Apple TV+ shares behind-the-scenes look at dark comedy 'Physical'

Apple TV+ on Tuesday shared a new video giving a behind-the-scenes look at its 1980s dark comedy show "Physical," which stars Rose Byrne.

The clip, published to the official Apple TV+ YouTube channel, features commentary and insights from series showrunner Annie Weisman, as well as actors like Rory Scovel, Della Saba, Dierdre Friel, and Byrne.

"Physical" follows Sheila Rubin, "a quietly tormented housewife" in 1980s San Diego whose discovery of aerobics kick-starts a journey toward empowerment and success.

In addition to detailing the setting of '80s Southern California, the video also gives insight on some of the characters of the show — including Sheila's struggles with body dysmorphia and bulimia.

"Physical" is directed by Liza Johnson, Stephanie Laing, and Craig Gillespie. In addition to Scovel, Saba, and Friel, other co-stars include Lou Taylor Pucci, Paul Sparks, and Ashley Liao.

The series debuted on Apple TV+ on June 18. New episodes premiere each Friday.

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9 Comments

Beats 3073 comments · 4 Years

About 3 years ago

I’m seeing this show everywhere. Is it Apple’s next hit?

sirlance99 1301 comments · 11 Years

Beats said:

I’m seeing this show everywhere. Is it Apple’s next hit?

I haven’t seen it anywhere. Is this Apples next flop?

beowulfschmidt 2348 comments · 12 Years

AppleInsider has a...somewhat less than flattering review of this show. The gist of the review seemed to me to be "too much like real life to be entertaining."

beowulfschmidt said:

AppleInsider has a...somewhat less than flattering review of this show. The gist of the review seemed to me to be "too much like real life to be entertaining."

I’ve seen the opposite elsewhere. Also saw a positive YouTube review with nothing but likes and 0 dislikes.

Who knows?

omasou 632 comments · 7 Years

I've watched the first three episodes and think the show is worth watching.

I did read the AppleInsider review and think it was a bit over the top but will choose to stay away from critiquing it so that this thread isn't deleted, too. I will say that I don't normally pay attention to reviews when choosing what to watch or not.

I do get why the show focuses on the main character's body dysmorphia and bulimia but the constants negative voice in her head talking about being fat or someone else being fat may be how a person like that thinks but I don't really think it conveys her issue well and truthfully I find the constant negative chatter to be annoying. Meaning I think they could have made the show w/o the body dysmorphia and bulimia issue and instead focused on the wife wanting to stand on her own and to be successful.