The Influencer review: Is the South Korean Netflix reality show worth watching?

Netflix's latest reality show, The Influencer, based in South Korea, dropped its final episodes 5,6 and 7 on Tuesday, August 13. The show stars Jang Keun-suk, PaniBottle, OKING, NeedMoreCash, RISABAE, and many more.

77 influencers participated in The Influencer, where their follower count and market value would determine their worth. These online celebrities boasted over 120 million followers across major Social media platforms, including YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and AfreecaTV.

The market value of all the participants collectively was revealed to be 400 Billion KRW. The participant who passes all 5 rounds of the show and gets the winning title "The Influencer" receives a cash prize worth 300 million KRW.

The show attempted to showcase the hard work that goes behind the content produced online with the creativity shown by the influencers. However, it failed to capture the viewer's attention in the beginning, given the large number of participants. The latter episodes also seemed rushed.

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The Influencer Review: How far will the contestants go to receive attention?

The South Korean reality show The Influencer had contestants making content in different forms, like long content on YouTube, short content on TikTok and Instagram, and live streaming on AfreecaTV. The participants who made content in categories like comedy, fortune telling, traveling, K-beauty, K-food, fitness, sports, X-rated content, and more, all competed for one title.

With the format of the games introduced, the show demonstrated each aspect of social media that helps influencers gain attention and popularity. For instance, from the usage of live video streaming, hashtags, and PR campaigns to the least popular form of content: static photos online.

The participants displayed their creativity, the favorable points of their network, and fame in a limited time to reach the top of the cutthroat competition. It also showed how some influencers used their expertise in social media and put in their hard work to give out quality content and spread positive influence to their audience.

K-beauty influencer RISABAE shone throughout the show. With her understanding of her followers and using her contacts, RISABAE gave a wonderful experience to her fans who visited her pop-up store in the final episode. She had her audience diligently stick by her side by doing BLACKPINK's Jennie look-a-like make-up and inviting popular dancer Aiki for her showcase.

On the other hand, OKING's political campaign in the second half of the final round was also remarkable as it was not only engaging but also gave the audience a sense of belonging. He received the maximum number of footfalls and eventually won the show.

The Netflix reality show started and finished off at a fast pace. For a person lacking knowledge about social media or interest in celebrities' lives, it may be difficult to grasp the show's concept and the curated games.

Moreover, the contestants' worth was based on their followers, not their talent. Some participants came off as impolite towards others. The Influencer also focused more on views by using clickbait strategies and even used deceptive content to gain attention, illustrating their image in a negative light.

One instance where Jang Jisou used a misleading thumbnail in the final round, which stated that he would reveal the truth behind the Netflix reality show, was unable to get many people to come to his pop-up area.

The Influencer may be informative for influencers who would like to know more about popular internet personalities but is an easy skip for others as it fails to exhibit thrilling or exciting results.