The 8 Show Explained

Image Upright:1.15
Native Name:
Hangul:더 에이트 쇼
Rr:Deo eiteu syo
Mr:Tŏ eit'ŭ syo
Screenplay:Han Jae-rim
Director:Han Jae-rim
Music:Jung Ji-hoon[1]
Country:South Korea
Language:Korean
Num Episodes:8
List Episodes:The 8 Show#Episodes
Runtime:46–68 minutes
Budget:billion
Network:Netflix

The 8 Show is a 2024 South Korean black comedy thriller television series directed by Han Jae-rim, and starring Ryu Jun-yeol, Chun Woo-hee, Park Jeong-min, Lee Yul-eum, Park Hae-joon, Lee Zoo-young, Moon Jeong-hee, and Bae Seong-woo. The screenplay is written by Han based on the Naver webtoons and Pie Game by, it depicts the story of eight participants continuing to cooperate and antagonize each other in an extreme setting where the game ends when a death occurs in a space where social infrastructure is cut off. It was released on Netflix on May 17, 2024, and received generally positive reviews.

Synopsis

Eight strangers are offered to participate in a game where they will be locked inside a building and earn a substantial amount of money for each minute the game continues. Each are sequestered at night in a different room on eight separate floors, during which they purchase all of their basic provisions at one hundred times their normal cost using their current prize earnings, while during the day they can use a portion of their remaining time to buy provisions for the group.

Initially, the eight people, opting to only be named based on their floor, work together to try to maximize the remaining game time and individual earnings while living with basic comfort. However, when they discover that the higher floors are earning significantly more money and have larger rooms than the lower floors, a power struggle erupts between the players, while at the same time they try to figure out the unclear means by which more time is added to the game clock.

Cast and characters

Main

A former convenience store worker

Special appearance

Production

Development

The series was developed under the working title Money Game, which was based on Naver Webtoon of and its sequel, Pie Game, both written by . Director Han Jae-rim, who directed The Face Reader (2013) and The King (2017), was looking for his next work after Emergency Declaration (2021) and joined hands with Studio N to direct the series. It was also expected that it would release in an OTT platform. Naver Webtoon announced that Netflix has picked up the franchise under the new title The 8 Show.

Studio N and Magnum Nine managed the production while Lotte Cultureworks served as co-production and investor for the series.[3]

It has a budget with over billion invested.[4]

Casting

In December 2021, Ryu Jun-yeol and Bae Seong-woo were cast as the lead actors of the series. This would be Bae's return to small screen after self-reflecting on his DUI incident in November 2020.[5]

In January 2022, Ryu and Bae along with Lee Ji-eun, Park Jeong-min, and Park Hae-joon has confirmed their appearances for the series.[6] In April 2022, Moon Jeong-hee, Lee Yul-eum, and Lee Zoo-young joined the series.[7] In May 2022, Lee Ji-eun left and was replaced by Chun Woo-hee.[8]

Filming

Principal photography began in May 2022 and ended on December 23, 2022.[9] [10]

Release

Naver Webtoon announced that The 8 Show would be released worldwide on Netflix in 2024.[11] Four months later, Netflix confirmed the release date of the series would be on May 17, 2024.[12]

Reception

Critical response

Elisa Guimarães of Collider gave a score of five out of ten and wrote that the series "might garner comparisons to Squid Game", but " struggles with underdeveloped characters and disjointed humor".[13] Kate Sánchez of But Why Tho? gave the series a perfect ten and described it as "one of the best limited series on Netflix" and "it ends with finality and pays off every narrative choice made along the way".[14] Jonathon Wilson of Ready Steady Cut rated it a 2/5 and wrote that it "something fascinating for the wrong reasons".[15] Pierce Conran of South China Morning Post gave a score of three out of five and wrote that "viewers are likely to recognize The 8 Show as a blatant attempt to piggyback on the achievement of the most successful Netflix show of all time, but so long as they are being entertained they may give it more time".[16] Joel Keller of Decider compared the series "as dark as Squid Game, but it's definitely more wryly funny".[17] William Schwartz of HanCinema wrote that it "refuses to caricature even its most seemingly loathsome characters" and "all of them were driven to madness by the harsh, empathy-less world they lived in long before they accepted their invitation to the game".[18]

