Eight unsuspecting contestants are pitted against each other in a violent and perverse battle for money We may all be the same species, but we are certainly not equal. The rules of this ultra-capitalistic society dictate that some “deserve” more than others, no matter how unfair that may be. Netflix’s new K-drama The 8 Show makes that startlingly clear from the get-go, as a bizarre social-experiment-slash-reality-show pits cash-strapped, desperate strangers against each other in a bloody battle where time literally is money.
Based on the popular webtoon Money Game , the series follows eight down-on-their-luck individuals who are thrust into a closed environment meant to function as a pseudo-society. Each of them lives on a separate floor of the eight-storey compound, getting paid by the minute, where they quickly realise that they need to work together to extend their time in the game in order to earn the biggest possible reward. However, the unequal power structure leaves those on the bottom floors at their mercy those above them.
As the “bottom-feeders” worry about equality and a fair distribution of tasks and chores, the top dog (known only as “8th Floor”, earning a whopping KRW340,000 every minute) lavishly buys designer clothes and accessories, and cuts off everyone else’s food supply when she feels slighted. With inequality pervading, the precarious system devolves into scheming, cruelty and kissing ass – all the while a group of anonymous, filthy-rich.