The third season of a show is always a grey area. Sixth Sense, the highly anticipated variety show led by Yoo Jae-suk, is no exception. After a poor second season that left a lot to be desired, Sixth Sense 3 has consistently outdone itself in many ways. Simply put, the show is well aware of its own strengths and weaknesses and uses them to its advantage, in particular in terms of the production crew’s creativity and the cast’s chemistry.
For the uninitiated, Sixth Sense’s concept is simple. Each episode features Yoo Jae-suk, Oh Na-ra, Jessi, Mijoo, and Lee Sang-yeob visiting three different places or people. But here’s the catch: one of them is completely fake. And, as the title implies, the cast must employ their sixth sense to detect the fake.
To spice things up this season, not only did Sixth Sense establish a new rule by incorporating the well-worn variety trope of having a spy, but it also did not limit itself to focusing on food, as it did in the previous seasons. Instead, this season finds the perfect balance between food and lifestyle topics. More interestingly, the production team broadened their scope to include themes such as “Korea’s top 1%,”,“The Rebellion Of Kimchi,” “The Science Of Sleep,” and “Unique Investments,” among many others.
Needless to say, the biggest appeal of Sixth Sense is the lengths to which the production crew go to fake something (a place or a person’s story) to trick the cast. Every few episodes, the crew outdoes themselves, making this season far superior to previous ones. On the most basic level, Sixth Sense builds new restaurants and cafes on top of innovating fake menus, recipes, and even personas. However, this season takes it to the next level.
In one episode, the production crew went as far as to devise a two-month-long plan to deceive Sang-yeob. They not only created a rib-flavoured gelato, but they also planted the seed with the help of his best friend, actor On Ju-wan, two months prior. During the big revelation at the end of the episode, everyone’s jaw dropped as they find out that the crew engaged Ju-wan to send Sang-yeob an ice cream food truck on their behalf as a form of support for his upcoming drama.
In another episode where the cast had to explore unique investments, the crew dedicated themselves to growing their own mushrooms as a form of “investment.” They borrowed mushrooms from the arboretum and even bought mushroom spores, all to personally grow them for a month. While the concept of Sixth Sense is simple, the lengths to which the crew go are admirable, as their efforts pay off when it becomes difficult for both the cast and the viewers to distinguish between the real and fake locations.
One of the bigger complaints in season two was the show’s questionable casting of guests. Thankfully, season three sees an improvement in casting, where guests almost always blend in with the set cast, even when meeting for the first time. Notably, Lee Yi-kyung, who speaks his mind, Jee Seok-jin and Song Eun-i, who are well-known variety show veterans, and Song Jae-lim, who is reserved but funny, are among the more memorable guests.
On top of that, the production crew also invent new games that play to the strengths of the cast and guests on almost every episode. Having been together for three season, good cast chemistry is a given. However, seeing and hearing the cast express their excitement while playing these new games is equally heartwarming and refreshing, proving that the crew and cast know what viewers enjoy.
Sixth Sense 3 has taken a significant step forward from its previous seasons. They have finally nailed it in season three as a show worth watching with a well-balanced cast and guests, entertaining games, and a production crew who always exceed expectations. With fake locations that are becoming increasingly convincing, it makes you wonder: How far will the production crew go next season?
(YouTube[1]. Images via tvN.)
