Source: Pixabay
Released in the UK in summer 2024, No Way Out: The Roulette has remained widely under the surface. That said, the show has been quite divisive in terms of audience and critical reception. Let’s take a look at all you need to know.
What’s it About?
Roulette has been used as a theme in entertainment for decades. Perhaps most obviously, roulette itself is an enduring favourite of casino enthusiasts in the UK. Thanks to developments in technology, players can try their hand at European Roulette online. Games like this are live streamed from a studio to players in real time, allowing for an immersive and authentic roulette experience. The digital aspects also allow for a variety of different themes and game mechanics that makes the gameplay unique.
Elsewhere, roulette has spawned music tracks from artists like System of a Down, Katy Perry, and Bon Jovi, and the essence behind the game has inspired films like 13 Tzameti (2005), Saw VI (2009), and Would You Rather (2012). And, the latest piece of entertainment to riff off the idea of roulette is the South Korean mystery thriller TV series No Way Out: The Roulette (2024-).
Source: Pixabay
Written by Lee Soo-jin, No Way Out: The Roulette follows the story of a criminal who has been released from prison, and subsequently ends up with a bounty of 20 billion won on their head. Due to this, a police officer is put in an ironic situation – having to protect such a notorious criminal from the entire nation, where a roulette game decides their fate.
Critical and Audience Reception
No Way Out: The Roulette has seen generally average reviews – yet some viewers seem to absolutely adore it, and others have rated the show quite poorly. That said, some highlights of the reception include a busy premise and intriguing plotlines.
However, despite promising a dark political thriller, some critics felt that the show started to decline after the first couple of episodes. Admittedly, the plot could be stronger and more purposeful to really build up that suspense we would expect from a thriller series – particularly a South Korean series in the wake of the Squid Games hype. The busyness of the plot can sometimes lead to saturated subplots that can be difficult to follow.
Instead, it is the actors that have really captured the attention of fans and critics throughout this series. Both Cho Jun-woong and Lee Kwang-soo were nominated for Asia Contents Awards & Global OTT Awards (for Best Lead Actor and Best Supporting Actor, respectively), and Greg Hsu (Hsu Kuang-han) has been particularly praised for his engaging portrayal of a ruthless criminal.
Overall, No Way Out: The Roulette makes for a dark, bitesized thriller. Whilst it might not match up to the levels of gore and horror as other South Korean thiller series, the roulette element to the series adds a fresh new twist on the medium. The show is well worth a watch for the actors’ performances alone, who manage to mostly sell even the most complex and confusing storylines in the series.