REVIEW: ‘The Influencer’ Struggles From The Jump

Influencers come in all shapes, sizes, and professions. Regardless, they are the new celebrity with a finger on the pulse. The best ones adapt to any situation or platform thrown at them, whether it’s attracting attention, live streaming, or curating a photo feed that hooks a person’s attention in the midst of endless scrolling. In Netflix’s latest Korean reality TV series, The Influencer, 77 influencers from all over South Korea compete to see who can win the title of Ultimate Influencer. However, it struggles to hook from the start, making it almost fail from the jump.

The first episode of The Influencer is the longest and proves to be an exercise in patience. Clocking in at roughly an hour and thirty minutes, the first 30 minutes are spent introducing the audience to the 77 competitors who will be competing. There is a wide array of influencers, ranging from the typical hair and makeup artists to models, gamers, and, for fans of Physical 100, the lovely Shim Euddeum. Outside of the ordinary are influencers specializing in mukbang, cooking meat, shamanism, and more.

This eclectic array of competitors does diversify the competition. While the introductions run long, they help clue us into who the most noteworthy players are. However, despite the attempt to cut down on the talking heads, The Influencer drags too soon and doesn’t grab attention like an opener should. In a series that prioritizes popularity and snagging attention, it inadvertently fails from the jump.

The Influencer has a brief remedy for resolving the issue when it reveals the goal of the competition and subsequent rules. Each person has a collar that reveals their follower count. With a grand prize of 300 million won (roughly $218,000 USD), there’s a lot for the winner to go for. Some cruel, evil genius devises the next part. After the reveal of the prize, each competitor has their value calculated based on their follower count in proportion to that $300 million won prize. It’s ice-cold.

But, if you’ve worked with or dealt with influencers on a personal basis, this is how worth is determined. To get personal, as a critic, some media applications require that data to determine approval. On a business level, that’s how influencers are broken down on paper. How much worth do you have based on your following? This reveal is effective, psychologically rude, and shows insight into the realities of an occupation that others may not have.

The first challenge is revealed, involving a literal popularity contest between liking and disliking the contestants. A challenge that should be rive with drama ends up tepid at best. This slows down the pacing, an issue that comes further into focus with how large our group is. While a handful of influencers do manage to snatch up the spotlight in the opening episode, there’s not much charisma to have viewers immediately rooting for someone.

By episodes 2 and 3, the contestants are finally able to shine through a little bit with the arrival of the second challenge – livestreaming. The heart and soul of these kinds of reality TV shows is being able to learn more about the contestants. In the live streaming challenge, we get a peek into their approach and mindset when it comes to satisfying their followers. Tears are shed, rage explodes, and then some in these intimate moments, giving viewers something to grasp onto.

The Influencer gives much insight into the mechanics and politics of influencing within its first batch of episodes. Tiktokkers are easily dismissed by the Youtubers despite having larger followings. Negative attention, as demonstrated in the first challenge, is just as valued as positive attention because it means you’re getting eyes on your page. Overall, being someone worthy of investing in is key, as is adaptability.

Compared to other reality TV shows, The Influencer is pretty niche in its subject matter. Popularity is at the forefront of these competitors’ focus, which isn’t necessarily a vocation that many are interested in. The show offers variety and insight for those interested in careers and how people approach them. But whether or not the subject matter is exciting enough to maintain interest is difficult to say.

The Influencer almost sets itself up to fail with its shaky opening episode. Its near-glacial pacing and initial competitor group make it hard to stick out those first 90 minutes. However, where the series’ strength lies is in its up-front breakdown of what it means to be an influencer, even if it makes a few of them cry along the way. If someone is looking to learn more about this career, this reality TV show gives some insight. Just not enough to immediately pull one in.

The first four episodes of The Influencer are streaming now on Netflix, with new episodes dropping on Tuesdays.