'The Zone: Survival Mission' is Back and It's Bigger Than Ever
South Korea's top host Yoo Jae-suk, Girl's Generation's Yuri and Lee Kwang-soo return for a second season of Disney+'s gut-busting survival Korean variety show
Disney+'s original variety show, The Zone: Survival Mission is back and it's bigger than ever! Tough to even imagine this considering how large in scale the first season was, but this was the main takeaway from the cast wanted people to take home in a press conference for the launch of season 2.
The beloved cast, Yoo Jae-suk, Girl's Generation's Kwon Yuri and Lee Kwang-soo are also back to take on new challenges and push their limits to see just how long they can survive in different scenarios. In season 2 of The Zone, we see the cast travel across South Korea, visiting Incheon, Busan, Wonju and many more, with each scenario tailor-made to each region. Here's everything you need to know about this gut-busting, heart-pumping variety show below.
No, but really, the Scale is Massive
If you've watched the first season, then you would know, Disney+ pulls zero punches and goes all out to create immersive, large scale sets for the cast to navigate and explore as they try to hold out while facing outrageous scenarios. In the first season, we see the trio fight off zombie hordes, survive a "warzone" experience with some the best sharp shooters as their opponents and a booby trap infested haunted house, just to name a few. In the new season, the scale is bumped up even further with scenarios held in a hospital, a university campus and even a disappearing island. Many extras were also hired to create these scenarios in order to make them more immersive and believable, adding to the show's massive sense of scale.
Survival is the Goal
The key thing that separates The Zone from other Korean vareity shows that also puts their cast through outlandish situations for entertainment is the crystal clear cosistency in its goal — Hold out for as long as you can. Regardless of the location or scenario, the goal remains the same. Hence, it allows the creativity of the show-writers to shine through with the scenes they set up to get the cast to "give up". Even a seemingly ordinary health check-up can take a turn and transform into a full obstacle course in an insant so the cast constantly have to be on their toes.
Cast Chemistry is On Point
The large scale scenarios are definitely impressive but what keeps viewers like us coming back for more is definitely the effervescent chemistry of Yoo Jae-suk, Lee Kwang-soo and Kwon Yuri who balance and bounce off each other perfectly. Yoo Jae-suk and Lee Kwang-soo, having worked together on Running Man for several years, have signature chaotic dynamic where they poke fun and egg each other on. While Kwon Yuri balances them out with her can-do attitude and positivity.
In the first season, Lee earned a reputation for always being the first to push the "give up" button and together with Yoo are the "Scaredy Cat" duo. The two along with Yuri trying to keep the team together made for some hilarious moments and when asked if their dynamic has changed this season, Yoo said that he would like to think that they were braver and more proactive in earning their Z coins (an in-game currency needed to win the show). However, after watching the first episode, we are inclined to think otherwise.
THE ZONE: Survival Mission, Season 2 is currently available to stream and watch on Disney+ with new episode added weekly.
