From competition shows Top Chef and The Great British Bake Off to celebrity travel documentaries Everybody Feeds Phil and Padma Lakshmi's Taste the Nation, there are plenty of quality food- and cooking-related reality shows worth putting on your watchlist. But there's one really good one that's often overlooked: Genie's Kitchen, a heartwarming Korean reality show set to premiere its second season on Prime Video on June 28.
“Genie's Kitchen,” which premiered in February of last year, is the first Korean reality show to premiere on Prime Video. It follows famous Korean celebrities as they open and run Korean restaurants in foreign cities. Season 1 features real-life best friends Choi Woo-sik (“Parasite”), Park Seo-joon (“Marvels”), BTS singer V, known by his real name Kim Tae-hyung on the show, and veteran actors Lee Seo-jin and Jung Yu-mi.
The show's overall concept is pretty simple (and season two will likely follow a similar blueprint): A group of five people, led by de facto restaurant “owner” Lee Seo-jin, open an open-air restaurant in the heart of the sunny seaside town of Bacalar, Mexico, introducing Korean street food to locals and tourists alike.
They cook and serve traditional Korean dishes like kimbap, spicy fried chicken, and cheese ramen to paying customers while striving to meet their boss' daily sales targets. The titular employees also handle a variety of chores, from washing dishes and prepping ingredients to grocery shopping and strategizing the next day's menu. On their rare days off, they can be found jet skiing, swimming in the local lake, or watching the World Cup.
Most of the cast is set to return for the new season, set in Reykjavik, Iceland, except for V, who is currently serving his mandatory military service for able-bodied men in South Korea. Actress Go Min-si (May Youth) will take over for the singer. Earlier this month, Prime Video released the trailer for the upcoming season, and it's safe to say that the elements that made the show's first season so compelling are still there.
What sets “Ginny's Kitchen” apart is its wholesomeness and unpretentiousness. Throwing a celebrity into a fish-out-of-water situation like running an amateur restaurant is always going to be risky, as they'll be held responsible for keeping everything on track.
Part of this is down to the likeable personalities of the cast, many of whom have worked together before and are friends off-screen, and their unspoken interactions create a unique and entertaining group dynamic. It's also heartwarming to see a celebrity like BTS's V, with millions of fans around the world, temporarily abandon the glamorous life to pick up a kitchen apron and pan, and totally go for it.
Like any well-produced show, “Ginny's Kitchen” has a story arc to follow, even if it's a simple one. The first episode charts the steep learning curve that plagues the crew: They make mistakes in the kitchen, are slow to prepare ingredients and barely have customers to serve.
Even though they may struggle, there's no doubt that they thoroughly enjoy the process – greeting locals and tourists with genuine smiles, happily answering questions about the menu, and secretly watching guests enjoy the food. By the end of the season, they are well-functioning machines, and many of them have shown remarkable progress in their cooking and customer service skills, which has only increased the restaurant's popularity.
Genie's Kitchen also features a fun subplot about the executive-dominated company hierarchy and flippant attitudes surrounding which “intern” – V or Choi Woo-sik – is the senior one. The crew also informally adopts a stray dog, which they name Pero, and he becomes their four-legged helper.
While “Genie's Kitchen” is essentially an unscripted show about food, travel and cooking (it will definitely make you crave Korean food), what keeps viewers hooked is the friendly relationships and genuine interactions between Lee Seo-jin, Jung Yu-mi, Choi Woo-sik, Park Seo-joon and V. Their unique personalities and differing perspectives on work and play make the show even more entertaining.
For example, Lee Seo-jin is the restaurant's total seller (he reacts with a laugh when V confesses that he drank four bottles of freshly squeezed juice because he was thirsty), the interns are mischievous rule-breakers (they are hilariously reprimanded when they buy everyone matching shirts with leftover grocery money), and “head chef” Park Seo-joon has been named as a promising successor.
“Ginny's Kitchen” is a refreshing reminder that there's value and joy in a reality TV show that isn't loud or bombastic, that celebrates the small, seemingly inconsequential victories that may seem boring, but are deeply relatable to the average person. It certainly helps that the cast is so well-matched and the food is so delicious. Season 2 promises to be a treat.
Check out a preview of “Jinny's Kitchen” Season 2 below:
“Jinny's Kitchen” Season 2 will premiere on Prime Video on Friday, June 28, with episodes available weekly. Season 1 is currently available to stream.
