Final Draft review captures grit and heart in a new Netflix show

A Netflix competition in Japan tests 25 ex athletes with gruelling tasks while exploring life after sport.

Final Draft fuses grit and heart in a new reality show

Final Draft unfolds in a large TV studio in Japan, where 25 former athletes endure a series of brutal tests for a ¥30 million prize. The format blends tough physical stunts with the rhythm of a reality show: alternating grueling rounds, post-event interviews, and moments with loved ones via Zoom. The lineup mixes champions with those who never reached top tier status, adding both familiar faces and fresh stories to the mix.

At the center is Yoshio Itoi, a retired baseball hitter whose striking presence and charisma anchor the season. Alongside him are competitors like Kenta Tsukamoto, Hozumi Hasegawa, and Olympic wrestler Eri Tosaka, each bringing a distinct arc to the proceedings. The season runs six episodes, totaling a demanding 3,240 sit-ups, with groups splitting living conditions and a finale that pits contestants against one another in a long, climactic tug of war. The show leans into emotional threads—the idea of a life after glory—as much as raw endurance, framing the prize as a gateway to a new start.

The show works because it treats athletic decline as a shared human story, not just a spectacle. Viewers glimpse the moment when athletic identity fades and a new path must be found, a theme that resonates beyond sports fans. The prize money is a practical but powerful incentive, suggesting that a fresh start is possible even after years of training and sacrifice. Itoi’s presence helps ground the narrative, giving the audience a character to follow through the season’s long stretches of repetition and challenge.

Yet Final Draft also walks a fine line. The endurance fodder can feel repetitive, and the post-exertion chats risk tipping toward formula. If the production leans too hard on warmth and empathy, it may overlook sharper portraits of what life after competition really looks like. The show will be judged on how it balances earnest storytelling with authentic, sometimes uncomfortable truths about aging athletes and the economics of staying in the game.

Highlights

The life after glory is not a script but a work in progress.