Viewership

The 8 Show ranked seventh in Netflix's Global Top 10 TV (Non-English) category after three days of its release and received a warm response in 11 countries being listed in the Top 10.[19] The following week, the series topped the chart with 33.2 million hours watched by 4.8 million viewers,[20] and remained on the chart for the next three consecutive weeks.[21]

Notes and References

  1. The 8 Show . . May 17, 2024 . 1 . ko.
  2. Web site: 'The 8 Show': Check out what you may want to know about release date, plot and cast . . February 7, 2023 . . October 16, 2024 . February 24, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240224003206/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/us/the-8-show-check-out-what-you-may-want-to-know-about-release-date-plot-and-cast/articleshow/107469220.cms . live .
  3. Web site: Ahn . Tae-hyun . January 28, 2022 . ko:웹툰 '머니게임' 드라마로 만난다...류준열·아이유·박정민 출연 . Meet the webtoon 'Money Game' as a drama...Ryu Jun-yeol, IU, Park Jeong-min appear . https://entertain.naver.com/read?oid=421&aid=0005873492 . ko . News1 . April 12, 2024 . . April 12, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240412200321/https://entertain.naver.com/read?oid=421&aid=0005873492 . live.
  4. Web site: https://dealsite.co.kr/articles/114606 . Kim . Tae-ho . December 12, 2023 . Deal Site . ko . ko:240억 든 드라마 '더 에이트 쇼', 넷플릭스로 간다 . 'The Eight Show', a drama costing 24 billion won, goes to Netflix . April 12, 2024 . April 11, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240411185344/https://dealsite.co.kr/articles/114606 . live.
  5. Web site: https://entertain.naver.com/read?oid=108&aid=0003014971 . Jeon . Hyeong-hwa . December 21, 2021 . Star News . ko . ko:[단독]류준열·배성우, 한재림 감독 '머니게임'으로 호흡 [종합] . [Exclusive] Ryu Jun-yeol and Bae Seong-woo collaborate in director Han Jae-rim's 'Money Game' [Comprehensive] . April 12, 2024 . . April 12, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240412200342/https://entertain.naver.com/read?oid=108&aid=0003014971 . live.
  6. Web site: https://entertain.naver.com/read?oid=609&aid=0000537888 . Hwang . Hye-jin . January 28, 2022 . Newsen . ko . ko:류준열X아이유X박정민X박해준X배성우 '머니게임' 출연 확정(공식) . Ryu Jun-yeol X IU X Park Jeong-min X Park Hae-joon X Bae Seong-woo confirmed to appear in 'Money Game' (Official) . April 12, 2024 . . January 28, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220128012718/https://entertain.naver.com/read?oid=609&aid=0000537888 . live.
  7. Web site: https://entertain.naver.com/read?oid=108&aid=0003040595 . Jeon . Hyeong-hwa . April 1, 2022 . Star News . ko . ko:문정희·이열음·이주영, '머니게임' 합류..류준열x아이유와 호흡 . Moon Jeong-hee, Lee Yul-eum, Lee Zoo-young join 'Money Game'...Working with Ryu Jun-yeol x IU . April 12, 2024 . . April 4, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220404050325/https://entertain.naver.com/read?oid=108&aid=0003040595 . live.
  8. Web site: https://entertain.naver.com/read?oid=437&aid=0000300230 . Hwang . So-young . May 27, 2022 . . ko . ko:[단독] 아이유, 한재림 연출작 '머니게임' 하차..천우희 물망 . IU, withdraws from Han Jae-rim's 'Money Game' directorial debut..Chun Woo-hee expected . April 12, 2024 . . May 27, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220527010013/https://entertain.naver.com/read?oid=437&aid=0000300230 . live.
  9. Web site: https://m.entertain.naver.com/article/382/0000970438 . Jeong . Hee-yeon . April 1, 2022 . . ko . ko:'머니게임' 문정희-이열음-이주영 합류...5월 크랭크인 [공식] . 'Money Game' Moon Jeong-hee, Lee Yeol-eum, and Lee Joo-young join... May Crank-in [Official] . October 16, 2024 . . May 19, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240519040828/https://m.entertain.naver.com/article/382/0000970438 . live.
