Moon Chae Won in Talks to Join Lee Jun Ki in K-remake of Criminal Minds

I let out a small yelp of excitement and shock when this casting news first flickered across my screen, and had to rub my eyes to make sure it wasn’t my imagination. K-actress Moon Chae Won has been offered the leading lady role in the K-drama remake of US show Criminal Minds, which if she accepts will mean acting opposite confirmed male lead Lee Jun Ki. Hallelujah drama gods, please let her accept and making this casting perfection come true! Looks like Kim Ah Joong is not taking the role since she was initially considering the project but I’m totally fine with Moon Chae Won donning the mantle especially when she gets to pair up with Lee Jun Ki. Too bad this isn’t a romance drama but a well-written tense criminal procedure will still get extra chemistry and pizzazz with these two in the line up.

Also in talks to join the Criminal Minds profiling drama family is veteran actor Son Hyun Joo and newbie actress Lee Sun Bin. It will be Son Hyun Joo’s first drama since 3 Days in 2014 though he had a guest starring role in Signal last year, while Lee Sun Bin is currently starring in the MBC drama Missing 9.

Comments

Moon Chae Won in Talks to Join Lee Jun Ki in K-remake of Criminal Minds — 61 Comments

Kat on February 23, 2017 at 2:48 PM said:

I’m glad this looks like it’s moved to tvN. I didn’t see the big 3 doing well by this. I’ve watched Criminal Minds. There is no romance between the 6 to 7 team members besides a little flirtation between two that never goes anywhere. Doesn’t mean the k-drama won’t throw romance in the mix and doesn’t mean it can’t be done well, but I don’t know if it’s necessarily a good idea. Signal didn’t have much romance and Voice has none thus far and it seems to have worked so who knows. Truthfully, after K-2 I wish more dramas would be brave enough to skip the love story if they can’t do it well.

Just because I’m curious, does anyone know if the Korean audience is really interested in adaptations from the US? I mean I get that Entourage was always risky, but The Good Wife was darn good and seemed to do just ok. I heard that some netizen complaints was that it was “too American”. I never watched the US show, but TGW was a really good drama.

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Lea on February 23, 2017 at 3:09 PM said:

OCN would suit this better than the BIG 3…

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alexghana on February 23, 2017 at 3:59 PM said:

i usually like romance focussed dramas but i will watch this for lee jun ki and moon chae won.ljk was damn fine in moon lovers

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cahill on February 23, 2017 at 4:21 PM said:

Why another remake? 12 seasons of Criminal minds , and the real star of the show is the interesting case they developed in each episode. The team comes in second . No leadings, each member has his specifity… The cast of the criminals and victims is more important!Next, Seoul law and order, Virgins(sex will be too much) in the city , Seoul fire dept, In the Blue house, Kim’s motel …

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- cahill on February 23, 2017 at 4:25 PM said:
  
  12 years i’m watching kdramas cause they are different, not to watch remakes of american shows that i see every week on tv.
  
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- Hu on February 23, 2017 at 4:41 PM said:
  
  I am strongly against remake too but with Moon Chae Won potentially being the leading lady, I definitely feel this is worthy a try since god knows how long Lee Jun Ki has been deprived of an actress of his calibre. With the success of OCN’s “Voice”, may be this remake won’t be so bad. And I hope they will just borrow the title from the US TV show and probably add up their own twist and spin to make the viewing more refreshing. Guess LJK has a thing for remake. LOL.
  
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- Abc on February 23, 2017 at 4:47 PM said:
  
  Maybe they are trying to break into the American market since they have lost the Chinese & Japanese market??? It’s anybody’s guess.
  
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  - candycane on February 23, 2017 at 4:56 PM said:
    
    i doubt if the Americans will ever import any foreign dramas to mainstream TV, especially with the present political situation, DT won’t pay a dime to foreigners…
  - Abc on February 23, 2017 at 5:00 PM said:
    
    They could still try and expand their market. Kdramas hasn’t really been in China’s prime time TV either but it hasn’t stopped people from watching them online.
  - candycane on February 23, 2017 at 5:24 PM said:
    
    yeah… but streaming is free… i thot u meant to generate $$ for kdramas. i know lots of asian-americans r already watching kdramas via various means… it will be tough to sell when everyone is so tight with $$ nowadays…
  - Kat on February 23, 2017 at 8:08 PM said:
    
    Countries adapt tv shows all the time all around the world but seems that the US to Korean market is relatively new. (The Good Wife, Entourage) CM is an odd pick with not alot of romance and not really a star vehicle but sure, why not.
    
