Ahn Bo-hyun, Jo Bo-ah team up for military courtroom drama series

Actors Ahn Bo-hyun, left, and Jo Bo-ah pose during the online press conference for tvN's new legal series, “Military Prosecutor Doberman,” Wednesday. Courtesy of tvN

By Lee Gyu-lee

Actor Ahn Bo-hyun, who became known to global audiences through Netflix's action series, “My Name,” last year, is joining forces with actress Jo Bo-ah to lead tvN's upcoming legal series, “Military Prosecutor Doberman,” scheduled to premiere on Feb. 28.

“I read through four episodes of the series' script in one sitting. You might think that the story would be difficult to follow because it's a courtroom series, but its concept is really unique and the way it develops its plot will give you great satisfaction,” Ahn said during an online press conference on Wednesday.

Directed by Jin Chang-gyu, whose previous work includes family drama “Bad Papa” (2018), the action courtroom series revolves around military prosecutor Do Bae-man (Ahn), who is hungry for success and money, and rookie prosecutor Cha Woo-in (Jo), who comes from a wealthy chaebol family.

The two prosecutors, who are from completely different backgrounds, work together to bring evil and corrupt forces in the military to justice and come to learn what it means to be a military prosecutor. It is written by scriptwriter Yoon Hyun-ho, who wrote the script for the film, “The Attorney” (2013) and the thriller series, “Lawless Lawyer” (2018).

“The series talks about a rather unfamiliar topic: military court,” the director said. “Not a lot of people would know that it even exists. It's a court where judges, prosecutors and lawyers have ranks. The conflicts that come from (the differences in rank) will be interesting to watch. A ruling can be overturned with a direct order from the division's commander. It will highlight the dilemma of putting military rank before the law.”

The poster for the series, “Military Prosecutor Doberman" / Courtesy of tvN

The director added that he tried to set a less serious tone when unfolding the story, despite the series' genre.

“We are trying to make the series as high-spirited and lighthearted as possible, as many of you would think that legal dramas tend to be serious,” Jin said. “The actors will have a completely different tone in their actions from their previous roles. So that's something to look forward to.”

Ahn's character, Bae-man, is a money-grubbing prosecutor who takes the job merely as a means for attaining success. Ahn said that taking on his role brought back memories from when he was obliged to carry out his mandatory military service.

“I get to wear different military uniforms in the series, including the one as the military prosecutor. And it is exciting that I get to show different images through this one character,” he said. “I put myself into the character as if I were enlisting again. I shaved my hair and took part as if I were on a mission. I tried to include details when portraying the toughness of a soldier.”

Jo plays a bold, straightforward prosecutor who joined the military court to seek revenge. She has the brain and ruthless confidence that allows her to stand up against the powers that be.

The actress expressed that taking on such a fierce role was a challenge for her.

“Playing this role was such an unprecedented challenge. She is such a powerful person and has a lot of action scenes. So I had to practice for the action sequences,” she said. “There was a sense of discipline that the uniform gives which helped me to get into my character more easily … This is the first time I've cut my hair this short. And as I've made changes both in my acting and appearance, I've been enjoying working on the set more comfortably.”

“Military Prosecutor Doberman” will air on Mondays and Tuesdays at 10:30 p.m. from Feb. 28 on tvN.