025)
Janne Lehtonen Head Instructor Main
Jan KnuttiDirecting Staff Main
Matias Petäistö Directing Staff Main
Robin HendryDirecting Staff Main
Antti OksanenHead Medical Main

Seasons

Series overview

SeasonSubtitleEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
1 Toughest Reality on Finnish TV102 January 2023 [a] 27 February 2023
2 Breaking Point1312 March 20244 June 2024
3 TBAMarch 20252025

Winners

SeasonWinners
1Elias Kaskinen, Amanda Harkimo and Viivi Altonen [6]
2Aleksi Hakanen, Elina Gustafsson, Oona Tolppanen and Noora Räty [7]

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. [2]

Recruits

RecruitCelebrityKnown forEpisode leftStatus
1 Ville Lång Badminton player10Culled
2 Henna Virkkunen Member of the European Parliament 4Culled
3 Sauli Koskinen Media personality7Voluntarily Withdrew
4 Amanda Harkimo Reality TV star, DJ10Passed
5 James Nikander Rap-artist, "The Black Barbarian"3Culled
6 Sara Chafak Miss Finland 20121Voluntarily Withdrew
7 Heikki Sorsa Snowboarder7Voluntarily Withdrew
8 Sami Jauhojärvi Former cross-country skier6Voluntarily Withdrew
9 Amin Asikainen Former professional boxer6Culled
10 Sunneva Sjögrén Beauty entrepreneur1Voluntarily Withdrew
11 Kimmo Ohtonen Journalist10Culled
12 Tom Packalén Member of Parliament 7Medically Withdrew
13 Viivi Altonen Miss Finland 202010Passed
14 Elias Kaskinen Singer-Songwriter10Passed

Episodes

No.Title (in English)  [8] [9] Timeslot (EET)Original air dateFinnish viewers  [10]
1"Character"Monday 9:00 pm2 January 2023 (2023-01-02)N/A
2"Fear"Monday 9:00 pm9 January 2023 (2023-01-09)N/A
3"Aggression"Monday 9:00 pm16 January 2023 (2023-01-16)N/A
4"Control"Monday 9:00 pm23 January 2023 (2023-01-23)N/A
5"Decisionmaking"Monday 9:00 pm30 January 2023 (2023-01-30)N/A
6"Sisu"Monday 9:00 pm6 February 2023 (2023-02-06)N/A
7"Trust"Monday 9:00 pm13 February 2023 (2023-02-13)N/A
8"Power of Mind"Monday 9:00 pm20 February 2023 (2023-02-20)125,000
9"Survival"Monday 10:00 pm27 February 2023 (2023-02-27)64,000
10"Pressure Tolerance"Monday 11:00 pm27 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. [3] [11] At the end of the season, there is an "Aftermath" episode, in which the recruits and instructors gather to discuss about their journey. [7] [12]

Recruits

RecruitCelebrityKnown forEpisode leftStatus
1 Mika Parikka Reporter, radio presenter2Voluntarily Withdrew
2 Susanna Koski Politician7Culled
3 Tuomas Kauhanen Rap-artist1Voluntarily Withdrew
4 Mandimai Sundberg Social media influencer2Voluntarily Withdrew
5 Aleksi Hakanen Social media personality12Passed
6 Vertti Harjuniemi Fitness influencer, Gladiators -star "Titan"12Culled
7 Mari Valosaari Radio presenter, former fitness athlete6Culled
8 Pierlin Mpaka Makumbu Rap-artist, "PapiPike"1Voluntarily Withdrew
9 Petra Gargano Former singer of Tiktak 4Voluntarily Withdrew
10 Helmeri Pirinen Professional scooterist 8Medically Withdrew
11 Oona Tolppanen Fitness entrepreneur, Gladiators -star "Sapphire"12Passed
12 Anni Vuohijoki Former Olympics weightlifter4Voluntarily Withdrew
13 Sami Garam Cook5Voluntarily Withdrew
14 Noora Räty Ice hockey goaltender and coach12Passed
15 Elina Gustafsson Ex-boxer12Passed