    Also, the US has filmed the pilot of an adaptation of Nine Times Travel (I might be messing up the title) and it is set to be shown this or next summer. Actor Daniel Dae Kim (who is on Hawaii Five O) is trying to adapt The Good Doctor and Neighborhood Lawyer to US tv as well. I don’t know if the US needs another doctor or lawyer show so we’ll see.
  - Tria on February 23, 2017 at 8:39 PM said:
    
    @Kat
    
    The casting news Good Doctor US Remake just a few weeks ago. I found it interesting since it’s MCW’s drama and now, she is probably doing the opposite haha
  - Tria on February 24, 2017 at 4:50 PM said:
    
    Just figured that ABC as the original producer of Criminal Minds are behind the Good Doctor remake. Haha that’s quite interesting.
Alexa on February 23, 2017 at 4:22 PM said:

This would be my dream pairing comes true even when this will involve minimal romance. I actually always wanted these two to form an OTP for an epic sageuk but LJK surely deserves a charismatic actress and MCW is perfect. Please make it happen cause most likely, LJK will do this project since it has been on his radar for quite sometimes now. Go girl. Sign up and join our man.

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cahill on February 23, 2017 at 4:42 PM said:

Better not to mess up with the cast of Dr Spencer Reid ( complex character) and Penelope Garcia !!!

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tooktooktay on February 23, 2017 at 5:43 PM said:

? dang wish this was a romance!!! MCW and LJK look awesome together already!

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cilimanis on February 23, 2017 at 8:02 PM said:

she’s beautiful…I tried to like her but I can’t, something about her acting that make me don’t have interest to watch her drama till the end…hope this new will change my perception to her

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- YangYang on February 23, 2017 at 8:36 PM said:
  
  Did you watch Princess Man? She won me over in that drama. It’s amazing ?
  
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  - cilimanis on February 23, 2017 at 8:40 PM said:
    
    not yet…will try to watch it..
  - YangYang on February 23, 2017 at 9:13 PM said:
    
    Watch it trust me. Her character was one of the best drama female characters ever. And the writing, directing, soundtrack, acting, and love lines are all amazing!
rch311 on February 23, 2017 at 8:12 PM said:

Yeah!! For two reasons. 1) No more sageuk for LJK. 2) No more newbies and way younger actress for LJK.

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andre on February 23, 2017 at 8:17 PM said:

I wish he’ll work with someone like song hye kyo or at least park shin hye….i think song hye kyo will fit the role too…no harm,just my opinion…

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- Boomboompow on February 23, 2017 at 8:21 PM said:
  
  Moon Chae Won is a better actress and he deserves a good leading female since years of meh-romance.
  
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- nobela on February 23, 2017 at 8:38 PM said:
  
  agree…i wish song hye kyo work in this kind of genre…moon chae won is good too but i think ljk and shk will make a good chemistry
  
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- Jasmine on February 23, 2017 at 9:17 PM said:
  
  I’m a fan of both so I’m right with you guys on wishing SHK took more diverse roles esp a thriller. Both MCW and SHK have expressed the need for stronger female characters too. But MCW and SHK are both talented in terms of acting/screen presence so MCW will be excellent for this.
  
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- sprint on February 24, 2017 at 3:42 AM said:
  
  song hye kyo’s acting is not good enough to match with lee jun ki and the many wrinkles when she laugh makes her appears old on screen. Lee jun ki looks younger, definitely they will not match
  
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  - Llyanne on February 24, 2017 at 5:22 AM said:
    
    hope mcw accept it wouldnt want shk to act in that remake lol, and besides ljk isnt that young,
  - Darkness Falls on February 24, 2017 at 8:45 AM said:
    
    I WOULDN’T BE SURPRISED IF IT TURNS OUT THAT THE REPLIES IN THIS PARTICULAR COMMENT ARE MADE BY A SINGLE PATHETIC PERSON TRYING TO STIR A FIGHT BETWEEN THE FANS OF TWO ACTRESSES. STOP THAT FACADE OF YOURS AND GET SOME LIFE.
    
