By Lee Ji Yae
Video = Netflix Korea's official YouTube channel
The stars shaping the history of Korea's "brain survival" reality shows have assembled for another intense battle of wits.
"The Devil's Plan," Netflix's brain-racking survival program, has attracted global attention since its first season premiered in 2023. Season one ranked third on the streaming site's global top 10 list for shows not in English in its debut week and made the top 10 in 23 countries including Korea. The second season released last year continued the show's international popularity by ranking ninth in the category for shows not in English.
Building on this success, the third season, "The Devil's Plan: Dead Again," promises a new showdown between seasoned veterans who made their mark on previous shows and rising contenders.
At a news conference on Nov. 5 at the hotel Mondrian Seoul Itaewon in Seoul's Yongsan-gu District, the show's producers Jung Jong-yeon and Choi Yun-hee were joined by cast members including Jang Dongmin, Hong Jinho, Ha Seok-jin, Oh Hyunmin and Jeong Hyun-gyu to discuss the new season and their experiences filming it.
The biggest change this season is the lineup. While previous seasons largely featured contestants with little or no experience in the genre, the latest installment brings together numerous former champions and standouts from earlier programs.
On his approach to casting, Jung said, "I wanted to break the casting conventions of the survival shows I've produced in the past."
The most anticipated contestant is Jang, a five-time winner in the genre.
On why he continues to appear in such programs, he said, "As long as I'm alive, I'll never retire from survival shows," adding, "Since it's such a massive event, I decided to join ready to go and have a blast."
Oh, who previously made a splash alongside Jang on "The Genius," a reality competition series with a devoted following among survival show enthusiasts over four seasons, is also returning to the genre after a long absence.
The two were known for their exceptional teamwork, raising expectations among longtime fans of seeing their chemistry again. Yet Oh hinted at a new dynamic this time, saying, "There are no permanent alliances or teams in survival shows."
Hong, who reunited with Jung for the first time in a decade after "The Genius," and Ha, winner of the first season of "The Devil's Plan," are also back to compete.
"The Devil's Plan" producer Jung Jong-yeon (left) and Jang Dongmin on Nov. 5 share their thoughts on the show's third season at a news conference at the hotel Mondrian Seoul Itaewon in Seoul's Yongsan-gu District. (Netflix)
Along with its star-studded lineup, the latest season introduces changes to the games. The production team said its intent to was to place greater emphasis on the pure intellectual abilities and performances of the contestants.
"We focused more on a pure game of wits than in previous seasons," Jung said, adding that the competition will stress pitting the players' mental abilities against one another.
The producers also listened to viewer complaints in earlier seasons by allowing contestants to move more frequently between their living quarters and the prison block. Revised rules also included the removal of automatic elimination if a player loses all of his or her pieces, the currency used in the games.
The changes were intended to allow contestants to focus more on the games rather than the pressure to survive.
Cast members also mentioned the upgraded sophistication in game design as a defining feature of the new season.
Yurisa, who appeared on "Bloody Game 2," said, "It made me realize just how far the survival genre can go," adding that the new season features the pros of other shows in the genre and raises them to another level.
The first five episodes of "The Devil's Plan: Dead Again" premiered on Nov. 10, with the remainder of the season's 14 slated for release over three weeks.
ljyhwa@korea.kr
