PD Kim Min-jong. Provided by Wavve.

PD Kim Min-jong of ‘Betting on Fact’ expressed gratitude to political commentator Hellmouse (real name Lim Kyung-bin), who took on the role of the ‘Faker’.

In a joint interview held on the 12th at Content Wavve’s headquarters in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, PD Kim said of Hellmouse’s final-round play, “I was personally grateful that he gave the board a shake.”

In the finale of the Wavve survival program ‘Betting on Fact’, released on the 8th, Jang Dong-min’s victory was announced, and it was revealed that Hellmouse had been the ‘Faker’.

In that broadcast, Hellmouse essentially gave up on the ‘last place’ win condition for the ‘Faker’ and chose to shake up the game in its latter phase. When Jang Dong-min inferred, “The Faker’s win condition is likely last place,” and applied pressure, Hellmouse switched strategies to induce confusion.

Afterward, some viewers criticized it as “a play that departed from the basics of a survival show,” but PD Kim instead assessed it as “a play faithful to the essence of the Faker.”

PD Kim said, “There were opinions that he should have stayed in last place to the end, but creating confusion was also an important task of the Faker,” adding, “Thanks to Hellmouse shaking up the board at the end, the tension stayed alive.” He continued, “I do not think this diverged that much from the essence. Creating confusion was also part of the Faker’s role.”

Regarding why the finale focused more on Hellmouse’s performance than on Jang Dong-min’s victory remarks, he explained, “There were already many reactions that Jang Dong-min’s superb play was outstanding,” and “By contrast, many aspects of Hellmouse’s Faker play were unexpected for viewers, so we really wanted to show them in the final episode.”

Addressing debate over the Faker device itself, he said, “I think the curiosity of ‘Who is the Faker?’ was the force that made people keep watching to the end.” However, he added a note of regret: “If there had been no Faker device, Hellmouse, who has strengths in the news field, might have been able to showcase more of his skills.”

PD Kim also explained why Hellmouse was selected as the Faker: “We considered who would not be eliminated too easily while still handling the role well,” adding, “We thought Hellmouse was a good fit.”

Meanwhile, the Wavve original ‘Betting on Fact’ is a reality news game show in which, in an era flooded with fake news, participants gathered in a space cut off from the outside world distinguish real news from fake. The cast includes Jin Joong-kwon, Lee Yong-jin, Ye-won, Kang Jeon-ae, and Park Sung-min.