    JUST SO YOU KNOW…IT’S EASY TO TRACK IP ADDRESS.
- kdrama fanatic on February 25, 2017 at 7:54 AM said:
  
  song hye kho with lee jun ki please
  
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Johan on February 23, 2017 at 8:30 PM said:

yes! yes!
so excited for this team up!

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doona on February 23, 2017 at 8:44 PM said:

lee jun ki is perfect for the role but I wish someone not so doll like for the female cast, someone like kim hye soo or any other younger actress who have same vibe..

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- candycane on February 23, 2017 at 8:59 PM said:
  
  @doona / @moncahe – kim hye soo is a lot older! Moon Chae Won is a very good actress, have you watched her before? She is not a doll and she is not chubby. lol… r u a hater?
  
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  - moncahe on February 23, 2017 at 9:14 PM said:
    
    owh…sorry if she’s your bias…I mean she’s too pretty for that role…if kim hye soo is too old, then…moon geun young…just my opinion though…not as a hater..lol…
  - candycane on February 23, 2017 at 10:25 PM said:
    
    MGY is good too…. I miss her acting! I am not MCW’s bias, but I think she is good actress ?
moncahe on February 23, 2017 at 8:45 PM said:

mon chae won’s cheeks bothers me…it’s too chubby?

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- ashley on February 23, 2017 at 9:17 PM said:
  
  haha…your comment is so funny…
  
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  - ashley on February 23, 2017 at 9:19 PM said:
    
    she’s pretty with the chubby cheeks on her…
- Jasmine on February 23, 2017 at 9:21 PM said:
  
  Haha her cheeks are a little chubby but I think those pictures and her styling were less flattering too. I think her cheeks are her charm esp in sangeuks she really fits the part. She looks good in her recent SNP ad.
  
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Del on February 23, 2017 at 9:52 PM said:

I always hope for him to work with either Moon Chae Won, Ha Ji Won, Park Min Young or Park Shin Hye.
Finally, at least one of them made it to the possibility of such dream pairing happening. As much as I wanted them to be in a sageuk together, I am still excited of this possible pairing. And with those amazing line up of great actors, I really hope the final end product would be stellar to redeem both LJK and MCW from their last dramas disaster.
So, MCW is skipping Baek Ah (Nam Joo Hyuk) for Wang So? Good choice, girl.

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- moncahe on February 23, 2017 at 9:56 PM said:
  
  Ha ji Won…ommo…how can i forget about her…she is more suitable for the character…
  
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  - Tria on February 23, 2017 at 10:15 PM said:
    
    Lol. How we know that she is more suitable for the character? There isn’t even a description about the character that was offered. And there are several characters in Criminal Minds.
  - moncahe on February 23, 2017 at 10:24 PM said:
    
    @Tria…she’s offered the leading role of CM’s remake…isn’t it obvious what character she will be play…LOL..
  - Tria on February 23, 2017 at 10:48 PM said:
    
    @moncahe
    
    No. There is NO single lead characters in Criminal Minds. There are several leads working as a group and they did not mention which character she will be playing. So, which one you are referring to? 😀
  - cahill on February 24, 2017 at 12:07 AM said:
    
    agree with @Tria .All characters in CM are leads ( even more the criminal !) So it’s not obvious for me either ! So, who is playing who ? Son Hyun Joo ( Joe Mantegna) Lee Sun Bin ( AJ Cook) But The others ???? Garcia ? DR Reid ? Elle Greenaway, Emily Prentis,Alex Blake,Kate Callahan, Dr Tara Lewis ??? Derek Morgan?
gina on February 23, 2017 at 11:10 PM said:

haha….the comments here are so hilarious…and they’re fighting too over the actress cast…LOL…

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- Darkness Falls on February 23, 2017 at 11:49 PM said:
  
  I see no fighting though…just people merely expressing their opinions.
  
