They’re skewing a bit young with these recent casting additions, aren’t they? KBS’s upcoming crime drama Mad Dog has an offer out to Ryu Hwa-young (Father Is Strange) to join as the sole female member of the titular investigations team that pursues copycat fraudsters who use fake insurance schemes to scam people out of their money. Yoo Ji-tae (The Good Wife) and Gong Myung (Bride of the Water God 2017) are also considering their offers to star as the team leader and genius professor of the Mad Dog team, respectively.
If she confirms, Ryu Hwa-young will play a former gymnast whose athleticism and flexibility helps her get in and out of tight spots while doing her investigative work. Her character is described as sexy, but she definitely has a badass side to her: She drives around a military-grade vehicle and is the first to jump into a fight with weapon-wielding criminals. How cool would it be if she was the muscle of the team? It might make up for the fact that she’s the only woman among the Mad Dogs.
Sexy definitely isn’t a new thing for Ryu Hwa-young—her characters in Ex-Girlfriend Club and Age of Youth had a sexy streak that was highlighted in the shows—but I hope she can also pull off the action part of the role as well. I think she’s a bit young to be playing an investigator, especially with Yoo Ji-tae as team leader; but then again, she’s much more believable than Gong Myung playing a Yale professor, so I’ll roll with it. Ryu has a very likable screen presence and I’m enjoying her current stint on Father Is Strange, so I’m hoping she’ll put in another good performance for Mad Dog if she accepts.
Mad Dog is slated to air on KBS’s Wednesday-Thursday slot starting in October, after Manhole ends its run.