  10. Web site: https://entertain.naver.com/read?oid=108&aid=0003117451 . Jeon . Hyeong-hwa . December 30, 2022 . Star News . ko . ko:류준열x천우희x박정민, 한재림 감독 '머니게임' 6개월 촬영 종료 . Ryu Jun-yeol x Chun Woo-hee x Park Jung-min, director Han Jae-rim completes 6-month filming for 'Money Game' . April 12, 2024 . . December 30, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221230035817/https://entertain.naver.com/read?oid=108&aid=0003117451 . live.
  11. Web site: Naver Webtoon's 'Money Game' set for global Netflix release . Lee . Jae-lim . December 12, 2023 . . April 12, 2024 . April 11, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240411051259/https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2023-12-12/business/industry/Naver-Webtoons-Money-Game-set-for-global-Netflix-release/1933927 . live.
  12. Web site: Netflix's 'The 8 Show' starring Ryu Jun-yeol, Chun Woo-hee to drop in May . Lee . Gyu-lee . April 12, 2024 . . April 12, 2024 . April 12, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240412200333/https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/art/2024/04/398_372524.html. live.
  13. Web site: 'The 8 Show' Review: 'Squid Game,' This Is Not . Guimarães . Elisa . May 17, 2024. . June 24, 2024 . May 27, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240527140525/https://collider.com/the-8-show-netflix-review/ . live.
  14. Web site: REVIEW: 'The 8 Show' Offers A Mean Look At People . Sánchez . Kate . May 17, 2024 . But Why Tho? . June 24, 2024 . June 24, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240624082222/https://butwhytho.net/2024/05/the-8-show-review-netflix-kdrama/ . live.
  15. Web site: 'The 8 Show' Review: When You Have 'Squid Game' At Home . Wilson . Jonathan . May 18, 2024 . Ready Steady Cut . June 24, 2024 . June 24, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240624093742/https://readysteadycut.com/2024/05/18/the-8-show-review/ . live.
  16. Web site: Netflix K-drama review: The 8 Show – entertaining and violent social parable that's reminiscent of Squid Game . limited . Conran . Pierce . May 17, 2024 . . June 24, 2024 . June 22, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240622143902/https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-pop/k-drama/article/3263015/netflix-k-drama-review-8-show-entertaining-and-violent-social-parable-thats-reminiscent-squid-game . live.
  17. Web site: Stream It Or Skip It: 'The 8 Show' On Netflix, A Dark Comedy Where People Join A Strange Game Show Where Time Is Literally Money . Keller . Joel . May 18, 2024 . . June 24, 2024 . June 5, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240605011609/https://decider.com/2024/05/18/the-8-show-netflix-review/ . live.
  18. Web site: The 8 Show - ⭐ Reviews (Korean Drama, 2024, 더 에이트 쇼) . Schwartz . William . May 17–19, 2024 . . June 24, 2024 . June 2, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240602154826/https://www.hancinema.net/korean_drama_The_8_Show-reviews.html . live.
  19. Web site: https://m.entertain.naver.com/article/009/0005307066 . Han . Hyeon-jeong . May 22, 2024 . . ko . ko:'더 에이트 쇼' 글로벌 7위·170만뷰..'종말의바보'와 비슷한 수준 . 'The 8 Show' ranks 7th globally, 1.7 million views..Similar to 'Fool At the End of the World' . June 24, 2024 . . August 29, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240829044040/https://m.entertain.naver.com/article/009/0005307066 . live.
  20. Web site: Netflix's 'The 8 Show' tops non-English category with 6.5 million views . Kim . Min-young . May 29, 2024 . . June 24, 2024 . June 12, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240612073039/https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2024-05-29/entertainment/television/Netflixs-The-8-Show-tops-nonEnglish-category-with-65-million-views/2057415 . live.
  21. Web site: Top 10 Non-English TV Show on Netflix Right Now . . June 24, 2024.

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