The short version
- TV 2 had great success with the South Korean concept “The Game”, which premiered in February. Average viewership is 900,000.
- Program director Trygve Rønningen believes that the unpredictability and the new storytelling approach with the panel contribute to the show’s popularity.
- Season two has been confirmed, but Rønningen will not divulge details, and insists that the concept will be further developed.
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The South Korean concept, which premiered on TV 2 in February, has i average gathered 900,000 Norwegians in front of the TV screens.
VG’s reviewer gave the program dice roll five.
– We thought that it was going to be good, but that it would be so well received we didn’t have the courage to hope at once, says program director Trygve Rønningen to VG.
In March, a season two of “The game».
Program director in TV 2
Rønningen finds it difficult to answer what has made the program such a great success.
– The honest answer is that I am not entirely sure, but there is one thing that is exciting about the program – and that is the unpredictability. It is the voice that decides and the cast is great. The panel is also a new narrative technique, and the sum of everything means that this stands out as something different from what you have seen on Norwegian TV before.
– How is it to spend so much money on a concept you don’t know works?
– It tickles in my stomach. It is very risky to create such large programs.
Rønningen will not say how much money the game has cost TV 2, other than that it “costs a lot”.
– I can say it in another way, and that is that when you have such great success, it is profitable for TV 2.
Secretive about season two
When asked what the program director can say about season two, he says “nothing”, and laughs.
– There will be a season two, I can say that. Many wonder if it is possible to make a season two of “The game», and the answer is: yes, it is. But it probably won’t be a house with a basement. That’s the beauty of the game, here anything can happen.
Also read: Have to sleep in a basement without a window in “The Game”: - Absolutely horrible
Rønningen says that the recording of season two has not started yet.
The South Korean version of the program is called “Bloody Game”, and is produced by MBC.
Season two of this show was filmed in Bali.
– The Korean version was also a great success in Korea. Season two was even more brutal compared to season one, writes the head of format sales and international relations at MBC, Jean Hur, in an email to VG.
Nor does Hur want to reveal anything about how a season two will be in Norway, and writes that “(…) we do not want to reveal details”.
The element of surprise
– A part of “The game» is the element of surprise, how will you manage to achieve that?
– That is the nature of the game – anything can happen. It is the cube’s voice that determines the “game plan”. And now you have realized that you can make a “poor/rich twist”, but there are many other twists you can make when everything is at stake.
– Do you think you’ll be able to get people involved without realizing that it’s the “Game” they’re going to take part in?
– What is special, and it applies to all TV programmes, is that when you make a first season, it is always a bit scary. That was the case with “Love Island” and “The Farm” as well. But then it settles in a bit, and you also get into it. For those who will be taking part in “The Game” season two, I can promise surprises there too.
