The Future Of Running Man

The Future of Running Man

I’m currently writing this because of my “frustration” towards the series for the past year and half. We all know this show isn’t the same as it was in the very beginning. I remember watching 3-4 episodes a day just trying to catch up and enjoying every second of it. and now its getting to a point where I’m watching the latest episode and skipping almost half the episode and dialogue because it no longer interests me. the worst thing about all of this is that i get more excited about the 1 minute preview for each upcoming episode rather than the episode itself. 

I really don’t know what the show has to do in order to gain back viewers and make the overall show better, cause i think at this point its a little too late. some cast members just seem to be done with the show and wanted to get it over with, Song Ji Hyo for instances probably spoke less than an entire paragraph this past year and a half. and whats with her new “laugh”, i know you heard it too, that’s not her real laugh. Kim Jong Kook is not the same, but he has an actual reason. his body is deteriorating as we speak. the amount of bandages and tape on his legs and foot is astounding. filming this show obviously took a toll on his body and its a shame. Gary has also been in the background a lot lately not having that much lines either. the rest of the members are doing fine, especially Kwang Soo and Suk Jin. you might hate how the giraffe exaggerates but he has to do that at this point to cover up the less enthusiastic members. Suk Jin’s popularity rose because of this show, and for a guy who wants to be remembered and noticed, being a part of running man was terrific for his career. sure he might be “useless” or weak, but we need a character like that and hes been perfect every single year. 

the past three months is the beginning of change, the show has gotten a lot better but that’s not really saying much when you compare it to last years episodes. hopefully the new PD realizes that big, expensive shows aren’t what draws viewers in anymore. and i know they came out saying “we dont care about viewers and our ratings” but that is absolute nonsense. SBS is a business, they wont keep pushing running man if their ratings were in the 1-2% range. SBS would kill for running man to get back to double digits which it hasn’t been in that range consistently for maybe two years now. 

the upcoming unlucky hand festival is one thing i can point out that can hopefully save this show and bring back the viewers. As all of you know, or hopefully know, infinity challenge is Korea’s number one variety show. and its been like that for years. some of their most notable series are the music festival and the ugly friend festival. if running man emulates infinity challenge and does these festival events frequently, they can be a really big hit.

now obviously every show wants to be infinity challenge, but there’s one advantage running man has that most variety shows dont have, even 1 night 2 days doesn’t have this. a consistent cast. these members have been running for the past 6 years and will continue on doing so until SBS decides to pull the plug. 1 night 2 days might have higher viewer ratings, but the cast is no where as popular as the cast of running man. the new PD needs to use this to their advantage and milk their chemistry. one thing i always loved about infinity challenge is that they can have the members sit down and just talk to each other for 20-30 minutes, and it would be entertaining and funny. because there’s no need for a script, no action, no guests. its just them being comfortable with each other and speaking whats on their mind. 

I apologize for the ridiculous long post, but i had to get this off my chest. I’m pretty sure most of you are in the same boat as i am, running man was the first experience we had in Korean entertainment and we dont want to see this show burn. we want it to have long term success and not eventually be cancelled because viewers decided it wasn’t worth their time anymore. The fans deserve better than this, but more importantly the cast does. i want to see them genuinely have fun like they did in the beginning.