Na Young-seok (나영석) PD, dubbed the "golden variety show producer," has created countless popular programs. He first gained recognition with KBS2's *2 Days & 1 Night* (1박 2일), and after moving to tvN, he launched hits like *Grandpas Over Flowers* (꽃보다 할배), *Youth Over Flowers* (꽃보다 청춘), *Sisters Over Flowers* (꽃보다 누나), *Three Meals a Day* (삼시세끼), *New Journey to the West* (신서유기), *Jinny's Kitchen* (서진이네), and the recent sensation *Biong Biong Earth Arcade* (뿅뿅 지구오락실). His shows not only propelled the programs themselves to fame but also elevated tvN to a position competitive with traditional terrestrial broadcasters.
However, this variety show ace, once considered a "ratings guarantee," has recently begun to face different reactions. Na PD's latest project, *Just Friends* (그냥 친구 사이), is set to meet audiences, prompting renewed public interest in whether his program style can spark fresh buzz.
*Just Friends* is a new variety show exploring the theme of "can men and women truly be just friends?" It will observe the subtle line between friendship and romance through the interactions of different men and women. The program continues Na PD's signature style of creating humor and topics from everyday interactions, while incorporating the relatable element of male-female relationships, thus garnering significant attention even before its official broadcast.
Nevertheless, a recent post on a Korean online forum titled "The Reason Na Young-seok's Invincible Myth Finally Broke" sparked heated discussion among netizens. Notably, the original poster emphasized being a devoted fan of Na PD, having always enjoyed his past works, but now couldn't help but lament, "He used to be a cheat code in the variety show world, but recently, the atmosphere feels a bit different."
The netizen stated that when shows like *Three Meals a Day*, *Youn's Kitchen* (윤식당), and *Biong Biong Earth Arcade* were successively successful, just seeing the name "Na Young-seok PD" guaranteed a certain level of quality. However, since the ratings for *NANA TOUR with SEVENTEEN*, featuring SEVENTEEN, dropped below 2%, voices on the Korean internet have increasingly questioned whether "the public's fatigue with Na PD has reached its limit."
The netizen further analyzed that Na PD's recent programs seem to suffer from an overly fixed "formula." They elaborated, "It's either cooking abroad, finding accommodation and playing games, or opening a business, just with different cast members each time." They even described these shows as having a feeling of "changing players and replaying the game."
Regarding Na PD's upcoming new work, the devoted fan admitted that while the new content is still garnering attention, seeing that it once again centers on the theme of "traveling abroad" has led to a less enthusiastic response from netizens, with "everyone's reactions being a bit cold."
Finally, the fan stated bluntly, "Even for a national PD, if self-replication becomes increasingly severe, being abandoned by the public is only a matter of moments."
In fact, Na PD previously built an unshakeable variety show brand with his distinct program style and long-standing cast members. However, in recent years, with the rise of streaming platforms, changing audience viewing habits, and the rapid evolution of variety show themes, market competition is vastly different from the past. Whether *Just Friends* can break free from the so-called "Na PD formula" and reignite buzz remains to be seen after the show airs.
