Netflix premiered its future entertainment lineup at the 2025 Netflix Entertainment Festival, which was held Tuesday at the JW Marriott Dongdaemun in Seoul and featured producers and directors presenting shows to be launched in the latter half of the year.
PD Kim Hak-min, who supervises 'Black and White Chef 2,' described the direction of the new season.
"Season 1 had many chefs who appeared and were loved, so there will be many upgraded contestants who are just as good as them. We will be able to show you an even more interesting side of ourselves," Kim said.
The producer added that the most difficult task was wrapping up the cast.
"The most difficult question was which chefs would appear. My mother even asked me to tell her which restaurant to go to in advance.
I can't say who they are, but compared to Season 1, there will be contestants who are just as good, and in fact, there will be contestants I never imagined," he added.
The series has been set to be released later in the year amid ongoing controversy surrounding celebrity chef Baek Jong-won. The timing was explained by Netflix director Yoo Ki-hwan.
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"We are carefully considering this and are concerned about how it will affect the many people who are involved and participated in the show.
Since this program connects 100 participating chefs and nearly 400 staff members, we decided to release the show as scheduled and leave the judgment to the viewers," said Yoo.
Kim also responded to news the format was plagiarized in China.
"I first learned about it when Director Yoo Ki-hwan sent me a link via KakaoTalk.
Not to mention the sets, even the opening sequence was so detailed that I thought they had copied our show, cut by cut. At first, I was surprised by how similar it was, but then I felt really bad.
It was heartbreaking to see the PDs painstakingly crafting the scenes overnight, down to the composition and background music," he explained.
Yoo corroborated Netflix formally acted against the so-called copycat.
"After becoming aware of the situation, we entered into in-depth discussions. They intentionally used a significant portion of FH.
Since we acknowledge their dedication to the show and the IP, we couldn't just ignore it, so we sent a protest to Tencent, requesting the show to cease and desist.
We will continue to actively and officially respond to any IP infringement," he said.
Looking back on the success of the show, Kim made a frank evaluation.
"Honestly, I wasn't sure the last season would do well. Even now, I'm not sure if Season 2 will do well, and I'm just giving it my all.
I'm working on it with the hope that it will be even half as well-received as Season 1," Kim said.
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