What you need to know about Netflix's new Korean psychological survival game show 'The Devil’s Plan'
South Korean survival game show The Devil's Plan is coming to Netflix next month, and it's out to give viewers a different kind of thrill as instead of challenging the contestant's strength, their brains will be put to the test.
Created by Jung Jong-yeon, a TV producer and director best known for helming popular reality shows such as The Genius, The Society Game, and Great Escape, this survival game of the mind will feature 12 diverse competitors who will face-off in intense weeklong mind-bending games.
The winner will take home the ultimate prize of up to 500 million Korean won or more than P21 million.
The Cast
Devil's Plan is the first Netflix variety show of director Jong-yeon. The cast comprises of 12 contestants from different walks of life that include celebrities, lawayer, doctor, and professional Go player, among others.
Below is the list of the cast accompanied by their descriptions as per Soompi:
- Ha Seok-jin – K-drama actor who stars in the hit South Korean Talk Show, Problematic Men
- Cho Yeon-woo – A professional Go player and a graduate of Singapore’s most prestigious university
- Lee Hye-sung – A freelance announcer who always ranked first during her school days
- Lee Si-won – K-drama actress and an inventor who owns more than 10 patents
- Boo Seung-kwan, a.k.a. Seungkwan – K-pop idol and SEVENTEEN member who is famous for his variety of skills and wit
- Seo Dong-joo – A U.S-based lawyer with an MBA degree who also graduated from MIT’s Department of Mathematics
- Park Kyung-lim – A well-loved comedian and actress who won a Daesang at the age of 23.
- Guillaume Patry – A Canadian gamer who won the Star League and is now a professional poker player
- Kwedo – a former policy advisor to the Blue House with a major in Astronomy and Space Sciences who is now a popular science YouTuber
- Kwak Joon-bin – a travel YouTuber with 1.63 million subscribers who is skilled in various foreign languages
- Seo Yoo-min – an American orthopedic surgeon
- Kim Dong-jae – a college student who is now a professional poker player.
Out of all the contestants, only Yoo-min and Dong-Jae were selected through an open recruitment for non-celebrities.
The game's premise
In order to win, competitors must come up with clever plans to outsmart their rivals and even breach social taboos. The rivalry is amplified during the weeklong training camp when participants team up, establish alliances, and engage in a fierce intellectual duel. The ultimate goal is to identify the smartest or wittiest contestant who can successfully pass these challenges.
In the 30-second teaser released on Wednesday, August 30, players are seen staying in a place designed for different mind games. It can also be seen that they are forming alliances while tension is forming between them.
What to expect?
More than the games' concept, Jong-yeon said that what viewers should ultimately stay tuned to is each of the player's intellectual skills and ability to work with or against each other.
He explained to Soompi, "Ha Seok Jin watches over the game and makes cool-headed judgments. At times, he also surprises everyone with his groundbreaking move. Cho Yeon Woo has sharp mind and game skills worthy of her title as an elite Go player. And viewers should anticipate the hard-working Lee Hye Sung who will persevere through her diligence and persistence."
He continued, "Through her creative and bold play, Lee Si Won will show a new side of her that she has never shown before, Seungkwan has immense presence and is a player who will meet your expectations thanks to his many experiences from other programs. Seo Yoo Min, who is fluent in Korean, English, and Spanish, will show an unexpected charm with her immense passion that even brought her from the U.S."
He also took note of the strategy that the non-celebrity players, Dong Joo and Dong-Jae, used in playing the game with a "charm."
"Seo Dong Joo is a player with brilliant academic background and extraordinary resume. Park Kyung Lim plays the game most skillfully as someone who has a long career in the broadcasting industry. Kim Dong Jae received the perfect score on the written test for the public screening and because he’s a non-celebrity, he has an unpredictable charm," the director noted.
The Devil's Plan will start streaming on Netflix on Sept. 26. Watch the teaser below.