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| Netflix's "Busted!" cast and production members, clockwise from top-left, Yoo Jae-suk, Lee Seung-gi, Lee Kwang-soo, Park Min-young, director Cho Hyo-jin, Kim Se-jeong, Sehun and Kim Jong-min pose for pictures during the show's online media conference, Tuesday. Courtesy of Netflix |
By Lee Gyu-lee
Netflix's first Korean variety show "Busted!" will end its successful run with the third and final season, which is set to be released Friday.
"How Lee Seung-gi's role will play out and how the last season will end will be the highlight," comedian Yoo Jae-suk said during an online media conference, Tuesday.
The murder mystery series, which is a combination of variety show and drama, has been popular worldwide since it streamed the first season in 2018. It stars TV personalities ― Yoo, singers Seung-gi and Kim Jong-min, Exo's Sehun, Gugudan's Kim Se-jeong, and actors Park Min-young and Lee Kwang-soo ― as amateur investigators solving mysteries on a set.
"(Season 3 will have) Lee Kwang-soo joining the series again from season 1 and new cases for us to solve. Some of us still don't know how the series will end," Yoo said.
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| A scene from the show / Courtesy of Netflix |
The previous season, filled with twists and turns, ended with the revelation of Seung-gi's real identity as a cliffhanger. He hints that he holds the key to a mysterious "Project D," which is intertwined with the murder cases the detectives solved.
They will once again follow the breadcrumbs to unraveling the truth of the project.
The show offers sense of comedy as the members struggle in their attempts to solve difficult escape-room-style challenges.
Seung-gi said the puzzles in the new season are more challenging.
"None of the mysteries were easy. I wondered if they were really meant to be solved by the celebrities, thinking they were for brains in top-tier schools like KAIST and Seoul National University," he said. "Since the level of the puzzles is higher, it should be fun watching how we solve them."
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| The show stars the cast members as private investigators. Courtesy of Netflix |
This is what distinguishes the show from others with a similar style, co-director Cho Hyo-jin said.
"Most mystery-solving shows host intellectual people, so I tried a different approach to break that pattern," he said. "I tried to combine materials from fictional dramas and variety shows."
He also noted the upside of working with the multinational streaming giant to carry out such a large-scale production.
"Working with Netflix was different from the experiences I had with Korean production, in terms of the system," Cho said. "The directors had more freedom and were allowed longer turnaround for more details, which gave us a great experience."
Adding that he's excited to drop the new season, the director said the last season will touch on different social issues. "There was an incredible chemistry that developed among the cast members. And this made me feel more confident to include social issue narratives I've always wanted to cover in the series," he said.
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| The series finale will hit Netflix on Friday. Courtesy of Netflix |
The cast members also shared the chemistry they had and how much they enjoyed working on the set.
"I met such nice co-stars in 'Busted!' I don't think I could have worked with such a group of people with such great teamwork if it wasn't for this show," Seung-gi said.
Actors Park and Sehun also shared their views of the experience of appearing on the show.
"This is the only reality show (in which I took part)… I've never been on reality shows even as a guest, so it was very interesting to join as a cast member," Park said. "Thanks to the incredible team, I was really able to enjoy it. I'm very glad it's ending on a great note. I don't know if I'll be able to meet such great people again."
Sehun added that he was able to get comfortable on the set with the help of the fellow cast members. "Since this is my first reality show, I was nervous and a bit scared. But I was able to get a step closer to the world of reality show, thanks to the amazing cast members."
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