Netflix has released the teaser trailer and character posters for the next K-thriller hitting the streaming giant ahead of its premiere next month.
Originally entitled Money Game, based on the webcomic of the same name and its sequel Pie Game, The 8 Show follows eight personalities vying for the prize money that goes up the longer they stay trapped in a mysterious lodging. Adding to the secrecy surrounding the survival game, the players are constantly watched over closed-circuit TV by unknown audiences.
Each contestant is only identified by a number, representing the building’s floor that they are occupying. Familiar faces in the K-drama world will give life to the contestants, further amplifying the excitement around the series:
- Ryu Jun-yeol (Reply 1988) on floor 3
- Chun Woo-hee (Sunny) on 8
- Park Jeong-min (Hellbound) on 7
- Lee Yul-eum (Nevertheless) on 4
- Park Hae-joon (The World of the Married) on 6
- Lee Zoo-young (Live) on 2
- Moon Jeong-hee (Vagabond) on 5; and
- Bae Seong-woo (Metamorphosis) on 1.
While the teaser still keeps much of the plot under wraps, the premise may remind audiences of another Netflix exclusive, Squid Game, due to its similarities in genre and execution.
How The 8 Show will fare compared to the global hit remains to be seen, but if 300 million global views of the webtoon are any indication, viewers may expect a compelling depiction of competition, danger, and humanity.
Not surprisingly, Netflix is betting on another webcomic-to-screen project to make it big. As of December 2023, out of 40 original dramas released on Netflix Korea, 12 were adapted from the Naver Webtoon platform, including global hit titles All of Us Are Dead, Sweet Home, and Hellbound.
The 8 Show is coming to Netflix on May 17.