Eric Scherer, Disney’s president of international domestic originals, admits he was “a little hesitant” when he first heard the idea of remaking the hit FX series. Americans like Koreans – A big-budget, local-language reimagining starring Lee Byung-hun and Han Ji-min as a pair of North Korean spies who disguise themselves as a happy couple in 1990s South Korea.
“I was the guy who evolved Americanssays Schreier, who served as president of FX Entertainment before taking the top global television job at Disney. “I’m still very close to Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields, the original creators, so I wasn’t sure about this idea, because it’s all very near and dear to my heart.”
Shearer says he was eventually wooed when he realized the unique storytelling potential that could be conveyed Americans There may be a hypothesis for the Korean context. The idea to remake the show came organically from Disney’s content relationships in Korea, rather than any top-down mandate for the company to exploit old intellectual property from the studio’s libraries. This will be the company’s first local-language adaptation of one of its hit scripted series, and will boast one of the largest budgets for an Asian Disney+ original to date.
“The similarities between the two areas — North Koreans stationed in the South, rather than Russian spying in America in the 1980s — are starting to make sense to me,” Schreyer says. “But it was the passion of our Korean team that got me really excited – and I could see that with Korea still so divided, this could be a very culturally relevant story for the local audience, which is always a key priority for our local original content.”
It was created by former CIA officer Joe Weisberg and is run by Weisberg and Joel Fields. Americans It starred Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys as Elizabeth and Philip Jennings, two KGB officers posing as a married couple in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., during the Reagan-era Cold War. Over the course of six seasons, the series wove the craft of espionage into a richly layered marital drama, charting the series’ protagonists’ deep ambivalence about their mission — and each other — as their American-raised children grew old enough to start asking the tough questions. The series has been nominated for 18 Primetime Emmy Awards and won four of them over six seasons from 2013 to 2018. It regularly ranks high on critics’ lists of the best series of the platinum television era.
The film takes place during the wave of democratization and cultural modernization that swept South Korea in the early 1990s. Koreans It will follow a middle-class family hiding a parallel betrayal secret. While they appear to be ordinary citizens in the eyes of their friends, neighbors and even their children, both parents – played by Lee Byung-hun and Han Ji-min – are actually spies from the North Korean elite working to bring down the South from within. Highlighting the stark differences between the two formerly united countries, the series will once again follow the spies as they grapple with conflicting feelings of patriotism, loyalty, identity and love, while a ruthless Korean counterintelligence agent gets closer to discovering their identities.
Written and edited by Park Eun-kyu (co-writer of Bong Joon-ho’s book the momDisney+ series Made in Korea), Koreans Directed by Ahn Gil Ho, director of the hit Netflix psychological thriller series Glory. Disney says the adaptation will be done in typical Korean style, employing the same writer and director for each episode, rather than the writers’ room and rotating guest director system typical of American shows.
Korean star Lee Hye Joon (1987: When the Day Comes, Handsome guys) has also been cast in an undisclosed lead role.
Carol Choi, executive vice president of content strategy and marketing at Disney Asia Pacific, posits two features of the show that her local originals team is optimistic about. Koreans Potential in both Korea and surrounding Asian markets where Disney+ seeks to grow: rich family story dynamics and Lee Byung-hun’s presence at the forefront.
“There are a lot of exciting geopolitical spy stories on the market now, but what really got us excited were the couple and family dynamics, and the drama and humor involved in two spies living as husband and wife as they try to bridge the ideological gap between the two Koreas – all of which will feel very relevant to a Korean audience,” Choi explains.
“And Lee Byung Hun is obviously a big win for us,” she adds.
One of Korea’s most popular stars, Lee had his breakthrough with Park Chan-wook’s DMZ-set thriller. Joint security area (2000), the first major South Korean film to portray North Korean characters in a sympathetic light. He later gained greater global recognition as a mysterious villain Squid gameHe recently gave an irresistibly witty performance as a family man hiding dark secrets in last year’s popular tragicomedy. There is no other choice.
“He personally is very interested in this role and we are very excited about his interpretation of it,” Choi adds. “It’s the kind of role that will really allow him to show his stuff.”
Sinister says Koreans It is part of a planned acceleration of local-language content production in key Asia-Pacific markets of South Korea, Japan and Australia, with more titles in development — which are all part of a strategy put in place by Bob Iger before he exited the top job, to bolster Disney+’s competitive position.
“We are only interested in general entertainment that contains these originals, that is, adult content,” he explains. “Our strategy is local on a local level, with shows that have strong appeal to these specific regions, with our unparalleled rosters of Marvel, Pixar, Star Wars, Disney, FX, Hulu and ABC as a complement.”
Shearer says he spoke with Americans Stars Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell, as well as creators Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields, have spoken out about plans for a Korean remake, all of whom have offered their blessing and support.
“Joe and Joel were very curious, but they chose not to participate — for sentimental reasons, I guess,” he says. “They refused to read the scripts, but said they wanted to visit the set.”
“They are fun and curious people – I think they just want to get to Korea for the first time to learn about the culture and eat some Korean food,” he adds.
