The original post: /r/television by /u/highsis on 2025-08-09 03:14:41+00:00.
I’ve read the sidebar rules. I’m not asking for a list of recommendations – I’m asking which one of these four shows (Survivor, The Mole, The Traitors, Big Brother) would be the best first step for a fan of The Genius, and why.
I think I’ve officially run out of Korean “brain” survival shows. I live in Korea, and back when The Genius was a huge buzz here, I didn’t watch it – I just kept hearing names like Hong Jin Ho or Jang Dong Min but had no interest.
Then Devil’s Plan came out on Netflix and I thought maybe this could be fun. Survival shows have been booming again here with things like Physical 100 (purely physical, no strategy), so I gave it a try. I watched Devil’s Plan 1 first, then finally went back to watch The Genius from the beginning, since it’s often called the origin of brain-focused strategy survival shows in Korea.
And wow… I got hooked instantly. I binged all four seasons, then hunted down every bit of extra content – behind-the-scenes clips, analysis videos, retrospectives. Sadly, because it aired over a decade ago before the real YouTube era, there isn’t much of that content out there. Devil’s Plan actually has more breakdowns and fan discussions, which makes me wish The Genius had been released today.
After that, I went deep: Devil’s Plan 2, Bloody Game 1–3, Society Game 1–2, Life’s Game, and a few smaller niche shows. I’ve basically watched everything here with decent ratings. Maybe Bloody Game 3 was the only one that came close, but The Genius still sits at the top for me – the editing, the BGM, the way they build storylines, the unpredictable twists, and most of all, the clever, high-IQ gameplay.
I’ve always avoided the big English-language shows like Survivor, Big Brother, The Traitors, and The Mole because I’ve heard they often lean more on politics, alliances, and popularity votes, with simpler challenges (I’ve even read things about some being as basic as guessing letters in a hidden word – not sure how accurate that is). What drew me to The Genius and Devil’s Plan in the first place were the insane plays and mental battles. The closest Korean equivalents to those formats might be Society Game or Bloody Game 1, but they’re still not quite the same.
I’ve also tried the UK and Netherlands versions of The Genius, but they just didn’t deliver – hardly any “crack plays” like the Korean one had, and overall felt like a downgrade.
Now that I’ve got nothing left to watch here, I’m wondering: for someone who loved The Genius, which of these non-Korean shows – Survivor, The Mole, The Traitors, or Big Brother – would be the best one to start with? I’m not asking for a list of shows, just which of these four might be the best first step and why. If you’ve seen both The Genius and one of them, I’d love to know what kind of similar vibes or differences you felt.