Before the year ends, an on-demand video streaming service is treating K-drama fans with an original Korean drama series starring Hallyu’s dashing duo Lee Dong-Wook and Wi Ha Jun.
iQiyi’s yearend heavyweight “Bad and Crazy” will weave together themes including action, dark comedy, suspense and crime for a satisfying and exciting series of vengeance in an insane society.
This heroic drama follows capable but bad cop Ryu Su Yeol (Lee) regaining his humanity after meeting the righteous but crazy “K” (Wi).
Lee, who takes on the role of Ryu Su Yeol, teams up with K to fight the evildoers. The former is a consequentialist police inspector looking to get ahead in life while Wi’s ‘K’s origin is yet to be known.
“Unable to see eye-to-eye, the two are initially at loggerheads, but eventually Lee and Wi are on the same ride and face their foes together, in what promises to be a thrilling journey,” the synopsis read.
Aside from Lee (“Tale of the Nine Tailed,” “Guardian: The Lonely and Great God”), and Wi (“Squid Game,” “18 Again,” “Something in the Rain”), the series also stars Han Ji Eun (“Lovestruck in the City,” “Be Melodramatic”) and Cha Hak Yeon (“Mine,” “Children of Nobody.”)
During the global press conference last Monday, Lee said his portrayal of this role is a side of him that viewers have never seen before.
Lee said the K-drama’s director You Soon Dong (“The Uncanny Encounter”) let him express himself while filming.
“He allowed me to act however I thought to act,” Lee said.
Wi, on the other hand, said he chose to take on the challenges of action scenes.
Han Ji Eun, who takes on the role of Lee’s former girlfriend, described her character to be “dull.”
“So I tried not to improvise,” she said, laughing.
“Bad and Crazy” is also Cha Hak Yeon’s first work since leaving the military and he revealed the greatest challenge was to cut his hair after growing it longer for quite some time. He described his character as “pure” but will get to the bottom of things in investigations.
iQiyi released the main trailer of the series last December 2 on YouTube. It has since garnered over 92,000 views.
This K-series with 12 episodes, will debut on December 17, Friday on iQiyi and iQ.com at 9:50 p.m. It will be simulcast in Korea and 191 territories globally. New episodes are released every Friday and Saturday. —Rosette Adel