Episodes

No.Title (in English)  [8] [9] Timeslot (EET)Original air dateFinnish viewers  [10]
1"Character"Tuesday 9:00 pm12 March 2024 (2024-03-12)227,000
2"Fortitude"Tuesday 9:00 pm19 March 2024 (2024-03-19)245,000
3"Leadership"Tuesday 9:00 pm26 March 2024 (2024-03-26)233,000
4"Tolerance"Tuesday 9:00 pm2 April 2024 (2024-04-02)272,000
5"Performance"Tuesday 9:00 pm9 April 2024 (2024-04-09)263,000
6"Sisu"Tuesday 9:00 pm16 April 2024 (2024-04-16)259,000
7"Control"Tuesday 9:00 pm23 April 2024 (2024-04-23)245,000
8"Instinct"Tuesday 9:00 pm30 April 2024 (2024-04-30)206,000
9"Confidence"Tuesday 9:00 pm7 May 2024 (2024-05-07)238,000
10"Endurance"Tuesday 9:00 pm14 May 2024 (2024-05-14)241,000
11"Fear"Tuesday 8:00 pm21 May 2024 (2024-05-21)178,000
12"The Final Test"Tuesday 9:00 pm28 May 2024 (2024-05-28)218,000
13"Aftermath"Tuesday 9:00 pm4 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. [4] [13] Seventeen celebrity recruits took part in this season. [14]

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". [15] [16] 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. [17]

Awards and nominations

YearAwardsCategoryNominatedResultRef.
2022 Golden Venla Tracking RealityErikoisjoukotNominated [18]
2024Pending [19]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ The show was first introduced on Ruutu streaming service in summer 2022, and the first episode actually aired on television that year. However, the full official run on TV, with all episodes, started in January 2023.

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References

  1. ↑ Vatka, Miia. "Nyt puhuu Erikoisjoukkojen vastaava tuottaja: "Sarjassa ei leikitä sotaa"". iltalehti.fi (in Finnish).
  2. 1 2 Vatka, Miia. "Erikoisjoukot on Suomen tv-historian rankin kilpailu – nämä julkkikset osallistuvat". iltalehti.fi (in Finnish).
  3. 1 2 "Tältä näyttää Nelonen Median kevään 2024 TV-tarjonta!". Nelonen (in Finnish).
  4. 1 2 @nelonen (3 June 2024). "Ja arvatkaa mitä… Erikoisjoukot saa jatkoa kolmannen kauden merkeissä! 😍 Pistä sydän jos tää oli sulle iloinen yllätys! ❤️" [Erikoisjoukot continues with a third season!] (in Finnish) – via Instagram.
  5. ↑ Kantola, Iida (31 May 2022). "Entinen eliittisotilas Janne Lehtonen paljastaa, millaista Suomen erikoisjoukoissa oikeasti on – vain harva tietää totuuden salatusta ammatista". Ilta-Sanomat.fi (in Finnish).
  6. ↑ Tähtivaara, Sarianne (25 July 2022). "He läpäisivät karmaisevan Erikoisjoukot-ohjelman – yksi kokelaista purskahtaa vuolaaseen itkuun". Ilta-sanomat.fi (in Finnish).
  7. 1 2 Jalkanen, Pinja (28 May 2024). "He selvisivät Erikoisjoukot-rääkin voittajiksi – yksi teki ratkaisevan virheen". Ilta-sanomat.fi (in Finnish).
  8. 1 2 "ERIKOISJOUKOT – program info". telsu.fi (in Finnish).
  9. 1 2 "Erikoisjoukot – Ruutu". ruutu.fi (in Finnish).
  10. 1 2 "Finnpanel – TV Audiance Measurement". Finnpanel.
  11. ↑ Nousiainen, Janna. "Rankan tosi-tv-ohjelman osallistujat julki – mukana 15 uutta julkkista". Ilta-sanomat (in Finnish).
  12. ↑ Kantola, Elisa (3 June 2024). "Erikoisjoukot-kokelaat avautuvat kokemistaan kauhunhetkistä – paniikkikohtauksia ja pyörtymisiä". seiska (in Finnish).
  13. ↑ @jknutti (11 October 2024). "Tämän syksyn rankin kaksi viikkoinen alkaa olemaan takana" – via Instagram.
  14. ↑ "Nelonen Median kevään 2025 tv-ohjelmisto on nyt julki!". Nelonen.fi (in Finnish). 20 November 2024.
  15. ↑ Yrttiaho, Tuomo (30 May 2022). "Erikoisjoukot-inttirealityssä on korostetun vakava ja tiukka ote, mutta self help -mantrojakin toistellaan". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish).
  16. ↑ "Äärirajoilla". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). 24 May 2024.
  17. ↑ Seppä, Sanni (21 April 2024). "Janne Lehtonen oikoo sitkeän harhaluulon erikoisjoukoista: "Ei se todellakaan ole sitä"". voice.fi (in Finnish).
  18. ↑ "Tässä ovat Kultainen Venla 2022 -ehdokkaat". seiska.fi (in Finnish). 8 December 2022.
  19. ↑ "Kultainen Venla 2024 -finalistit julkistettu". kultainenvenla.fi (in Finnish). 10 December 2024.
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