Roommate () is a South Korean reality show; formerly part of SBS's Good Sunday lineup. It was first scheduled to be aired on April 20, 2014, but due to the Sewol ferry tragedy and the temporary broadcast halt, the airing date was pushed to May 4, 2014. The show features eleven celebrities living together in a share house located in the Seongbuk-dong area of Seoul, sharing common spaces such as the kitchen, living room, and washrooms, as well as household tasks. The house features sixty cameras and five bedrooms.
Six of the original eleven roommates left the show ending the first season of Roommate on September 14, 2014. Seven new roommates were added for a brand new second season beginning September 21, 2014. With the return of K-pop Star to Good Sunday, Roommate moved to airing every Tuesday at 11:15 pm as a stand-alone program starting November 25, 2014. The second season was cancelled due to low ratings with the final episode airing on April 14, 2015. It was confirmed that there will be no season 3.
Season 1 The original roommates were Lee So-ra, Park Bom and mixed martial artist Song Ga-yeon, Jo Se-ho and Lee Dong-wook, Nana and Hong Soo-hyun, Park Chan-yeol and Shin Sung-woo, and Park Min-woo and Seo Kang-joon. This mix of singers, actors/actresses, comedians, models, DJs and martial artists who have little reality and variety program experience is expected to create new undiscovered characters and laughter. On July 24, 2014, Baek Jung Ryeol of SBS announced that Park Bom had not participated in recordings since July 11, 2014, due to her amphetamine scandal and she officially left the program, with her final episode airing on July 27, 2014. On August 20, 2014, it was announced that Lee So-ra would leave the program due to schedule conflicts. On August 27, 2014, Song Ga-yeon was also confirmed to leave the show to focus on her career. On September 1, 2014, Shin Sung-woo announced on Twitter he would be leaving the show. On September 11, 2014, it was announced that Hong Soo-hyun would also be leaving to focus on her acting career. On September 12, 2014, it was announced that Park Chan-yeol would also be leaving the show due to his busy schedule. With more than half of the original members leaving the show, the producers announced a brand new season with new members alongside the remaining members of season 1.
Season 2 A new season of Roommate was announced following the departure of several members. This season's concept is Home share, Whole share, where the members not only live together, but learn and share from each other. The new cast consisted of the remaining five roommates and seven new roommates. The new members featured a broad spectrum of the celebrities ranging from veteran stars to foreigners to rookie stars. The new roommates are Sunny, Park Joon-hyung, Jackson, Ryohei Otani, Lee Guk-joo, Bae Jong-ok, and Heo Young-ji. With the return of K-pop Star to Good Sunday, it was announced that Roommate would move to Tuesday nights airing at 11:15 pm replacing Magic Eye beginning November 25, 2014.
Roommate season 2 ended on April 14, 2015, after 26 episodes. Although preparations were being made for a new season, Roommate was confirmed to be cancelled due to low ratings; the last episode aired on April 14, 2015.
Cast
Season 1 members
NameProfessionBirthdayRoomPrior living arrangementAppearancesPark Bom (2NE1)Singer Room 1With 2NE1 Season 1Lee So-raModel, radio personality, MCAlone (for 20 years)Song Ga-yeonMixed martial artistAloneShin Sung-wooSinger, actorRoom 4Alone (for 30 years)Park Chan-yeol (EXO)Singer, rapper, actorWith group membersHong Soo-hyunActressRoom 3With parentsNana (After School)Singer, model, actressWith group membersSeason 1 & 2Seo Kang-joon (5urprise)Actor, SingerRoom 5 ➡ Room 2With group membersPark Min-wooActorAloneLee Dong-wookActorRoom 2 ➡ Room 5With parentsJo Se-hoComedian, actorAlone
Season 2 members
NameProfessionBirthdayRoomPrior living arrangementAppearanceLee Dong-wookActor Room 3With parents Season 1 & 2Jo Se-hoComedian, actorAlonePark Min-wooActorAloneSeo Kang-joon (5urprise)Actor, singerRoom 5 With group membersNana (After School)Singer, model, actressRoom 1With group membersHeo Young-ji (KARA)SingerWith parentsSeason 2Lee Guk-jooComedianWith familyJackson Wang (GOT7)Singer, rapperRoom 5with group membersBae Jong-okActressRoom 4With familySunny (Girls' Generation)Singer, actress, radio DJWith group membersRyohei OtaniJapanese actor, model Room 2AlonePark Joon-hyung (g.o.d)Rapper, actorWith group members
List of episodes
Season 1
Episode # Broadcast date Episode title Narrator 1 May 4, 2014 If one day, to live with a stranger Lee Dong-wook 2 May 11, 2014 Approaching you slowly, little by little Lee So-ra 3 May 18, 2014 Love is an open door Hong Soo-hyun 4 May 25, 2014 If together, it can't get tastier than this Shin Sung-woo 5 June 1, 2014 You are my spring Seo Kang-joon 6 June 8, 2014 Bom's message becomes a reality Park Bom 7 June 15, 2014 Magic Girl Nana and Laughter Defense Corp Kang-dash Man Nana 8 June 22, 2014 You are my No.1 Park Min-woo 9 June 29, 2014 Sweet, spicy, and bitter tastes Chan-yeol 10 July 6, 2014 Youth never comes again Jo Se-ho 11 July 13, 2014 How nice would it be if only good things happened? Song Ga-yeon 12 July 20, 2014 Clear skies after cloudy skies Chan-yeol 13 July 27, 2014 Achieve the goal Sunday Hong Soo-hyun 14 August 3, 2014 Will joy come after hardship? Jo Se-ho & Seo Kang-joon 15 August 10, 2014 A summer night's miracle 16 August 17, 2014 Begin again at the end 17 August 24, 2014 Enjoy, Song Ga-yeon Hong Soo-hyun 18 August 31, 2014 In the time with you Park Min-woo 19 September 7, 2014 To chase or be chased Hong Soo-hyun 20 September 14, 2014 A passionate goodbye
