Song Seung-heon says he felt great pressure to lead new season of 'Voice'

Actors Lee Ha-na, left, and Song Seung-heon pose for pictures during the media conference for the new season of tvN's crime thriller series, “Voice,” Monday. Courtesy of tvN

By Lee Gyu-lee

It is not common for a K-drama to get more than one season. But unlike most other one-time series, the hit crime thriller series, “Voice,” has made it through three seasons since 2017, and is now set to release season 4, Friday.

Actor Song Seung-heon, who plays the lead role as Dereck Jo, shared that he was under a lot of pressure to join such a popular, well-established series in its latest season.

“When I was first offered the role, I was excited, but at the same time, I felt like I was put under pressure considering the huge fandom the series has,” he said during a media conference for the series, Monday. “About 90 percent of the emotions I had towards this piece were overwhelming at first. I felt like, if everything goes well for the series, I will break even, but if it doesn't, it will be my fault.”

Written by Ma Jin-won, "Voice," revolves around a gifted voice profiler, Kang Kwon-joo (Lee Ha-na), and her emergency call center team, called, Golden Time, solving crimes through incoming calls and hunting down an ultimate villain each season. Season 1 starred Jang Hyuk and seasons 2 and 3 starred Lee Jin-wook as Kwon-joo's partner.

A scene from “Voice 4” / Courtesy of tvN

The new season will star Song as stringent LAPD detective Derek Jo, who joins the team to take down the ultimate villain, who shares many resemblances with Kwon-joo, including her ability.

Adding that he was also worried that he might not get along with the team, which has been working together for years, he said, “I even had nightmares about this, but they made me feel so comfortable… now we have such great chemistry between the actors. I can't wait to show this to viewers.”

Actress Lee shared her excitement for the series' new season, saying that she has been waiting for it so badly.

“I've grown to be so close with the character of Kwon-joo, as the series has taken up a big part of my life. So when I got the news about this season, I felt so thankful,” she said. “I initially felt a lot of pressure, but when I read through the script, that feeling became excitement.”

Lee Ha-na plays gifted voice profiler Kang Kwon-joo in the series. Courtesy of tvN

Director Shin Yong-hwi, who is joining the series for the first time, said that the new season will cover issues about families.

“One of the reasons Voice has been able to come this far, to its fourth season, is that it is based on real-life crimes and the stories of police trying to prevent them,” he said. “So with that basis, Voice 4 takes a closer look into smaller issues. It talks about how important families are in the overall picture of a society, and how broken families lead to much bigger social problems.”

He added that the biggest difference of this season is that it will also shed light on the victims and their families. “In solving crimes, this season is different from previous ones, in that it doesn't just end in catching the criminals, but it shows sympathy for the victims and follows up on how they try to overcome their predicament,” he said.

“Voice 4” will air on Fridays and Saturdays at 10:50 p.m. on tvN.