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CBS to license Good Doctor for American remake

Huh, isn’t this interesting: KBS’s 2013 human medical drama Good Doctor is getting the Hollywood treatment, and remake rights have been sold to American broadcaster CBS.

Actor Daniel Dae Kim, who is also the CEO of his own production company, 3AD, confirmed in an interview that they are in the process of finalizing talks with CBS. Apparently CBS has been in talks with KBS since the American Film Market took place last November, and are now at the contract stage.

There have been instances of Korean dramas being licensed or optioned for potential remakes in the past, a notable recent case being tvN’s sci-fi time-travel thriller Nine being sold with the aim of getting a pilot produced. Nine was a smart, high-concept show with a fresh take on the time-travel trope so I could see it easily making the leap from Korea to Hollywood, but Good Doctor surprises me a little. (Trivia: Kim Yunjin was pivotal in getting Nine licensed and is attached as producer, while her Lost husband/co-star is involved with Good Doctor. Small world.)

Good Doctor wouldn’t have made my shortlist because while the drama about an autistic young man battling his shortcomings on his path to becoming a doctor had warmth and heart, it was a pretty simplistic show with rather blandly presented conflicts, and aside from Joo-won’s performance I didn’t find much to be memorable about it. But I suppose it’s the simple logline that sells the show: Autistic doctor succeeds, warms hearts. And that, I could see running on American television for five seasons with the same-yet-different medical cases dropping by on a week-by-week basis. (Oh, it’ll be sexed up and polished and transformed till it’s barely recognizable from the source material, but I can see how it would go.)

Nothing is decided beyond the licensing rights, and since the American broadcast system operates quite differently from the Korean one it could be quite a long while before we hear anything more about Good Doctor’s fate—if we hear anything at all. The remake could make it to airwaves as a full series, but it’s also possible that the project could die in development, or make it to the pilot round only to fail to be picked up. Only time will tell.

Via Newsen

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wow! i'm suprised at this news. lol at it 'being sexed up' once it transforms to its US version. can't imagine my sweet little joowonnie in that set-up.

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So many dramas I want to be remade and yet they never happen :'(

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There are a few - but this for sure is not one of them. It had one of the more simplistic and shallow plots of any show I have seen (I ended up dropping it about halfway).

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Not to worry. It is the concept of an autistic but genius doctor that will be adapted for US viewers. Not the plot elements of the original that won't hold up in the US market.

Autism is a front-and-center issue here in the US. And Hollywood films that incorporated autism as a major plot point tended to win awards in the past.

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I think ION station should do it, because it would be positively entertaining. LOL.

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LOL! Too bad Ion focuses a lot on crime-related shows.

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LOL!! Ikr, but i love stuff like that. I always seems to stick to the screen like glue when criminal minds in on.

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That's my show too!! I find myself watching the reruns on Ion often, even if I've seen every episode...lol :P

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ION doesn't do original programming except for the occasional low-budget movie. All the series on that channel are reruns.

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Sadly, they are. but i couldn't help but say their catchy phrase. lol

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AHHH! The lost lovers Jin and and Sun together through time, space, and pilot season. Love it!

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I only watched an episode or two of this show, but the general premise of the show seems like it would make a good Oscar movie. Not sure if this would make a good american tv show...

honestly, I don't see how any kdrama can be adapted to american tv format. These stories seem to be dragged out enough in kdrama format! haha

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America have a lot of medical series and we love it too. i guess they want to try this one out to. I really enjoyed this drama as the plot was simple but it was very heart warming and a beautiful story.

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I am surprised. If Daniel Dae Kim wanted to translate a kdrama to American television, he should at least have picked a plausible one.

There was a decently executed cop series on an American network last fall featuring an autistic police detective. It had a great premise: an American detective and a Mexican detective working on a serial killer case on the border. But, as with 'Good Doctor', no amount of noble intentions and feel-good speeches about tolerance can lead you from point A to point B for the autistic character.

That is, the autistic "genius" detective was so socially dysfunctional you could not believe for a minute that she could make through a police academy, let alone work a beat or serve a desk job where she had to handle people. And in none of the episodes we watched did she show that she was capable of carrying on a normal conversation on duty, let alone interviewing a witness properly, interrogating a suspect or testifying credibly in court.

I tuned out on Good Doctor for the same reason. There seemed no plausible path for this guy to get through medical school, serve as an intern, or successfully serve as a resident. All of these jobs require you to interact with other human beings under extremely stressful conditions, and people under stress are not inclined to be patient or understanding with a medical caretaker who cannot speak and act in clear "normative" ways. The lead character in 'Good Doctor' would have caused sick or injured people to scream in panic on a daily basis, looking for someone "normal" to help them.

