Criminal Minds And 9 More K-Dramas That Are Remakes of Western Shows
Koreans not only create their own exciting shows, they also remake the biggest Western hits.
Why are Korean dramas so popular outside of Korea? On Reddit, the most common answer to this question is: strong emotions and brevity. Koreans spend more time developing characters and relationships. TV series typically run from 10 to 24 episodes, and let's add to this the national flavor, a fresh look at storylines, and a fairly high level of production.
So if you don't want to watch multi-season American or British series, it's time to turn to Korean remakes, which often fit the entire story into one season.
1. The Good Wife, 2016
One of the most successful American TV series of the same name, produced by Ridley Scott, lasted only 16 episodes in Korea instead of 156. In the remake, it all begins the same way: a husband's betrayal, a sex scandal, an accusation of corruption, and a wife who must sort it all out.
The premiere was met with excellent ratings for a Korean cable network. Much of the interest was due to the lead actress, Jeon Do-yeon, who had not appeared on television for 11 years. During her absence from TV, she managed to win an award at the Cannes Film Festival, and in 2014 even joined the show's jury.
It was The Good Wife that started the production of remakes of Western shows on Korean television.
2. Entourage, 2016
While The Good Wife was a successful experiment, Entourage was a disappointment. Seven seasons of the original show of the same name were packed into 16 episodes and told the behind-the-scenes story of actors, agents, producers, and friends.
Despite being aired simultaneously in Korea, Japan and China, the show's audience share fell below one percent. Reasons for this failure were the abundance of dark humor, which is not appreciated in the country, and the fact that it was too different from other Korean dramas.
_31100.webp)
3. Criminal Minds, 2017
The CBS hit, which ran for 16 seasons, has been successfully adapted in Korea. Here, the Behavioral Analysis Unit still searches for the most dangerous criminals and maniacs, sees serial killers where others do not, and solves complex cases.
There is more action in the Korean remake than in the beginning of the American show of the same name, and sometimes it is even more spectacular. Overall, the Korean version is more like the later seasons of Criminal Minds than the early ones.
4. One Ordinary Day, 2021
Kim Hyun Soo is an ordinary student who spends a night with a beautiful stranger. In the morning he finds the girl murdered. All suspicion falls on the young man, as only his fingerprints were found in the room.
Hyun Soo's only hope is his lawyer Shin Joong Han, who agrees to defend Kim in court. The student himself cannot remember anything about the night, but is sure that he is not guilty.
The drama is based on the 2008 British TV series Criminal Justice. It is worth noting that the original project has an even lower rating on IMDb than its remake – One Ordinary Day has a rating of 8.1, while Criminal Justice has only 7.7.
5. Uncle, 2021-2022
Wang Jun-hee is going through a difficult divorce. She moves into a small apartment with her 12-year-old son. Due to a legal dispute with her ex-husband, she is forced to temporarily give up her child to be raised by her brother.
Wang Jun-hyeok is a musician whose career is going nowhere. He has no regular job, lives a simple life and has no idea how to raise children. But he has to find a common language with his nephew.
The British sitcom of the same name was popular around the world. The first episode was released in 2012 and the project lasted three seasons.
6. The World of the Married, 2020
Ji Seon-u and Lee Tae-oh have been married for a long time. At first glance they seem to be the perfect family – both have successful careers and a wonderful son. But now everything is overshadowed by the husband's infidelities, which are known to everyone but his wife. One day, however, the ugly truth about their "happy" family life is revealed to her.
The popular Korean drama is based on the plot of the British series Doctor Foster. The original project was released in 2015 and its Korean remake in 2020, and it was at the same time that the adaptation of Doctor Foster called Unfaithful was released on Turkish screens.
The British series became one of the few projects whose remakes were extremely popular in many countries.
7. Mistress, 2018
The series focuses on four women. Se-Yeon is a widow raising a child on her own. Together with her friends, she gets involved in a very dangerous game that also involves other women's husbands. However, the main characters have no idea of the danger they are exposing themselves to.
A joint project between the US and Great Britain titled Mistresses, which was released in 2013, managed to attract a lot of attention. Over the course of four seasons, viewers were able to follow the lives of four girlfriends who one day made the wrong choice.
8. Life on Mars, 2018
Something strange happens to Han Tae-joo, the head of the Criminal Investigation Division, while he is trying to solve serial murders.
When he comes to his senses, it turns out that it is the winter of 1987 and he himself is now working as a detective in a small provincial police station. To get back to his own time, Tae-joo has to find the serial killer.
Life on Mars is based on the British TV series of the same name, which ran on BBC One from 2006 to 2007.
9. Suits, 2018
Go Yeon-woo is a talented young man with a phenomenal memory. As fate would have it, one of the best lawyers in Korea, Choi Kang-seok, takes him under his wing. Together they will have to defend the interests of their clients in court. This legal duo becomes the most unconventional, but at the same time the strongest in South Korea.
The brilliant American legal drama of the same name was the basis for this Korean drama. And if the remake consisted of one season, the original project consisted of as many as nine, the first of which was released in 2011.
10. Missing 9, 2017
Missing 9 is a Korean original show, but many critics and viewers consider it an adaptation, citing clear inspiration from the ABC hit Lost.
A plane with 47 passengers on board crashes. Panic spreads throughout Korea because it was not just any plane – nine influential figures from the entertainment industry were on it. One of them, stylist Bong-hee, turns up four months after the disaster off the coast of China. She is the first survivor of the catastrophe.
She is brought back to Korea to help reconstruct the events. It turns out that the survivors have been living on the island all this time. The same plane, disaster and island as in Lost, but 16 episodes instead of 122 and clear answers to main questions in the finale.