I feel like adaptations tend to be a bit of a hit-or-miss, but I’m hoping that the success of Life on Mars is a positive indication for this next British-to-Korean adaptation. MBC has just released some photos from the first script read for Bad Detective, a re-imagining of BBC’s Luther, and the cast looks like a good mix of veterans and fresh faces that will be interesting to look out for. Shin Ha-kyun (What a Man Wants, Pied Piper) will be joined by Park Ho-san (The Guest), Cha Sun-woo (Manhole), rookie film actress Lee Seol (Two Rooms), and fellow newcomer Kim Gun-woo (Live).
The original BBC series followed the titular detective Luther, who’s a bit of a lone wolf and very driven on whatever case he’s on. The only problem is that he’s so driven that sometimes he can blur the line between what’s ethically appropriate and not. The story really begins with an encounter with a female serial killer who becomes obsessed with him after watching him try and fail to get her put behind bars. I found this relationship between the psychopath genius and detective fascinating, if not also disturbing, so I’m interested to see whether Shin Ha-kyun and Lee Seol can produce that same intensity Idris Elba and Ruth Wilson did. I’m particularly looking forward to Lee Seol, who reportedly beat out 300 other actresses for the part.
Park Ho-san is keeping himself uber busy and is set to play Shin Ha-kyun’s boss in what will be his seventh drama role this year (!!!), though his character doesn’t sound like such a pleasant one and is a constant source of opposition within the police ranks. As two acting heavyweights, is it weird how excited I am to see the two face off in the show? While Park Ho-san is a bureaucratic obstacle, in a show populated by a lot of serial killers, I can’t see him being much more than an occupational nuisance. Kim Gun-woo’s character, on the other hand, sounds like one to watch out for, literally. As a prosecutor, he’s got the perfect cover for his double life as a serial killer, which should give him ample opportunity to screw up any investigation into his off-duty, er, proclivities.
Bad Detective will follow Bad Papa on MBC’s Monday-Tuesday slot, and will premiere sometime later this year.