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that is the main problem in this drama, Parrk Si on getting jected by patient parent n another doctor because he's autist, this drama talk about that obstacle, even until the end of this drama he hasn't officially doctor yet

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Please watch again episode 20 of Good Doctor. Shi-on became a doctor.

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But what if they shifted the main character into having high functioning autism?

There have been/are business leaders who rose to a monumental level of success, despite having Aspergers.

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Well, nothing can be as bad as the American remake of Boys Before Flowers right?

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Call me weird, but I was actually enjoying it. LOL, I laugh so hard at some comments (on viki) and the acting. But I find myself looking forward to it. The first time they switch the lead actress I was irritated because I somehow got used to her. I must the switch had me on the floor. That's what you call a make OVER!!!! But sadly I dropped it when the lead guy and new lead girl got cut. The actor they got for the lead was perfect. He remind me of doumyouji so much.

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that was low budget if big money/better actors will be better

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It was low budget, but I have done better sound editing with my $50 program and no training. The acting was ok, I could get over the odd camera angles, but you really shouldn't need subtitles when watching a show in English.

As for plot, well I was willing to give it a little more time to find one, it did sort of show up now and then; II was having fun watching it. But low budget was no excuse for the quality that was produced. Give that money to some college age youtube production groups that are out there and it would be amazed at the quality difference.

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JIN!!!! Having Lost flashbacks. Good ol'days of smoke monsters and polar bears. WE HAVE TO GO BACK!!!

I can see Nine taking off on SiFi. However, even though I find the news awesome, I can't help but not picture any of my favorite dramas being turned into multi-seasonal shows. They work in the format that they are in. I hope if they are brought here that they stay to at least 20 episodes. Maybe they'd all do well in the summer?

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Ooooooo intertesting.
I can see this happening. America love em procedural, law and doctor dramas. lawl.

but going by american tv. productions
it's going to take a while to even get this to see the light of day.
it will take FO.EV.ER to get a pilot going.

All I hope is that if it does get it's own time slot that I will not see an all white cast. DIVERSITY PLEASE?

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Autistic House? McJooWon? Lol. Med dramas are all the same. This sounds like a horrible idea to me.

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sorry OOT
is Nine remake already aired in US? I heard nothing about it after the news of it written in this site.

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Interesting. I want to know how they will remake this series because good doctor is one of my favourite drama. BTW good doctor is nominated for rockies award in BANFF world media festival :D

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I can imagin joo won doing a camoe or two there daaaaaaamn he will rock Hollywood out of its place with his performance

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People in soompi are celebrating the news as if it is big. Note people: Nothing is confirmed. It is not even considered a project in development. This maybe a big deal for the fans of the drama but for the Hollywood bigwigs it is not. Hollywood production companies buy rights to a book, script or works any time that they want.

If they are indeed remaking the drama, I see it more as a daytime series rather than a primetime series. The primetime slots of US television have long been dominated by sci-fi,thriller,suspense and comedy. Gone are the days when medical dramas are the 'it' thing in tv. Aside from an autistic central character there is nothing engaging and interesting in the story and plot to keep the US viewers from watching.

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Uggg, I see people in sp no celebrating, they all know that everything is just on discussion. From buying the rights to implementing it, it sure will take alot of time.

This deal is just the right to make another version based on the idea, not an adaptation (based on what DDK said in his interview). I believe there must be alot changes to match the culture differences, so it would be really a challenging deal. Interesting or not, time will tell.

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I know that US remake will be different [for e.g. US tv series Homeland is different from the tv series Prisoners of War]. But the concept itself of an autistic individual wanting to be a doctor is not engaging enough for US viewers. The plot of Good Doctor is more suited for a feature-length film and/or film made for tv rather than a tv series.

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I don't know why you have to be so pissed off that Good Doctor fans in Soompi have been celebrating this news, if they want to celebrate and be happy about it that's their choice, I certainly loved the drama and whether it will be remade by American television doesn't matter, the drama was a hit in Korea as in Korean viewers loved it and Joo Won got lot of awards and praise there for his portrayal, as a fan I'm happy as it is.

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If a person stated an opinion based on what he or she read or observed are you going to say 'oh you look so pissed'?
And like what was stated by someone, I don't see any reason at all why they need to buy the rights to the idea. If DDK wanted a story revolving an autistic doctor he should have just hired a writer who'll write him an original story. There were too many plotholes in GD. I've seen American tv shows that won countless of awards and had high-ratings. Do they deserve those accolades? No and that is the same opinion I have with GD.

