# Running Man (2010)

> A long-running Korean variety show where a rotating roster of celebrities races through games and missions for nonstop laughs.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/30582

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 828
- Episode runtime: 85 min
- Status: Returning Series
- Genres: comedy, reality
- Created by: Jo Hyo-jin, Kim Joo-hyung, Lim Hyung-taek, Jung Chul-min, Lee Hwan-jin, Choi Bo-pil, Choi Hyung-in, 강형선
- Network: SBS
- Cast: Yu Jae-seok, Jee Seok-jin, Kim Jong-kook, Haha, Song Ji-hyo, Yang Se-chan, Ji Ye-eun, Jeon So-min
- TMDB rating: 9.1/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2185037/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: none
- Tone: playful, breezy, warm, comforting, joyful

## What critics say

Viewers regard the show as a long-running, comforting weekly variety program whose humor and cast chemistry remain reliable even though its early frantic energy has mellowed.

## Synopsis

Running Man (2010-present) is a South Korean variety series produced for SBS and created by Jo Hyo-jin, Kim Joo-hyung, Lim Hyung-taek and others. Its core cast of self-playing celebrities includes Yu Jae-seok, Jee Seok-jin, Kim Jong-kook, Haha, and Song Ji-hyo, with Yang Se-chan and Ji Ye-eun among later regulars, and former members Lee Kwang-soo, Kang Gary and Jeon So-min are remembered as well. The engine of the show is simple: the group is dropped into a location and handed a mission, a race or a game, and every episode is built from the attempts, the bickering, and the humiliations that follow. Running as a single continuing format rather than a set of seasons, it has aired hundreds of episodes of roughly 85 minutes each, with the seasons mostly marking the year of broadcast. The tone is breezy, playful and self-mocking, the kind of comfort watch many viewers use to unwind at the end of the week. Its roots are in the Korean variety tradition, a lineage fans of Infinite Challenge and Hangout with Yoo will find familiar, and the format delivers the same mix of improvised games, teamwork and affectionate teasing. Its focus is pure laughter rather than message, which gives it a warm, sincere energy throughout.

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