The Return of Superman (Hangul: 슈퍼맨이 돌아왔다; also known as Superman Is Back) is a South Korean reality-variety show that airs on KBS2. The Return of Superman is one of the two segments (the other segment is 1 Night 2 Days) on Happy Sunday. The original 3 episodes pilot aired as a Chuseok holiday special from September 19 till September 21 of 2013, starring Lee Hwi-jae, Choo Sung-hoon, Jang Hyun-sung, The show is narrated by actress Yoo Ho-jeong and also includes entertainer Lee Hyun-woo and his two sons.
KBS announced on Oct 17, 2013 that The Return of Superman will officially become part of the Happy Sunday lineup starting on November 3, 2013. The show replaces Star Family Show Mamma Mia, which was moved to Wednesday nights.
Celebrity dads are left to care for their kids alone for 48 hours without the help of anyone, while their wives leave the home to enjoy some relaxing time off. The wives are shown leaving the home before the 48 hours begins and coming back to greet their family once the 48 hours have ended. During the 48 hours the dads and children are either doing a task the wives have written out for the dads to complete or the dads exploring new activities with their kids. Occasionally celebrity friends of the dads will stop by to interact with the kids.
The show is filmed with set up cameras and cameraman hiding in tents and playhouses in each of the celebrities actual home. Family and friends of the celebrity dads will occasionally show up in each episode. On each episode, as the show moves from one family to the next, a brief narration by the narrator is given to introduce the next segment of the episode.
During each individual family segment the parents (husband and wife), with the exception of Junu, Junseo and Haru who were old enough to answer questions when they started the show, would give a talking head interview while being asked questions by the shows PDs (producers) about the current situation being aired.
*Child is listed from oldest to youngest. Families are listed in order of appearance on the show.
*Families and narrators are listed in order of exiting the show.
^Note 1 :First appearance on episode 20 & 21. Officially joined cast starting episode 25.
^Note 2 :Kim Jung-tae's younger son Kim Si-hyun, who was only 2 months old when they started filming for the show will not be part of the show.
^Note 3 :See "Controversies" section.
^Note 4 :Heo Su-gyeong previously guest starred with her daughter Byeol on episode 24 during Lee Hwi-jae's segment.
^Note 5 :Song Il-kook wife Jeong Seung-yeon face is blurred whenever she appears on the show to protect her identity due to her occupation as a High Court Judge. She also does not participate in the talking head interviews like the other Moms/Wives of other cast families.
^Note 6 :Jung Hye-young's husband Sean from Jinusean previously appeared in numerous episodes of the show during former cast member Tablo and Haru's segment. Also all four of her children along with her husband appeared on episode 52 during Song Il-kook's segment.
^Note 7 :Lee Dong-gook previously guest starred on episode 40 during Lee Hwi-jae's segment.
Lee Hyun-woo could not participate in the show when it was picked up on Happy Sunday due to conflicting schedule.Yoo Ho-jeong was the original narrator for episode 1 and 2 of the Chuseok Special, there was no narrator for episode 3 of the special episodes.Tablo and his daughter Haru joined the cast starting from episode 1 of season 1 to replace Lee Hyun-woo's spot.Chae Sira became the narrator starting from season 1, her last episode was the 27th. Chae decided to leave the show due to her conflicting schedule.Kim Jung-tae and his son Ji-hoo (Yakkung) guest starred on episodes 20 and 21 as part of Jang Hyun-sung's segment, the two were invited to officially join the cast because of the show's extended time slot.Shin Ae-ra took over as narrator starting from episode 28. She was approached to join the show because of her reputation as an caring mother in real life.Kim Jung-tae and his son Yakkung opted to leave the show following controversy of them attending a campaign rally for a local politician. Episode 31 is their last.Jang Yoon-jung and Do Kyung-wan will be guest cast from episode 32. They will fill the spot left open by the departure of Kim Jung-tae and his son Yakkung. The couple will chronicle the birth of their son.Jang Hyun-sung's agency announced on June 24, 2014 that the actor and his sons would be leaving the show due to conflicting schedule with filming his drama Ceci Bon and movie Love Wins. He and his family last appearance is episode 33.Song Il-kook was announced on June 25, 2014 to be joining the cast of Superman along with his triplet sons. Their first episode will air on July 6.It was announced on July 20 that Shin Ae-ra would be stepping down as the narrator of the show to concentrate on her studies in the United States. Her last episode will be the 37th. Heo Su-gyeong, who previously guest starred on the show will be taking over as the narrator.On December 1, 2014, Tablo and his daughter Haru announced that both will be leaving the show due to Tablo's conflicting schedule with promoting his music career and filming the show. Episode 58 will be their last.Actor Uhm Tae-woong was announced on December 1, 2014 to be