bayanoh

No you don't need to, all characters from the first season are reintroduced with flashbacks in the second season, there are only few and they don't affect the story of the second season, but if you watched this first you might spoil some of the "twists" of the first season. This means it's okay to skip the first season if you are not planning to watch it after the second one.

It's supposed to be a variety show but it isn't a "real" one. It's mostly scripted, so you can call it a drama if you want or watch it as a variety show. The scripting isn't a secret, the production director introduced it as a "variety show simulation" which basically means that most of it is acting. This season has more ad libs than the first one and is a lot better in my opinion, since there were less plot holes, the story had natural flow, the cast members' acting was more natural and the scripting wasn't as obvious.