Season 2
Episode # Broadcast date Episode title, summary 21 September 21, 2014"Which Star Are You From?" As the new season of Roommate commences with new members, the group slowly begins to break the awkward and unfamiliarity by getting to know each other. The new members introduced themselves to the producers and the audiences first. The casts later arrive at their new home and are assigned to their respective rooms. 22 October 5, 2014 "me Will Like you." In order to get to know each other better, the members draw maps of their brains and talk about their profession, characteristics and personal interests. Nana, Guk-joo and Se-ho leave home to Se-ho's parents' house to get food and on the way, they learnt that it was actually Nana's birthday while Dong-wook, Jong-ok, Joon-hyung, Ryohei and Min-woo take a historic tour around Seongbuk District with the "Roommate" team. Later, Jong-ok and Sunny set out to learn pilates. At night, the members gather to plan a surprise party for Nana before she arrives home. 23 October 12, 2014 "24 Hours Is Not Enough." The episode starts off with Guk-joo cooking for her roommates and as they sit down to eat, Guk-joo talks about how she became a comedian. Later, the members go out for a picnic, playing games and doling out punishments to the losers. After the picnic, Dong-wook takes Ryohei, Jackson and Young-ji out for some shopping which led to Dong-wook being exhausted at the end. After the members return home, Song Ga-yeon pays a visit to their home. The episode ends with Jackson and Joon-hyung teaching the members English and acting out scenes by speaking English. 24 October 19, 2014 "Reply Old Love." The episode begins with Sunny, Ryohei, Joon-hyung, and Jackson going on an outing to pick lotus roots which was planned to be their guests' dinner. When they return to the house, the group prepares dinner as the guests start to arrive. Joon-hyung's cousin, Danny Ahn (one of the members of g.o.d), was the first to arrive followed by Ryohei's friend, Chae Yeon (a singer/actress). While the members were entertaining their guests, Sunny arrives with another guest, Yoona from Girls' Generation. Close to the end, Nana returns home to see that Cucumber's belly was swollen and the members immediately send her to a 24-hour veterinary hospital. 25 October 26, 2014 "How To Get Closer With Your Neighbors?" Jong-ok, Joon-hyung, Jackson, Sunny and Ryohei head out to Bukjeong Village, a nearby neighborhood that is called the last shantytown in Seoul where they tour and meet the locals, while Nana, Se-ho, Guk-joo, and Kang-joon set out to the Finnish Ambassador's home. After meeting their neighbors, the members gather together and decorate their rooms. For dinner, the members prepare fresh thornback ray and 5-year-old kimchi sent by Young-ji's uncle. Meanwhile, Guk-joo joins Baek Ji-young's performance on stage. At the end of the episode, Jong-ok teaches the members about acting and a few members act out the famous play of Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet. 26 November 2, 2014 "Lee Soon-jae Visits Roommate." Sunny and Jong-ok visit the theater where two very revered veteran actors were performing while Joon-hyung, Se-ho, Jackson, Nana, Guk-joo and Young-ji learn Taekkyeon, a traditional Korean martial art. After watching the performance, Sunny and Jong-ok went home with a guest, Lee Soon-jae. At dinner time, the roommates were all gathered at the dinner table sharing old memories of their past and bringing up old graduation photos. The next morning, Guk-joo and Young-ji are on breakfast duty while Jong-ok wakes up early in the morning to harvest some peppers that are grown in the backyard. Towards the end of the episode, g.o.d have their encore concert with close to 40,000 people in attendance, including fellow members of Roommate, Min-woo, Se-ho, and Kang-joon who came to show their support for Joon-hyung and g.o.d. 27 November 9, 2014 "Boys' Time vs Girls' Time." A "Boys and Girls" outing. Nana, Sunny, and Guk-joo go out for a leisurely stroll that includes a tarot reading, while Ryohei, Joon-hyung, Jackson, and Se-ho decide to go skateboarding. Later, Se-ho invites trot singer Park Hyun-bin to give some singing lessons to Ryohei. Park Hyun-bin leaves on a good note and the roommates begin to start their night time routines. While everyone else seemed to be asleep, Se-ho, Guk-joo, and Jackson were wide awake. They decide to surprise Dong-wook at his filming site. 28 November 16, 2014 "Kimchi War." Joon-hyung, Jackson, Dong-wook and Young-ji head to the market to pick up supplies when the Roommate members decide to make kimchi. Back at the house, the roommates receive the cabbage delivery and get to work peeling vegetables for the kimchi. Se-ho invites Choi Hong-man to help them with making kimchi. When eating dinner, the members gather around to talk about Hong-man's ideal type. Halfway through, Guk-joo's friend, trot goddess Hong Jin-young stops by for a visit. Meanwhile, Guk-joo appears on a radio show and was paid a surprise visit by Kang-joon. 29 November 25, 2014 "Family's Here." Dong-wook, Jackson, Young-ji, Jong-ok, Min-woo and Nana leave to catch eels where the members get into a fun mud fight. Meanwhile, Joon-hyung, Guk-joo, Ryohei and Sunny leave to learn pansori. When they return home at night, Guk-joo brings her brother, Sunkyu, with her. When the members gather together and cook eels in their backyard, Goo Ha-ra from girl group Kara arrives. Young-ji gets tearful when Hara talks about her (Youngji) to her roommates. As the night gets deeper, the members and guests have a dance battle. At the end of the episode, a few members reenact their past auditions. 30 December 2, 2014 "We Won't Stop."