Keep Running (2014)

Keep Running (Chinese: 奔跑吧; pinyin: Bēnpǎo Ba), previously known as Running Man China, or Hurry Up, Brother (Chinese: 奔跑吧兄弟; pinyin: Bēnpǎo Ba Xiōngdì) before 2017, is a Chinese variety show broadcast on ZMG: Zhejiang Television. It is a spin-off from the popular original South Korean variety show Running Man by SBS. It was first aired on 10 October 2014. The show is classified as a game-variety show, where the MCs and guests complete missions at a landmark to win a race.

The program has itself also been spun-off into a supplemental show, named Here Comes the Man (Chinese: 跑男来了; pinyin: Pǎonán Láile). It is hosted by Shen Tao (Chinese: 沈涛; pinyin: Shěn Tāo), Luo Xi (Chinese: 罗希; pinyin: Luó Xī), and/or "Jenny" Lin Jieni (Chinese: 林杰妮; pinyin: Lín Jiénī). The show typically centers around secondary footage of Keep Running episodes, behind-the-scenes clips, or even the conclusion or final outcomes of a Keep Running episode that is too long to fit into the original broadcast time slot.

Program name

When the show was first announced, it was known as "跑男" (pinyin: Pǎo Nán) or "Running Man" in Chinese. Programs on the Zhejiang TV channel required names with five Chinese characters (words), hence the program was then renamed to "奔跑吧兄弟" or Hurry Up, Brother. But before the official name changed, ZRTG had registered "跑男" as a trademark with the SAIC.

The supplemental show "跑男来了" continues to retain the "跑男" moniker in its title.

Episode style

撕名牌 (pinyin: Sī Míngpái) or "Name-tag Elimination" (lit. 'name-tag ripping' or 'name-tag tearing') is one of the main games of each episode and is usually the longest game. There are also many games played by the MCs and guests that often contribute to their result for the final mission.

The team that wins the final mission will receive a prize, usually related to the theme of the episode. However, even if a team wins most of the games, victory is not guaranteed (for example, in Season 1 Episode 2, Deng Chao did not win many games, but the other teams who had won did not make the right choices of switching the waters, therefore causing their team to win).

Personnel

Cast members

The original members of Running Man are Deng Chao, Angelababy, Li Chen, Chen He, Zheng Kai, Wong Cho-lam, and Wang Baoqiang.

After season 1, Wang Baoqiang left the program to focus on his career but returned on season 3, episode 10 as a guest.

In season 2, Bao Bei'er replaced Wang Baoqiang but left at the end of the season as he was cast in Stephen Chow's Journey to the West II.

Singer Lu Han then replaced Bao Bei'er from season 3 to season 6.

Dilraba Dilmurat replaced Angelababy in season 5 due to Angelababy's pregnancy. Due to scheduling conflicts, Dilraba left before season 6.

For season 7, Deng Chao, Chen He, and Lu Han left due to scheduling conflicts, while Wong Cho-Lam left to focus on his family. Lucas from South Korean boy group NCT and its Chinese unit WayV, Song Yuqi from South Korean girl group I-dle, and actors Zhu Yawen and Wang Yanlin replaced them in the new season.

For season 8, Zhu Yawen and Wang Yanlin left due to scheduling conflicts. Singer Cai Xukun, actor/comedian Guo Qilin, and actor Sha Yi joined as new members and replaced them. Lucas and Song Yuqi, who are both based in South Korea, were absent for the whole season due to COVID-19 pandemic and travel restrictions.

For the first Yellow River special season, Lucas and Yuqi were again absent. Cai Xukun only participated in episodes 1-2 due to scheduling conflicts, while Guo Qilin only participated in episodes 3-4 due to scheduling conflicts. Zheng Kai was absent from episodes 1-2 due to the birth of his daughter.

For Season 9, Guo Qilin left the cast due to scheduling conflicts while Lucas and Yuqi rejoined the cast. Yuqi was absent from the first few episodes due to quarantine restrictions.

