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| From left, director Han Dong-hwa, actors Jin Goo, Kyung Soo-jin, Lee Sung-min and Lee Hak-joo pose during a press conference for Disney+'s original series, "Shadow Detective," at Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas, southern Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap |
By Lee Gyu-lee
Disney+ is set to roll out a new Korean original series, "Shadow Detective," starring actor Lee Sung-min as a veteran detective.
The new crime suspense series, which is scheduled to premiere its first two episodes Wednesday, revolves around detective Kim Taek-rok (Lee), who is on the brink of retirement from law enforcement, planning a peaceful life ahead.
One day, he receives a phone call from a mysterious man, which turns his life upside down, and becomes the prime suspect in his co-worker's murder case. Teaming up with the newly-appointed chief of his team, Gook Jin-han (Jin Goo), and fellow detectives Lee Seong-ah (Kyung Soo-jin) and Song Kyeong-cheon (Lee Hak-joo), he chases after the man, who keeps making threats to him, while digging into his own past, which is linked to the mystery.
"When I first read the script, I finished it so quickly as I was following along with the story, trying to guess (the suspect). I think viewers will enjoy that from the series," Lee said during a press conference for the series at Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas, in southern Seoul, Tuesday.
Sharing that his character has a deep trauma, the actor said that it was difficult to portray such a complex character.
"Taek-rok suffers from panic disorder due to his past trauma. He hates becoming a burden on his co-workers and is very protective of them. That's the kind of person he is, but he has lost a close colleague, so I need to express that change in emotion and feeling as well as his medical suffering," he said.
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| A scene from the Disney+ series, "Shadow Detective" / Courtesy of Disney+ |
The series is directed by Han Dong-hwa, who led the action crime series, "Squad 38" (2016) and "Bad Guys" (2014), as well as the heartfelt drama series, "Navillera" (2021). The director said that he was drawn to the series unfolding a mystery thriller from a senior detective's perspective.
"I've taken on another hard, suspense genre project again (since 'Navillera') and it feels great to be back, like I'm home. When I got the script, I liked how each episode develops with an intriguing plot, but I also really liked the sentiment of the series, telling the story from a veteran detective as the main character," Han said.
"I felt like this was the series for me, so I was able to make a quick decision to get on board."
The director added that this series will also have humanist aspects, along with a whodunit mystery that puts suspense in each character as a possible suspect.
"This series, unlike my previous work, has humanism, revolving around the character of Taek-rok," he said, adding that actors' teamwork has contributed so much to making the series a good one. "These actors are veterans who have been well-recognized in different genres. They have created the characters nearly perfectly and the teamwork was really awesome, which gave me a huge driving force in making this series."
"Shadow Detective" will release two episodes on Disney+ every Wednesday.
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