You Must Watch This Korean Netflix Reality Show That Makes The Traitors Look Like Kids' Stuff

Everyone is rightfully obsessed with "The Traitors," Peacock's gloriously trashy reality show about contestants backstabbing and outwitting each other across a sprawling Scottish castle that isn't actually owned by host Alan Cumming. But what if I told you that show, for all its lowbrow pleasures, is continuously outclassed by a production from South Korea?

"The Devil's Plan" traps a group of contestants on a lavish soundstage set. They live together, eat together, hang out together, and regularly engage in cutthroat competitions to increase a pile of cold, hard cash as they're eliminated one-by-one. But here's the kicker: Everyone in the game was cast for their intelligence, and the games they play are built to break even the smartest member of the cast. A combination of celebrities, doctors, lawyers, professional gamers, science experts, and even board game enthusiasts clash over brain-burning challenges that push them to the mental limits, often shattering social contracts in the process.

Most reality shows are built on twists you never see coming, but it's rare for those twists to be built into the nuts-and-bolts competition scenes themselves. The human drama on "The Devil's Plan" is juicy stuff (especially when allies realize that the only way to win is to burn a bridge), but equally compelling is watching these wily people try to outwit each other as they discover hidden layers about the very games they're playing.

And that's before they discover the elaborate set they're imprisoned within is part of the game itself, with secrets literally lurking behind hidden walls and tunnels. This show made me gasp with its reveals like I was watching the spectacular early seasons of "Lost."

"The Devil's Plan" paints a very specific portrait. Sure, I adore every gonzo second of "The Traitors," but what if its contestants weren't cast because they were drama queens, but because they were smarter than you? What if the challenges themselves were brilliantly designed puzzles and not something clearly thrown together with limited resources? And what if there was an actual sense of care put into the mise en scene of it all? There's a genuine level of care present in this Korean production not found elsewhere.

"The Devil's Plan" is a production design dream, better lit and staged than any American reality competition show I've seen. And while there is no direct traitor element, the gameplay encourages the groups to fracture into tribes based on reward and punishment, leading to organic and unstructured social dynamics that bend and break with each change of the wind. Feelings get hurt, victories are exhausting, and the moment of triumph is frequently profound. This is a reality show that follows the basic structure of what we normally see, but relishes achievement as much as it relishes drama.

I'm not saying every reality show needs to be like "The Devil's Plan," but I am saying that I wish "The Traitors" would take a look at how this show is shot, how it's cast, and how the challenges are designed, and maybe borrow a page or two. "The Devil's Plan" is so thorny and complex and ambitious that the broad strokes of American reality TV feel downright childish in comparison.

Two seasons of "The Devil's Plan" are streaming on Netflix. A third is on the way. And it certainly continues the trend of Korean entertainment dominating Netflix and making the rest of the world seem lazy.