South Korean drama 'Criminal Minds,' which is a remake of an American TV series of the same name, started off strong with its first episode on July 26 gathering 4.187 percent rating in all of South Korea, as per AGB Nielsen. Actor Lee Joon-gi who stars in the drama also talked about the perks of filming a modern drama based in the city.
As noted by website Soompi, tvN's 'Criminal Minds,' about behavioural profilers who track down criminals as part of investigations, scored an impressive peak of 6.56 percent viewer rating during the first episode; crossing the 5 percent threshold. tvN's own 'Bride of the Water God' or 'The Bride of Habaek,' began with 3.660 percent ratings as per AGB Nielsen.
Lee Joon-gi, during a Naver V Live broadcast on July 26, talked about the premiere of his drama, saying, "The first broadcast of a drama is always quite burdensome. It's part excitement and part burden, but I usually feel more of the burdensome aspect."
He then talked about the expectations that fans have from the drama, having already watched 13 seasons of the original American series. "There naturally is a burden because of the original show. However, instead of trying to make it exactly like the original, we did our best to incorporate more Korean sentiment."
Lee Joon-gi continued, "We're trying to fill the emotional gap between the American and Korean shows with Korean-appropriate dialog and performances by Korean actors. So, please feel comfortable while you watch our version."
The 'Scarlet Heart Ryeo' actor also talked about the ease of filming a drama set in the present day and in a city, as opposed to a historical one set in more remote and rural parts of South Korea. "Because historical dramas have certain lines set in stone, you can't just add adlibs freely. On the other hand, since modern dramas take place in the era that I am living in right now, I can be much more natural," he said.
Lee Joon-gi also added, "More than anything, I like how the travel time [between sets] is short and how I can work in air conditioning." He had previously said on July 19, at a press conference for 'Criminal Minds,' "I'm sorry for doing so many historical dramas. Although the historical dramas I did took place in different places in history, it seems that a lot of people were waiting for me to do a contemporary drama."
'Criminal Minds' will air every Wednesday and Thursday on tvN, at 10:50 p.m. KST.
