The Genius (2013): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 2013, The Genius is a reality series.

What it’s about. A reality series pitting people identified with "genius traits" against one another in social games of strategy, logic, and negotiation skills. Each episode consists of a main match and a death match. The main match decides the winner and elimination candidate for the day. The winner receives a token of life, which grants immunity from the death match, and potentially garnets, a game currency worth ₩1,000,000 each. Garnets can be used to improve a player's chances of winning a game, as well as be traded with other players to gain favor. The elimination candidate chooses a player without a token of life to take part in a 1v1 game called the death match. The player who loses the death match is eliminated, and the winner of the death match gains their garnets. The last remaining player is the champion, and the total garnets held by the champion will be the final prize.

Who’s in it. The Genius stars Kim Sung-kyu as Self, Hong Jin-ho as Self, Kim Kyung-lan as Self and Lee Sang-min as Self, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 8.6/10, The Genius sits among the best-reviewed titles in the catalogue.

Where to watch. Streaming options change often. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch The Genius page.

If you liked it. Fans of The Genius tend to enjoy The Kardashians, The Simpsons, Drawn Together and Clarkson's Farm.