In the year 2017, the United States has devolved into a totalitarian police state following a catastrophic global economic collapse. To pacify a population suffering from extreme shortages of food, oil, and electricity, the government-sanctioned "Network" broadcasts ultra-violent game shows. The most popular program, The Running Man, features "runners" (convicted criminals) who are hunted by flamboyant, themed assassins known as "stalkers" in a ruined, sealed-off section of Los Angeles.

Societal dynamics are defined by a stark class divide between the impoverished masses living in squalid "Suburbs" and the media elite who manage the public's perception through curated outrage and distraction. The film depicts Earth as a planet in environmental and fiscal decay, where state-controlled media serves as the primary tool for social control. Justice is no longer a legal process but a televised spectacle, where public opinion is manufactured through the selective editing and manipulation of digital feeds.

The film is widely recognized for its prescient depiction of reality television and the obsession with infotainment, arriving years before the genre's real-world explosion. Most notably, the plot hinges on the use of digitally altered footage—a clear precursor to modern deepfake technology—to frame the protagonist and later fake his death. While the literal 2017 didn't see televised death matches, the film's vision of voice-activated smart homes and the merging of entertainment with political authority has proven remarkably accurate.