MBC's 'Hangout with Yoo' Struggles to Innovate Despite Revamp Efforts

In an era of content overload, TenAsia's Tae Yuna offers a 'variety show guide' for viewers unsure of what to watch. From hot topics to key figures and behind-the-scenes stories, she delves into the details to enhance your viewing experience.

---

MBC's variety show 'Hangout with Yoo' has undergone a revamp, but the results have been underwhelming. The show continues to recycle popular content and draw from 'Infinite Challenge' themes, leading to stagnant ratings. Despite ongoing criticism of its planning, noticeable changes post-revamp are hard to find.

'Hangout with Yoo' revamped its cast in June, with former members Lee Mi-joo and Park Jin-joo departing after the May 31 broadcast. The show now features Yoo Jae-suk, Haha, Joo Woo-jae, and Lee Yi-kyung. The first new content introduced was a 'warehouse sale,' where they sold costumes stored at MBC for six months to guests. The guests, Kim Sook, Ji Seok-jin, and Kim Seok-hoon, were familiar faces to Yoo Jae-suk, resulting in a lack of fresh chemistry.

The show's lazy planning persisted, recycling past popular variety show themes like 'Happiness with 10,000 Won' and dedicating an episode to a staycation at MBC. Following the warehouse sale, they also dealt with leftover Haha figures from 'Infinite Challenge.' With the absence of female members, the banter and pranks intensified, and they even engaged in physically demanding airport labor. As a result, 'Hangout with Yoo' now feels reminiscent of 'Infinite Challenge.'

Once a leader in creating diverse personas for Yoo Jae-suk, 'Hangout with Yoo' has struggled with its identity after adding permanent members. The show has resorted to following trends and repeatedly featuring popular guests, leading to a decline in ratings. Currently, the show averages a 3% viewership rating, with no significant changes post-revamp.

In this context, 'Hangout with Yoo' seems to be openly leaning on the past glory of 'Infinite Challenge.' The upcoming episode on the 12th will feature a meeting between 'Star Park Myung-soo' and the 'Hangout with Yoo' members. In the previous episode, Yoo Jae-suk expressed his affection for 'Infinite Challenge' while dealing with leftover merchandise.

Yoo Jae-suk stated, "I didn't watch the last episode, not because I couldn't, but because I didn't want to. I felt it wasn't truly the final episode, just a concluding chapter."

With the continuation of 'Infinite Challenge'-related content, some viewers express nostalgia, while others find the repeated concepts tiresome. The lack of change in the show's structure post-revamp has also drawn disappointment.

The blurring of initial intentions and identity is a common fate for long-running variety shows, and 'Hangout with Yoo' is no exception. The show's unique flavor has faded, rendering the revamp ineffective. It's a challenging time for the production team.

Tae Yuna, TenAsia Reporter youyou@tenasia.co.kr