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Ready Or Not: Texas is a South Korean Netflix reality series where longtime friends Lee Seo-jin and Nah Yung-suk take a very loosely-planned journey to Dallas, Houston and Austin, Texas. They have an extensive crew in tow, but the production is definitely lo-fi, with much of the footage shot on phones.
READY OR NOT: TEXAS: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?
Opening Shot: Lee Seo-jin and Nah Yung-suk, two friends who are about to embark with a film crew on a trip from Seoul to Texas, have dinner. Yung-suk tries to figure out what to order on Netflix’s dime.
The Gist: When we see the group landing at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, both guys are excited to be there, though Seo-jin is so into Texas that he wants to retire to Dallas when he gets older. He wants to make sure everyone has all of their supplements, so he tells the van they’re in to pull into a local CVS, which is when he notices he left a bag containing his passport and other important material back at the airport, hanging off a chair.
Once the bag is recovered — and Yung-suk makes appropriate fun of his friend — the crew goes to the Fort Worth Stockyards, where they get some authentic Texas barbecue at Cooper’s Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que, where they get massive beef ribs, big hunks of brisket and sausage, and goblets of beer.
After the meat-fest, the buddies and crew walk around the stores and attractions around the Stockyards, in anticipation of the longhorn parade that goes down the main drag. They go into a Wrangler store, hoping to dress like authentic Texas cowboys. Yung-suk gets close, but Seo-jin decides to go for a denim vest that’s covered in Whataburger logos (one of the patches is a picture of French fries). Yung-suk and the crew laugh and encourage Seo-jin to wear the vest without a shirt underneath.
The group then go to M.L. Leddy’s, where they buy cowboy boots and get fitted for cowboy hats. They both feel ridiculous walking amongst the other tourists and Texans, but they lean into how silly they look, posing for pictures and greeting people who say hello to them.
Photo: NetflixWhat Shows Will It Remind You Of? Ready Or Not: Texas has a similar feel to Twogether, another Korean travel series.
Our Take: One of the things that makes Ready Or Not: Texas endearing is that Seo-jin and Yung-suk are not afraid to look like goofy tourists and just be silly with each other on camera. Yes, they know that the fact that they’re walking around these tourist areas with a crew toting cameras and sound equipment makes them conspicuous, so they lean into it, doing touristy things and just being themselves.
The show’s producers do try to tout that the show is unplanned, but that’s not necessarily true. It does feel like the producers and crew have arranged some destinations ahead of time, like going to Cooper’s for barbecue or being around the Fort Worth Stockyards for the longhorn parade. The buddies tour Smoothie King’s headquarters, for some reason, and get an intimate look at AT&T Stadium before moving on to Houston and Austin. You don’t just pull up in a couple of vans in front of AT&T Stadium with cameras and ask for a tour, know what we mean?
But where the show is unplanned is showing things like Seo-jin going back to the airport to retrieve his bag or watching Yung-suk get a little tipsy after downing a goblet of Shiner Bock. Those moments are punctuated by the sound effects and graphics you see in lots of East Asian reality shows, and yes, it can get annoying. But we like the friendship between Seo-jin and Yung-suk and their desire to just have fun and not care about their image.
Photo: NetflixPerformance Worth Watching: The other part of Seo-jin and Yung-suk’s friendship is that they freely bust each other’s chops. For instance, one calls the other “even douchier” as he tries on cowboy boots.
Sex And Skin: None.
Parting Shot: The friends and their producer pose for a picture next to a vintage pickup truck.
Sleeper Star: The producers and crew get to have all the Texas fun without having to be on-camera.
Most Pilot-y Line: Seo-jin cites the fact that Texas has no state income tax as one of the reasons he wants to retire there.
Our Call: STREAM IT. If you just want to see two friends having a blast, Ready Or Not: Texas is a good show for that. Maybe after watching Seo-jin and Yung-suk go through their Texas adventure, you’ll want to be a goofy tourist there, too.
Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.
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