The Genius is a South Koreanreality game show that was broadcast on cable channeltvN. The first season began airing on April 26, 2013, and the show proved to be a hit for tvN. Subsequently, three other seasons were aired in 2014 and 2015. Each season consists of 12 episodes with 13 contestants. One player is eliminated in every episode, and the final player left standing is named the champion of the season.
Format
The Genius brings together 13 contestants from various sectors to compete for the top spot in rounds involving various games. Every episode, a contestant is eliminated following a main match and a death match. The Main Match is a game that all the players will have to play in order to win, and the Death Match is only played by the elimination candidates. The winner of the main match will gain a token of life as a form of immunity from elimination. In the event there is a sole winner, then that player receives an additional token of life to give to another player. The worst performer in the main match is automatically sent to the death match, and is allowed to choose their opponent. However, they cannot choose a person with a token of life. In the event that there are joint losers, the winner of the Main Match will nominate the death match player among the losers. Beside the token of life, the winner of the main match will also gain a quantity of red garnets. Each garnet is worth 1,000,000 won. In the final episode, only the champion's total garnets are exchanged for real money. Garnets are transferable and may be gained within the game. However, all forms of theft and violence are disallowed. Because the show requires sharp thinking to win, every game is expected to be riddled with thrill and shock and is filled with loopholes for the players to exploit. Each contestant must figure out both the rules of the game and its secrets, and how they can win as quickly as possible. Players may join forces with others, betray them or simply eliminate their competitors, to either create a "beautiful defeat" or an "ugly victory". Contestants are encouraged to use every means to survive. The 13 geniuses continue to get to the end of the game in order to grab the great prize money, and in the process, build their own characters.
Right after first episode, it has been accused of plagiarizing popular Japanese manga series like Kaiji and Liar Game. In 2014, tvN had broadcast a remake drama of the Liar Game. However it was mentioned that The Genius production crew did not hold any copyrights of the Liar Game and that the original copyright lied with Apollo Pictures and Fantagio Entertainment. In a later interview, it was said by The Genius' Main Producer that the concept of the show was merely inspired by Liar Game, quoting " reference, and not plagiarism" upon being stated of plagiarizing Liar Game. It has also been further mentioned by The Genius' Main Producer that "All the games were designed ourselves. We have never plagiarized anything so far.", further denying the controversies raised. No further details were disclosed with the accusations of the Zombie Game. The fans of the Liar Game were not happy with this response and are currently still demanding an apology.
