Vying for prize money with the contestants of The 8 Show
by solstices
Money, fame, honor — and one chance to win it all. In Netflix’s upcoming thriller-comedy The 8 Show, based on the webtoons Money Game and Pie Game by Bae Jin-soo, eight contestants vie for the chance to win an exorbitant sum. Slick, stylish, and highlighted in bold and bright colours, the contest feels like the opportunity of a lifetime — but there’s more on the line than a first glance would suggest.
The teaser opens with an invitation to the titular game, complete with hefty bank deposits and a fancy limousine. Some people are enticed by the potential wealth, while others display a blasé demeanor, still in the process of sizing up the situation. Either way, all of them are ready to invest their time for a cash reward. Amongst them is Ryu Joon-yeol (Human Disqualification), whose hunched frame is that of a desperate man clinging onto his last lifeline.
Dressed in white uniforms and assigned a number each, the contestants are locked into a sprawling complex, where they must spend their days as the prize money accumulates. The vibrant paint and quirky architecture belie the true nature of this isolation, however. As Park Jung-min (Hellbound) soon finds out, looking nervously over his shoulder, CCTV cameras are monitoring them round the clock.
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Meanwhile, Chun Woo-hee (The Atypical Family) is gleefully enjoying the plethora of amenities as if she’s having a delightful staycation. Her exuberance earns her the wary judgment of her fellow contestants, but before long, the game itself seems to endorse an offbeat flavor of comedy. From holding hands to a precarious four-way balancing act, the contestants find themselves joining hands in unexpectedly wacky missions to grow the prize pot. With Lee Yeol-eum (Nevertheless), Park Hae-joon (I Haven’t Done My Best Yet), Lee Joo-young (Bargain), Moon Jung-hee (Times), and Bae Sung-woo (Live) rounding out our ensemble cast, we have an eclectic range of personalities to spice the game up.
Amidst the glitz and glamor, though, fissures are slowly but surely beginning to crack the group apart. The realization that each contestant’s room displays a different amount of prize money reinforces a social hierarchy, stoking distrust and discontentment amongst the segregated players. This game may not be an escape from society, but a mere microcosm of it. As time passes, emotions run high — from altercations to secret trysts to anguished desperation — trapping the contestants in a war of monetary greed.
Helmed by filmmaker Han Jae-rim (Emergency Declaration) on both the writing and directing fronts, The 8 Show will lift its curtains on May 17.
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