Lee Gyu-lee is a business writer at The Korea Times, focusing primarily on IT & telecommunications, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and KOTRA. Prior to this, she has covered a wide range of cultural news, from film, television and K-pop to lifestyle and fashion.
'The Uncanny Counter' kicks off season 2 with new villains, bigger action
The second season of action series “The Uncanny Counter” premiered on Saturday. Courtesy of tvN
By Lee Gyu-lee
By Lee Gyu-lee
The second season of the hit action series “The Uncanny Counter” is off to a good start.
Based on the popular webcomic "Amazing Rumor," the series follows a group of exorcists with supernatural powers ― played by Cho Byeong-kyu, Yoo Jun-sang, Kim Se-jeong, Yeom Hye-ran and Ahn Suk-hwan. The group, who call themselves "counters," use their powers to track down evil spirits and demons and face off against them.
The new season debuted its first two episodes on Saturday and Sunday, scoring a 5.4 percent viewership rating with episode 2.
The first two episodes followed the counters continuing their mission to hunt down the evil spirits that harm humans and the introduction of their newest member, farmer Na Jeok-bong (Yoo In-soo). Na gets hit by a car while trying to save his date. Ga Mo-tak (Yoo Jun-sang) witnesses his heroic deed and recommends Na as a new recruit.
Meanwhile, it also showed a villain trio of demons ― played by Kang Ki-young, Kim Hieora and Kim Hyun-wook ― killing Chinese counters to steal their powers and coming back to Korea stronger than ever.
You Sun-dong directed both seasons of the series. He noted that the new season has built on the elements that made the first season a success.
“When I met up with the cast members a year and a half after season 1, we told ourselves just because season 1 was a success, let's not rest on our laurels with season 2. I told them that the filming will be a lot more difficult,” You said during a recent online press conference for the series.
“It was so tough because we were doing almost one action sequence each production day. Not only the cast members from the first season, but the new cast members gave all their energy. The new season has been upgraded from season 1 with its comedy, cathartic action and feel-good sense of elements that 'The Uncanny Counter' takes pride in.”
Scenes from season 2 of “The Uncanny Counter” / Courtesy of tvN
Kang, who plays a villain, felt a degree of pressure in joining the hit series. “There was a sense of weight because the villain in the first season did so well. And I've never played a villain character before so I didn't have much to source from. I was worried but the counters and I hit it off so well,” he said.
“I believe the fate of an actor is to show different characters and 'Extraordinary Attorney Woo' opened the doors to widen my repertoire. And when I was hesitating at the doorstep, director Yoo encouraged and led me, saying 'If an actor can do a comical character well, he's can be good at anything.'”
The season comes after its lead actor Cho was
. An online user claimed Cho had abused him at a high school in New Zealand. The actor spoke on the unresolved issue, saying he took part in the series with a deeper sense of responsibility.
“I tried and am still trying my best to prove that it is not true. Because the person (making the allegation) is in a foreign country, I feel a great responsibility appearing in the series before a clear outcome has been reached in the case,” he said. “As I carry that responsibility, I've put in more of myself than I did with the first season.”