Who's the Murderer

Who's the Murderer is a Chinese variety show produced by Mango TV. It stars He Jiong, Sa Beining, with regular guests Wang Ou, Bai Jingting and Emma Wu. The format and license were introduced by Korean JTBC's Crime Scene. It was listed in the 'Most Popular Chinese Variety Show'.

FB mingxingdazhentan

Format

The program presents complex plots focused on logical reasoning and uncovering the truth behind each case. It combines aspects of scripted television and variety show formats, encouraging participants to apply critical thinking to solve the mystery.Alibi: Each player introduces their suspect role, shares their connection to the victim, and outlines their actions before, during, and after the crime.

On-Site Investigation: Players split into two teams and have ten minutes to investigate, each allowed up to ten photos with a personal camera.Briefing: Players present their evidence, question others, and state who they believe the criminal is.
First Criminal Vote: The detective publicly votes on their suspect after each player’s briefing.
Additional On-Site Investigation: Players investigate and discuss at the crime scene simultaneously with the 1-on-1 interrogation.1-on-1 Interrogation: The detective, always innocent, can summon players for further questioning in the interrogation room..Final Criminal Vote: After final statements and debriefing, players vote secretly for the criminal. The accused is arrested; if correct, the detective and innocents earn rewards, if not, the criminal wins.

Casts

Main casts

Name	Profession	Note
He Jiong	Host, Actor	Season 1–10
Sa Beining	Host, Journalist	Season 1–6
Zhang Ruoyun	Actor	Season 1,3–10
Wowkie Da	Singer, Musician	Seasons 1–4, 6–10

Recurring casts

Name	Profession	Note
Wang Ou	Actress, Model	Season 1–10
Bai Jingting	Actor, Singer	Season 1–6
Emma Wu	Singer, Actress	Season 1–5
Yang Rong	Actress	Seasons 2–3, 5–10
Vision Wei	Singer, Actor	Season 2–10

Seasons

With its growing success, Who’s The Murderer received major investments, resulting in striking visuals and immersive effects.

Season 1:

In the prologue, the cast were introduced to the case and selected their roles as either suspects or the detective. Suspects received detailed character information and could conceal facts unless directly asked, but only the criminal was allowed to lie.

Season 2:

In this season, gold bars were given early but must be returned if votes are wrong. Roles were hidden until revealed. The detective’s first vote was private. Only correct voters could keep gold bars; detectives can earn two, and suspects who remain hidden keep all six.

Season 3:

It utilised realistic scenes with original props and settings. Each case has one or two victims, making them more complex than before.

Season 4:

It continued using real sets and brought back the detective’s assistant role, played by university students.

Season 5:

It used a real cruise ship... as the set for its first episode, kept the detective’s assistant role, and retained the previous seasons’ format.

Season 6:

It introduced double detective mode with 7 players and two votes per detective; otherwise, the format stayed the same.

Season 7:

It replaced Benny Sa with new and recurring cast members, kept double detective mode, and switched to detective badges. Assistants vote once in round two. Badges are earned for correct votes and MVPs. The top four badge holders earn "Stellar Detective" titles.

Episodes

Season 8 (2023)

Controversies

The second episode of Season 3 was pulled 30 minutes before its September 29 release on Mango TV, with the crew citing the need to "optimize the plot." It was re-released on November 3.
Season 7 Episode 6, originally "Revenge of the Puppet 2," was canceled due to Deng Lun's tax evasion scandal. Format "The Wise Elderly Life" was aired instead.
In Season 7 Episode 6, a joke by He Jiong about Justin Huang sparked controversy on Weibo. The show called it a misinterpretation and took legal action.