K-variety show fans, there’s a new variety show that you’d definitely want to binge-watch over the weekend! Twogether, which stars Lee Seung Gi and Jasper Liu will be premiering on Netflix tonight, June 26!
Twogether brings together 2 of Asia’s most sought-after stars in a show where they journey through Asia, fulfilling missions that would help them search and meet their fans. The show comes from Cho Hyo Jin and Go Min Seok, who are also the brains behind Korea’s most famous variety show Running Man.
ClickTheCity got to join the producers and the stars of the show in a virtual press conference where they talked about their chemistry, their favorite challenges, and more. Here are 5 things you should know about the new K-variety show:
1. It’s not your regular Korean variety show.
Twogether features the two stars as they go on trips to 6 cities. There, they fulfill missions in famous spots recommended by their fans. Unlike other travel variety shows, the producers also leave the stars on their own, with only a limited budget, a car, and a map which give them hints on where to go next.
According to producer Cho Hyo Jin, the show was born out of the idea of bringing two men from completely different cultures to places that their fans have suggested. “Our show is a show where the fans introduce to these two stars their hometown, and we gave them these various missions so that through these missions, they are able to find these fans that they want to meet,” he explained.
2. It features two of Asia’s most popular stars right now.
Headlining this show are Korea’s Lee Seung Gi (Vagabond, All the Butlers) and Taiwan’s Jasper Liu (Before We Get Married, Triad Princess) who – as Producer Go Min Seok said – are the “Treasure of K-Entertainment” and the “Hidden Gem of Entertainment”, respectively. Despite it being their first time to work with each other, the two said that they both found a lot of things in common with each other, so getting comfortable wasn’t really an issue.
One of the obvious issues they had to deal with from the show is the language barrier, and both have different ways of overcoming it, aside from speaking English occasionally. For Liu, it was using body language to communicate and learning basic Korean phrases along the journey. For Lee, it was through cramming lessons he had to take to learn basic phrases.
3. It takes the audience on a trip to 6 different Asian cities.
In a span of a month, Lee Seung Gi and Jasper Liu went to 6 Asian cities – Yogyakarta and Bali in Indonesia, Bangkok and Chiang Mai in Thailand, Dhampus and Pokhara in Nepal – where they follow a travel itinerary curated specially for them by fans. There they do different challenges prepared by the producers in order to get clues as to where they can find their fans at the end of the trip.
As for their favorite destination and mission? Lee said that it’s Bali, where he went paragliding while trying to figure out Jasper’s drawing on the sand. Liu, on the other hand, answered their first destination Yogyakarta, as that’s where he realized that Twogether was an unscripted show through and through.
4. It’s also purely unscripted!
Even for the K-variety veteran Lee Seung Gi, filming for Twogether was a bit hard. Since he’s always worked with a larger team, he initially thought that it might not be as fun and as entertaining for people. “But I believe that when the chemistry becomes explosive between two people that can create a completely new kind of entertainment in terms of its quality and style as well,” he added.
A newbie when it comes to unscripted shows, Liu shared how despite being thrown into missions throughout the show, fans should not only expect action but also a lot of touching scenes from the show. “It has a lot of heartwarming scenes and moments – especially meeting and communicating with the fans, so I think that will be something you can all look forward to,” said Liu.
5. The show aims to provide healing to their fans during the pandemic.
There are many things to look forward to from Twogether, but Lee ultimately hoped that Twogether can provide a sense of healing to fans during the pandemic. “Because the current times do not allow for us to travel freely overseas, I hope that you will be able to enjoy and heal through the beauty that we have captured around Asia last year,” Lee said.
Twogether launches on Netflix tonight. You can visit its official page here.
ALSO READ
EXCLUSIVE: Interview with Lee Seung Gi and Bae Suzy on their Newest Drama ‘Vagabond’
