KBS Prepares K-drama Remake of Criminal Minds and Offers Lead Roles to Lee Jun Ki and Kim Ah Joong

I won’t question the decision to do another US show K-drama remake despite the spotty track record last year. The Good Wife did relatively well in ratings but not the hit that was expected, and the less said about the abysmal ratings failure of Entourage the better. Third time may be the charm, at least I hope so if my Lee Jun Ki is going to be involved. KBS is prepping the remake of police procedural Criminal Minds and has offered Lee Jun Ki the male lead role. Unlike The Good Wife and Entourage, both of which finished airing by the time the K-drama remake came out, Criminal Minds is currently on its 12th season and may still air when the K-version premieres on KBS in fall of 2017. The drama will be fully filmed this spring and summer for a tentative September air date.

A offer has also been made to Kim Ah Joong to potentially join Lee Jun Ki in Criminal Minds, and she’s been on a string of thriller type dramas most recently with Wanted and earlier with Punch and Sign. Neither has confirmed but this is big news for those Lee Jun Ki fans wondering what his next acting project after Moon Lovers would be. Looks like its back to the Two Weeks type genre.


Comments

KBS Prepares K-drama Remake of Criminal Minds and Offers Lead Roles to Lee Jun Ki and Kim Ah Joong — 32 Comments

  1. Looking forward to Lee Jun Ki in modern setting even if it’s a thriller. He seems to have no interest whatsoever in fluffly romcoms or the regular drama fare.

    Tbh this remake should work if they don’t try too hard to replicate CM and instead based off it loosely with criminal cases and a BAU team with original characters. The US cast were so good it was as if they lived in the skin of their characters. I can’t bear to see someone try to be Spencer Reid.

  2. Dear God, please NOOOOOOOOOO
    Remake is a bad bad bad idea. I want Lee Jun Ki to have a hit drama after Moon Lovers and based on the track record, Koreans dislike remake. And let’s not even begin to talk about the comparison with a show that is so much loved and critically acclaimed. And I read somewhere that the production team behind is the one doing IRIS?
    I hope he will choose carefully but as a fan, I hope he will decline this offer.

  3. I like the genre. I love LJK. I am excited to watch him finally in a modern drama. I am happy if he is to be paired up with a credible actress of around the same age. But I feel very conflicted about remake. So No, I strongly hope he won’t do this drama. I really don’t mind him doing another sageuk. Am hoping badly that he will get offered the lead role in “Kingdom” penned by the writer of “Signal”.

  4. I think Lee Jun Ki better wait until the lead actress is confirmed first. His fans always blame his co-stars for failures. Although I’m not a fan of Kim Ah Joong and thought she was disappointing in “Wanted”, she or any actress should be spared the fate. Hopefully, LJk and his fans get their dream co-star.

    I will be a lot more excited if this show is remade by a cable network. Don’t remember KBS being successful in this genre. Korean crime thrillers tend to gloss over substance and go heavy on style. Let’s hope they do better this time, I am piqued for mystery and thrills.

    • No worry. Credible actress like Kim Ah Joong won’t get the blame. We also hope for him to confirm once the actress has been secured. Those previous actresses who got bashed fairly had a share to blame for being lackluster in their performance, putting aside that the project itself is equally bad.

      • I really like Kim ah joong too, just thought of her and Lee joon ji pairing up gets me excited if they do but ugh I prefer if they do modern romcom unsteady ah joong is really good in like 200 pound beauty and ps partner

    • I like LJG just fine, and I’ve never blamed his co-stars for ratings. He’s had solid dramas that lose out to more popular dramas and dramas with writing woes that lose out to more popular dramas. It is what it is. I do see a lot of angst about the actresses he’s paired up with, but I see it with a lot of others as well, most recently Kim Woo Bin and currently Wallace Chung. There seems to be a concept of certain actresses bringing ratings regardless of drama quality, and – yes – I don’t see him considering this in whether he accepts roles. I hear the same recently about Ji Sung.

    • I think it’s ridiculous how his fans are saying that his costars are ruining the drama when most of the time the script itself sucks. The reason for MLSHR’s failure was certainly not IU. However, being a LJK fan myself, I also find it annoying that they keep finding young girls to act opposite him too. But that’s just my own issues with the casting, it’s nothing to do with the quality of the drama.