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  - Tria on February 24, 2017 at 1:00 AM said:
    
    There is indeed no fighting going on. It’s just a troll(s). If we look carefully, the comments came from the same person(s) who is/are using different names but sadly, who is/are smart enough to change the email addresses.
  - Lyla on February 24, 2017 at 1:34 AM said:
    
    Yes. There is no fighting here. It’s just one or two people who tried really hard to stirred arguments but too bad, didn’t get the result they wanted. If we look closely, it’s clear that some of those posts were made by the same user(s)., who is/are sadly, not smart enough to hide the evidence (just look at their icons) hahaha.
Darkness Falls on February 24, 2017 at 12:00 AM said:

Hmm I dunno, I was excited at first but now I’m a bit skeptical, I have no doubts bout LJK and MCW, I’m pretty sure they’re gonna nail their roles, well, that is of course provided with a good script and a good directing. Now, with regards to the original CM, I myself haven’t seen it but seeing the reviews I don’t think it’s a remake worthy drama. I’m sorry if there are fans here but then again, that’s just what I’ve read on those reviews. So my question is, what’s with the Koreans and their remakes/adaptations? I mean, did they ran out of ideas for their dramas that they resorted to remaking everything?

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- awer on February 24, 2017 at 5:24 AM said:
  
  Same!!!!they can watch it with subtitle.why remake?and i love both of them .they deserve better project!
  
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- julia on March 20, 2017 at 1:55 PM said:
  
  I do agree with you! surely will watch anything with joon gi in, but should they really remake CM? I don’t think so. I just like a fan of CM (watch every episode eagerly), so I think it’s hard to do a remake as some of the characters are well described specifically. In addition, I wish to watch moon chae won and lee joon gi pairing in a romance kdrama!
  
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cahill on February 24, 2017 at 12:17 AM said:

Remake of Cold Case would be more interesting . Fantastic underated show who made us travel from 1920 until 2007. Discovering all the décades of XX in a very emotional way. And all the members of the team were fantastic.

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Nilechocolate on February 24, 2017 at 12:44 AM said:

One thing I don’t like is the idea of Remake itself which proved to be failure in Korean dramas remakes history I understand why k net complain bcz the American society isn’t Korean society so I hope Korean writers to make something worthy rather than remaking

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ladykays on February 24, 2017 at 3:16 AM said:

I hope one day he can work with Park Shin Hye…. Oh dear fourth prince…I also hope this drama does well since he hasn’t had a hit in his last three dramas… I loved moon lovers I don’t understand why it didn’t do very well in Korea…

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- Cathz on February 24, 2017 at 7:19 AM said:
  
  Ya. I always want him to be paired with PSH. LJK is a fantastic actor but he is not great at picking projects or maybe, just do not have that luck yet. His saving grace is his dedication and sublime acting that despite his dramas tanked, he still could rise above the mud bt I’m so with u, it’s high time he score a rating hit drama cos he greatly deserve one.
  
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- julia on March 20, 2017 at 2:00 PM said:
  
  I wish the same thing. I’ll feel like in heaven when they pairing LJK with PSH. Also, I want to watch him with yoon eun hye too.
  
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ezz on February 24, 2017 at 4:16 AM said:

Ahhhh no romance drama for my JunGi, so sad, well maybe next time.

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xynb on February 24, 2017 at 4:03 PM said:

I think they re just borrowing the title and the main theme of getting criminals through psychology, not that they remaking the exact story of the American version.

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Roxyalso on February 25, 2017 at 1:26 PM said:

MCW is a fine actress, I wish her success with this role.

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starsgalaxiesanddust on February 26, 2017 at 7:00 AM said:

I’m so excited for this! I know LJG would nail this role. As for MCW, I want to watch her in Princess’ Man to know how good she is. I hope this show would have high ratings!!! ^_^

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Yanyan on April 25, 2017 at 5:38 AM said:

LEE JOON KI + MOON CHAE WON = PERFECTION
I Love both actors, both great, so yeah hoping that they’ll accept the roles.

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