joining the show with his daughter Uhm Ji-on. The new father/daughter duo will be taking the place of exiting cast family Tablo and Haru.A press release was issued on January 6, 2015 announcing actress and wife of Sean from Jinusean, Jung Hye-young as the narrator of the show starting from episode 60. No reason was given for the exiting of most current narrator Heo Su-gyeong.On July 13, 2015 KBS confirmed professional soccer player Lee Dong-gook will be joining the cast part-time with his five children.On October 14, 2015, the shows PD Kang Bong Kyu, confirmed that actor Uhm Tae-woong and his family will be leaving the show so that he and his wife can concentrate on the main careers as an actor and ballerina. When Uhm Tae-woong's wife Yoon Hye-jin, appeared on the variety show "Taxi" in November 2015 she further clarified another reason was that they didn't want Jion growing up in the spotlight thinking she was privileged.On December 9, 2015 the PD's of the show confirmed that actor Ki Tae Young had started filming for show. His family replaces Uhm Tae Woong's who had recently left the show.In later February 2016 an insider informed the media that Choo Sung Hoon and his daughter Sarang would be leaving the show. PD of the show did not confirm the news because Choo and his family did not finish filming yet. On February 28, 2016 it was confirmed the Choos will be leaving the show after Sung Hoon's wife Shiho Yano posted an invite for fans to attend their final filming on her Instagram account. The Choos last episode will air in late March 2016. With Choo Sung Hoon leaving the show, Lee Hwi Jae remains the only original cast member since the show premiered.Relationships and Profiles
*Details based on the show.
The X-files are film clips that didn't make it to broadcast on the regular program. These clips can be seen on Korean paid subscription web streaming site Cable TV VOD. The clips are narrated by different guests each time, such as Lee Hyeri from Korean girls idol group Girl's Day.
LG is the main sponsor of the show. All the "Superman" families prominently display or use the LG's S Homeboy tablet made by Samsung throughout each episode. Besides the S Homeboy tablet, each Superman family uses or display products they individually endorses on the show.
NOTE: These are only products shown on the show. Not a complete list of each cast member endorsements.
On June 5, 2014 netizens on the forum site Daum Agora started a petition to have Kim Jung-tae and his son Yakkung removed from the show due to him and his son attending an election campaign on June 1, 2014 for Na Dong-yeon who is a candidate for Gyung-Nam, Yangsan mayor. Na Dong-yeon later released a statement apologizing to Kim Jung-tae and his son Yakkung for the controversy and assured people that the actor and his son was not there to campaign for him. On June 10 a rep for Kim Jung-tae confirmed that he and his son Yakkung have decided to leave the show following the political controversy.In June 2014, an article was published voicing netizens complaints of the show overly promoting YG Entertainment artistes since there were too many guest stars under YG's management for Jang Hyun-sung and Tablo's segments, which both are also under YG's management.On episode 42 which aired on August 31, 2014 producers took a jab at rival show "Dad! Where Are We Going?" with captions shown during Tablo's segment.Viewers voiced their complaints of the mothers showing up on the show too frequently. The complaints were targeted at Tablo's family due to his wife Hyejung appearing entirely during their segment from episodes 52 to 53.Viewers voiced their complaints about editing regarding a scene in episode 53 where Song triplets Daehan and Manse are fighting over a toy. The viewers complained that the caption and editing do not show the true facts of what happened.On April 22, 2015, an owner of a venue that the show production team had scouted, posted on the shows official forum claiming staff from the show had reserved his venue last minute and then abruptly cancelled the shoot, disregarding for his loss of profit he had taken in order to accommodate the show. After a formal apology was issued by the shows producers the misunderstanding was settled.In July 2015, the announcement of Lee Dong-gook and his family joining the show was met with negativity and complaints from fans of Song Il-kook and his triplet sons. Fans of Song and his sons saw it as a sign that Song and his family would be leaving the show and complained on KBS's forum about adding the new family and KBS offering Song an upcoming drama role as a reason for Song to leave the variety show. KBS assured Song's fans that the decision on whether Song and his family stay or leave the show was entirely up to Song's decision.In April 2014, China's Zhejiang Television (ZJTV) began airing a Chinese version of The Return of Superman called Dad is Back starring former Taiwanese boy band Fahrenheit member Wu Chun, film producer Zhong Lei Wang, actor Jia Nailiang, and former gymnast Li Xiapeng. The show is in collaboration with the producers of the Korean KBS version and follows the same concept as the Korean version with the exception of a narrator. The title of the Chinese version was renamed in order to clear up plagiarism rumors.
