'The Devil's Plan Season 2' to return bigger with games devised by fans

Producer Jung Jong-yeon speaks during a press set visit session held Monday. (Netflix)

Jung Jong-yeon, producer of the hit Netflix survival game series "The Devil's Plan," said the series' second season has been upgraded to showcase an intricately designed filming set, alongside games created by some of his most dedicated fans.

In its first season, "The Devil's Plan" brought together 12 contestants, including actors, doctors and YouTubers, to compete in a battle of wit and strategy. Upon its release in September 2023, the show quickly gained global popularity, ranking third on Netflix's global top 10 non-English TV shows list during its first week of release.

The show returns for a second season next year. Jung Jong-yeon, the star producer behind hit survival game shows such as "Great Escape" and "The Genius" series, will return at the helm.

At a press tour on the set of "The Devil's Plan Season 2" held on Monday, Jung stated that the show's second season leverages a bigger budget, enhanced game quality and more participants.

The second season is filmed on a 1,000-pyeong set (1 pyeong equals 3.3 square meters), which is 1.8 times larger than the set used for the first season. After a planning phase that spanned some six to seven months, construction of the new set took about eight weeks.

"Given our experience with the scale of the first season, we became more ambitious in our approach," said Jung.

Jung noted that the games for the second season have also evolved, with the challenges being developed in collaboration with some of Jung's most enthusiastic fans.

"This time, about half of the game development was done by this team. They laid the groundwork for the long-term growth (of 'The Devil's Plan')," said Jung.

Preview of the filming set for "The Devil's Plan Season 2" (Netflix)

Details about the set remain confidential, but the set was designed to be reminiscent of the Middle Ages.

"I thought that survival games, in the context of human history, inherently carry a very premodern element. So, I wanted the game arena to resemble something like an old building. The basic concept of the set was to evoke the feel of a monastery built in the Middle Ages," Jung explained.

By including 14 contestants from diverse occupations and backgrounds -- two more than in the first season -- Jung stated that "The Devil's Plan Season 2" will showcase a broad spectrum of human traits.

"Everyone has preconceived notions and cultural backgrounds that they’ve lived with, and I believe it’s difficult to completely abandon those," said Jung. "I believe this diversity (of the cast) will make the show even more enjoyable."

"The Devil's Plan Season 2" is scheduled to be released on Netflix in the second quarter of 2025.