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Yayyy....another good news for kdramas spreading into the world.
TBH,I really liked Good Doctor to the extremes and Joo Won's performance was commendable....
I would really like to see the remake-only if they cast the leads to be as cute as Joo Wonnie and Moon Chae Won.

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CBS has been eyeing Korean dramas for awhile. They were on the set last year of the drama "All About My Romance!" I don't know about remaking dramas for American audiences. I like the fact that these dramas are Korean/Asian stories, something we never see in the US! I appreciate all that I learn about Korean culture, traditions, and humor! These are but a few of the things that make Korean dramas special. Reinterpreting for American television.....I'm not with it! Will probably get something like Spike Lee's Olboy remake! What a fiasco! I would like to see a network strike a deal with a Korean network and show the dramas intact on American television (with subs, of course!).

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I think it will be hard to top off "House" & "Greg's Anatomy". Is there even any medical tv shows airing in the United States as of now and is being renew? All I've been watching are crime shows (i.e. "The Mentalist", "Blacklist", "Criminal Minds", & "CSI".) Most shows that I've seen are sci-fi, fantasy, political, and criminal. Hardly any medical tv shows.

If there is a remake of Good Doctor, I just hope the actor will portray autism better than Joo-Won.

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There's always the possibility of a hybrid. What if they made a supporting cast that's 'sexed up' (like Grey's Anatomy) and an autistic central character who's 'scienced up' (like CSI)? CSI visuals included.

Thinking about it, just because it has an autistic central character wouldn't mean the show would have to focus on his/her emotional journey. They could get around that elephant-in-the-room by making the character have Aspergers instead of a lower functioning form of Autism. The character could be written as a colleague who's both an outsider who's a deadpan foil to the office mating rituals; and as a super-doctor who's smarter and more focused than everyone else. McBrainy, because smart is the new sexy.

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I hope they don't remake anything. They are so bad at it that people might think the original was just as awful and not even give it a try.

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I wonder why they'd need to buy the rights anyways. The only similarity in the end would be an autistic doctor headlining the show and probably the super smart boss that would prolly resemble house more than Joo Sang Wook anyways.

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Sounds boring. I live in the States and I don't even watch US TV aside from PBS stuff. The medical dramas I stay away regardless of where they come from.

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One good American remake example that comes to my mind is 'The Lake House' with Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock (from South Korean 'Il Mare").

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Why? was what first came to mind...we've seen recently an example of an American remake of a Korean classic gone wrong (Oldboy) as well as the mishap that was Boys over Flowers.

I don't really see the need to remake Good Doctor as a TV show...especially when medical-related shows have been on the downward trend as of late. ER had its heyday, House had its following and Grey's Anatomy was once the it show (until it started turning over main cast members -- that's why I stopped watching). I'm sorry, but I prefer my crime procedurals any day.

I think it's interesting that Daniel Dae Kim (who's great in Hawaii Five-0) was the one pushing to get the rights for GD. It's plausible as movie material, but I'm not optimistic that this would be translated well (with the same feel as the original)...and that the American public would watch this on a weekly basis. That's coming from someone who watched GD and thought it was decent.

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I kind of will be surprised if this actually comes to the screen. Why? Because I've never seen Good Doctor; however, I do know how sensitive American censors and the parent groups are to the depiction of handicapped or mentally challenged people so if they do actually make it to the screen, it will be vastly changed. Look at The Michael J Fox Show, it was cancelled mostly because the censor groups didn't like Michael making fun of himself! It really was a good show but did suffer from low ratings because I read it offended a lot of folks. Go figure. I didn't find it offensive and I've seen worse on TV, even now.

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There's no cure for America! RIP! The dumbest thing to do is trusting KDs....

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watch as the hollywood screw up yet another good korean production.

hollywood has a looooooooong list of failures trying to convert korean movies and shows.

old boy and my sassy girl comes to mind.

hollywood is only going to dumb down shows and movies to reach wider audiences.

what next? he who came from the stars? if hollywood had to redo it, they'd make it into another mork and mindy show.

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Oh, c'mon. Good Doctor is one of the best K-Dramas ever made. It simplicity made the drama so good. I bet K-Dramas fans like the overrated and annoying dramas with so many makjang and cliche elements like Boys Before Flowers or maybe Kill Me Heal Me. Such a bad taste.

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