Netflix's first Korean variety show 'Busted' returns with second season

The cast members of season 2 of Netflix variety show “Busted!” from left, Yoo Jae-suk, Kim Jong-min, Lee Seung-gi, Park Min-young, Oh Se-hun and Kim Se-jeong, pose for pictures during a press conference held at Apgujeong in southern Seoul, Friday. Yonhap

By Lee Gyu-lee

Netflix's first Korean variety show “Busted!” has returned a year after the successful first season, with more intense andsuspenseful murder mysteries solved by a group of TV personalities playing detectives.

“With the know-how from the first season, we made each episode shorter but more intense and immersive,” producer Kim Dong-jin said during a press conference for the show, Friday, held in Apgujeong, southern Seoul. The producer explained that they took in feedback that the 80-minute-long episodes of the first season were relatively lengthy for a murder mystery show.

“Since Netflix releases all 10 episodes at once, we wanted people to be able to run through the series without getting bored,” he said.

The “Whodunit” kind of murder mystery show is a combination of reality TV and drama in which the cast members work to solve mysteries in a set plot. The members play amateur investigators running a private detective agency. For each episode, they are given different cases they need to solve through collecting clues.

The new season will feature the members from the previous season ― comedian Yoo Jae-suk, singer Kim Jong-min, Exo's Sehun, Gugudan's Kim Se-jeong and actress Park Min-young ― with one new member, singer-actor Lee Seung-gi. The comedy sprouts from the missteps and mistakes of the members struggling to solve each mystery.

This season picks up with Yoo ― who was believed to be dead in the previous season ― coming back to life. As the detectives solve the cases, they continuously encounter a serial killer that connects the stories from each episode.

To carry out the unique format of a reality show led by a set plot, over 40 guests are featured in this season. “The guests on the show sometimes hold the key to the case, or provide unexpected twists to the story,” co-producer Cho Hyo-jin said.

“The stories for this season are connected more smoothly, especially with the guests acting out the plot more naturally. So it was easier for the members to fall into their roles as detectives,” said Cho, noting that the major difference of this season is that it is more dramatized than the previous season.

Another difference from the previous season is that a new member Lee joined the show replacing actor Lee Kwang-soo of the first season.

“Seung-gi is talented in various ways. I was worried if anyone could fill in the spot that Kwang-soo left, but he did a perfect job taking over,” Yoo said. He noted that the chemistry among the members worked better for this season, as they got closer after working on the first season.

Lee expressed his excitement to join the show and to work with Yoo for the first time since they worked together on the TV game show “X-Man” in 2006.

“I was very excited to work with such great members, especially with Yoo… I've learned a lot (from him) and had so much fun as I was shooting,” Lee said, mentioning that Yoo was the main reason he joined the show.

Lee added that he was surprised how thorough and meticulous the producers were with making each setting as realistic as possible. “The clues and quizzes were more difficult than I expected so I naturally got into the stories,” he said.

All 10 episodes of the second season were released on Netflix on Nov. 8