    • Yups.it reminds me of psh.everyone blamed her.in fact the scripts it self is a mess.
      Like shr,bot scripts/directing was not good for me

  5. I lived through Moon Lovers for him alone, and I was hoping for another romance drama from him. But getting him back on the small screen would have to be enough for now. I also hope that Moon Lovers would not make him back of from romance drama in the future.

  6. Just not another remake.
    He survived the catastrophe from a below par remake of Scarlet Heart. I don’t have the stomach to watch him surviving another botch remake. Just don’t.

  7. I hope LJG doesn’t take it Kinda iffy about this but if LJG confirm then I’m all in for him and I like Kim ah joong too… I just hope they don’t follow the exact characters and descriptions in CM(different characters name and descriptions please) and just follow the storyline of cops profiling and investigating criminals behavior and I also hope it doesn’t become a daily season show….

  8. I love Criminal Minds. The genre fits him. But the idea of a remake is not good at all. I want to watch LJK in something like “La La Land”. Or some witty rom-com like “Silver Linings Playbook”.

  9. I dont mind remakes as long they are made well and so far the adaptation of US shows in South Korea has not hit the mark, I think creating a show based on Criminal Minds will be good not really a remake why because trying to find the right balance of acting, script and direction is going to be hard to duplicate. Plus the crimes that are shown on the america show dont know if people in Korea will like to watch. CM can go into a place that can be disturbing because of what human can do to another human. I think is going to take a lot from writter, PD and actors to convince korean viewers to buy in to watch every episode every week if there is a remake but if show based on CM may go better for viewers and maybe can be successful.

  10. The Good Wife might not have been a hit, but it was a good solid drama so I hope that at least counts for something, and I speak as someone who never bothered with the original. I find CM to be overly violent and high on the ick factor in what they show which is totally not gonna happen on Korean tv. To me this comes down to the writer and how well they can write a procedural type show. The US version generally has different stories each week often with a longer story arc as well. I agree it would be better on cable. Regardless, I doubt it would be a ratings hit but it might do okay depending on the competition.

    • I agree… out of all the remakes, I felt “The Good Wife” was one of the strongest. But, I think it was due to a good adaptation for the Korean audience and on-point casting. There were a lot of seasoned cast members in “The Good Wife,” but there were also newbie idols like Nana that also had a strong performance. When casting doesn’t fool around with idols that have zero potential or zero improvement, remakes can be successful.

      I personally think LJG should do a rom-com as romance seems to be one of his selling points. But, at this point, I’ll be happy if he finally has a drama with seasoned actress his own age.

  11. I am strongly against LJK doing this drama. Remake has been far from successful in Korea and the comparison enough to kill whatever potential the drama has. LJK should venture into rom-com or a drama with less action scenes. This is just beginning of the year and I am certain there will be more good dramas coming up. Please decline this project, Jun Ki-shi.

  12. Why bother to remake CM? This show is so popular ! If i watch kdramas is to watch something different not copycats from US shows . I want Lee jun Ki in a tvn rom com !

  13. She need a a playful, beautiful, fresh leading lady Sandara Park I think they will look great together. LJK always nailed his character in different level whoever his partner must blend to his flawless acting.

  14. Nowadays, most dramas from Asia are remakes of some other show, one way or another so why not officially name this one a remake of CM. I love CM, so well made. Kdramas have lost much of its originality when I first fell in love with their dramas years ago.

  15. I love criminal minds!!! I wouldn’t mind him being in a remake of it. I am a huge sucker of crime solving dramas like csi, bones, criminal minds etc.

    LJK – hope it will work out. I am not sure it will be a ratings hit but as long as it’s a good drama. Well written, well acted and well shot.

  16. Hurray! Lee Jin Ki , I am waiting to see you in this drama.
    I’ve never seen any celebrity who is much hardworking than Lee jun Ki. He’s good in acting and natural!

  17. I wonder what basis that you say that. I don’t really care about krating as what I’ve noticed viewers in Korea, I think, are still stuck with those shallow cheesy rom-com.

    I love the artistic style of this drama and though it’s a second adaptation it has more originality than those original dramas. It’s artistry and elegance is uncomparable. This drama is definitely a step up in kdrama making.

    @ockoala Any update on what going to Criminal Mind – Korea? There one thing, that I would hope… I hope the production will get a unique Title for this drama. Like the SBS God’s Gift remake in the US, they named it “Somewhere Between”.

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