For Season 10, it was announced that due to scheduling conflicts, Lucas would not be involved in filming, while Yuqi left to focus on her career. Actress Bai Lu, who joined during the second Yellow River special season, and singer Zhou Shen joined the cast. Meanwhile, Cai Xukun returned after a temporary hiatus in the second Yellow River season. Zheng Kai was absent for the second half of the season, starting from episode 7, due to the birth of his second child.

For the Common Prosperity special season, Cai Xukun only participated in the first two journeys, which spanned the first two-and-a-half episodes. Zhou Shen only participated in the first three journeys, which spanned episodes 1-4.

For Season 11, it was announced that due to his upcoming tour, Cai Xukun would not be participating. Yuqi rejoined the cast, and Fan Chengcheng from the Chinese boy group NEXT also joined as a new cast member.

For the Nature special season, it was announced that Angelababy would not be participating, while Zhang Zhenyuan from the Chinese boy group TNT joined as a new cast member. This member setup was retained in Season 12.

During the Ancient Tea Horse Road special season, both Yuqi and Zhou Shen only appeared in episodes 6-8 due to scheduling conflicts. Fan Chengcheng also did not participate in this season, as he was filming a television show at the time.

For Season 13, Li Chen, Zheng Kai, Yuqi, Sha Yi, Bai Lu, Zhou Shen, Fan Chengcheng and Zhang Zhenyuan reunited and were joined by Meng Ziyi and Li Yunrui as Running Friends. The newest cast members had been guests during the previous Tea Horse Road Season and starred in the Chinese drama Blossom.

For The Heavenly Road special season, Zhou Shen and Meng Ziyi were unable to participate due to schedule conflicts.

For Season 14, Meng Ziyi and Li Yunrui were promoted to full cast members. Zhou Shen was unable to participate due to his tour. Yuqi was absent due to recovery from a recent head injury and other schedule conflicts.

Production staff

The chief production director (PD) is Yao Yitian, who is often referred to on the show by his nickname "Yao PD". His voice is typically the one heard during interactions between cast members and the production crew. He has also at various times been featured on-camera during the show, such as during the last episode of Season 9, "Cast members vs. Production team", where he was nominated by the cast members to be one of the production team members to undergo the final "giant water bomb" punishment if the cast members were able to beat the production team, and episode 8 of Season 10, where he was pulled on-camera by one of the teams to be their extra helper during one of the games.

The announcer and provider of most of the voice-overs is He Yannan (Chinese: 何雁南; pinyin: Hé Yànnán), who is a radio host for Zhejiang Radio and Television Group and also provides voice-over for various other Zhejiang Television programs, such as The Voice of China.

Guests with the most appearances

Some guests were occasionally featured or invited to the show during its run. The following list is of guests who appeared the most often as of 05 July 2026.

List of episodes

If more than one set of teams are used other than the Race Mission teams, they are divided and distinguished to the corresponding mission under Teams. Team members are listed in alphabetical order from Team Leader to Members, to Guests. As some episodes consisted of road missions and were not confined to a single landmark nor was a landmark officially recognized on-air, the landmark shown for those episodes is the final mission venue.

Series overview

Movie

Running Man is a 2015 Chinese reality comedy film directed by Hu Jia and Cen Junyi. Deng Chao was unable to participate in the movie filming due to scheduling conflicts. The movie was released to theaters on 30 January 2015.

Guests

Many guests have taken part in Keep Running. The following is a compilation of guests and the number of times they have been on the show. With regards to guest-turned-members (Zhu Yawen, Sha Yi, Bai Lu, Zhou Shen, Fan Chengcheng, Meng Ziyi, Li Yunrui) or former members of the show (Wang Baoqiang, Guo Qilin), only the times they were a guest are counted. The guests are sorted based on the first episode that they took part in.

Other activities

Notes

References

External links

Official Website (in Chinese)

Official Weibo (in Chinese)