Shows Like Netflix’s ‘Kian’s Bizarre B&B’ Worth Streaming As Season 2 Arrives

‘Kian’s Bizarre B&B’ returns this week, and the new season relocates the entire operation from the summer coastline of Ulleungdo to the snowy mountains of Daegwallyeong. Joining Kian84 at the reopened guesthouse are volleyball star Kim Yeon Koung, actor and singer Lee Junho, and LE SSERAFIM’s Kazuha, stepping in as the new staff for what producers describe as an even more chaotic second branch. Kim Yeon Koung is expected to bring her signature charisma and lively energy while Lee Junho adds warmth and sharp wit through his empathy and charm. BTS’s Jin, who helped make the first season a breakout hit, will not be part of the new lineup.

The original season built a genuinely global audience. Upon release, the first season ranked sixth globally in the non-English TV series category on Netflix’s Top 10 list, introducing Korean style B&B reality shows to audiences worldwide. Kian84 was later honored with Best Male Entertainer at the Blue Dragon Series Awards for the hosting gig. For anyone catching up before the new episodes, or simply craving more of this specific strain of Korean variety television, unscripted guests, chaotic hosts, and a healthy dose of unpredictability, here are some other shows worth adding to the list.

‘Hyori’s Bed and Breakfast’

Long before Kian84 built his fantasy guesthouse, singer Lee Hyori and her husband Lee Sang-soon opened their real Jeju Island home to strangers for this JTBC series. Hyori’s Homestay has been a hit sensation on Korean television since it aired in 2017, setting new ratings records for its network and winning best entertainment program at Korea’s Baeksang Arts Awards. Guests over its run included singer IU, who joined the couple as a helper years before headlining her own hit dramas.

‘Youn’s Stay’

Actress Youn Yuh-jung led a rotating cast including Lee Seo-jin, Jung Yu-mi, Park Seo-joon, and Choi Woo-shik in this hanok guesthouse series, welcoming foreign guests who had been living in Korea during the pandemic. The reality program is set in a hanok in South Jeolla Province and features the actors welcoming guests who have not been able to experience much of Korean food and culture due to travel restrictions. The show got off to a good start with a viewership rating of 8.2 percent on its debut.

‘Youn’s Kitchen’

Before running a guesthouse, the same cast ran pop-up restaurants abroad. Youn’s Kitchen is a popular South Korean reality travel show that follows the cast on a journey to a foreign destination where they open a pop-up restaurant for a few days. The format, developed under producer Na Young-seok, established many of the fish out of water beats that later hospitality shows in the genre would follow.

‘Single’s Inferno’

For viewers drawn to the chaos and connection of Kian’s format rather than the hospitality angle specifically, this series swaps a guesthouse for a deserted island. Hot and young singles are trapped on a Hell Island, and the way to escape it is to become a couple with someone every night, with successful couples moving to a Heaven Island with better accommodations. The show has aired five seasons on Netflix since its December 2021 debut, with a total of 53 episodes so far.

‘Better Late Than Single’

This dating series follows people who have never had a real relationship through a structured path toward their first dates. The spotlight is on eternal singles, adults who have never been in a relationship, and these dating rookies receive expert coaching in a makeover style dating reality show. The cast spent nine days together at a resort on Jeju Island for a dating bootcamp after receiving six weeks of coaching.

‘Yu Jae Seok’s B&B’

Netflix greenlit this companion series after the success of Kian84’s guesthouse, with veteran entertainer Yu Jae-seok stepping in as a new owner. Beloved entertainer Yu Jae-seok, renowned for creating warm, family like chemistry on Family Outing, will now welcome guests as a friendly host, unveiling a new side of his charm. Producer Lee So-min explained the appeal of expanding the format around a different host’s personality in a statement shared through About Netflix.

‘Snail Hotel’

One of the earlier successors to the original guesthouse boom, this series followed the same pampering, guest centered formula that Lee Hyori popularized. Successors like Snail Hotel, released in 2018, followed a similar formula, focusing on pampering guests and creating restful experiences. That gentler pace stands in sharp contrast to the deliberate discomfort built into Kian84’s guesthouse.

‘Boarding House in Spain’

Another entry in the same lineage, this show carried the healing guesthouse format overseas. Boarding House in Spain, from 2019, focused on pampering guests and creating restful experiences, much like the shows that came before it. Together with Snail Hotel, it helped cement the genre conventions that Kian84’s series would later flip on their head.

‘Infinite Challenge’

Critics have pointed to this long running variety staple when describing Kian84’s do it yourself approach to hosting. The way the cast generates their own content by designing the space and creating the situations is reminiscent of Infinite Challenge, according to Kim Heon-sik, a cultural sociology professor at Jungwon University. The comparison highlights how much of the humor in both shows comes from the cast building their own chaos rather than following a script.

‘EXchange’

Also known as ‘Transit Love,’ this dating series brings former couples back together under one roof. Participants who have previously broken up live together, get to know their housemates through activities and dates, and must treat each other like strangers even though they were once a couple. Its fourth season added Blackpink’s Jennie as a panel guest offering commentary on the drama, romances, and tough decisions unfolding in the house.

With Kian84 now settling into a colder, more remote version of his signature guesthouse chaos alongside three new hosts, there is plenty to watch either as a warm up or in between episodes this season. What are you hoping to see from Kim Yeon Koung, Lee Junho, and Kazuha as they take over the second branch of Kian’s Bizarre B&B this winter?