[Seoul=RNX News] Reporter Seyun Jung = There is a reason why JTBC’s ‘Good Boy’ is titled ‘Good Boy’. Writer Lee Dae-il has directly provided refreshing answers to curiosity about the worldview of this work.
JTBC’s new Saturday-Sunday drama ‘Good Boy’ (written by Lee Dae-il, directed by Shim Na-yeon, produced by SLL, Studio & New, Drama House Studio) is the latest work by writer Lee Dae-il, who gained attention for genre completeness and solid narratives through ‘Life on Mars’ and the ‘Advisor’ series.
Director Shim Na-yeon, who directed ‘Monster,’ which won the 57th Baeksang Arts Awards for Best Drama, and ‘Bad Mom,’ made this a highly anticipated work solely with their collaboration.
Above all, it is noteworthy that former national athletes are united as a special forces team with ‘police badges’ around their necks instead of ‘medals’, that their specialties in different sports are sublimated into action, and that these youths unite to fight against dishonesty and injustice, predicting the birth of a unique investigative drama.
Ahead of the first broadcast on the 31st (Saturday), writer Lee Dae-il has revealed all the ‘good’ points that make ‘Good Boy’ more interesting to know in advance, including its planning background, character settings, and messages. Here are the questions and answers.
– What kind of drama is ‘Good Boy’?
‘Good Boy’ is a comic-infused action youth investigation drama where medalist athletes become police officers. More than anything, it’s a story about ‘good people’ and ‘people striving to be good’, just like the title suggests. I hope viewers enjoy the hot stories of people fighting boldly against criminals without even a hint of guilt in a world full of rules-breaking in a refreshing and exhilarating way.
– How is ‘Good Boy’ different from existing investigative dramas?
The point of distinction is the setting of police officers with a background as medalists. The action infused with their specialties from their athlete days and the process of following the emotional lines of athletes who seemed glamorous after their retirement might provide a unique fun. I hope it feels like watching a fierce competition, allowing you to feel the protagonists’ achievements of blood, sweat, and tears together.
– How was the special selection of medalists for a strong team conceived?
I once watched a documentary related to the special selection of martial arts medalists. I wanted to tell the story of a special police team composed of them. I referenced martial arts special selection, interviews with athletes, various materials, and actual incidents, and added imagination to create the worldview of ‘Good Boy’.
In reality, such a police organization does not exist. Rather than focusing on that uniqueness, we focused on each character who lives with realistic concerns within it. We wanted to capture the stories of us all, who are not special but special, who struggle, hurt, and strive.
– Why did you choose the five sports: boxing, shooting, fencing, wrestling, and discus throw?
‘Good Boy’ is a story of standing against injustice and prejudice, so from the start, we conceived a refreshing and exhilarating action. We considered how each character could showcase their unique action style, choosing boxing filled with desperate struggles, shooting that’s quiet yet powerful, fencing that pierces and slices sharply, wrestling that endures steadfastly, and discus for its focus on strength and balance.
The fact that all are individual sports is also important. It was deemed suitable to depict a story where characters with different tendencies form a team, trust one another, and grow together.
– You set ‘Inseong City’ as the background in ‘Good Boy’ following your previous works.
‘Inseong City’ has been used since my first drama ‘Let’s Fight, Ghost’. Although there is no particular reason, it can be called my personal virtual city imbued with nostalgia from my childhood hometown. I imagined what the current ‘Inseong’ from the 1980s of ‘Life on Mars’ would look like, and as a result, used it again as the background for ‘Good Boy’.
– Park Bo-gum, Kim So-hyun, Lee Sang-yi, Heo Sung-tae, Tae Won-seok, and Oh Jung-se have been cast in ‘Good Boy’, with Oh Jung-se playing the opposing ‘Bad Boy’. How did you feel when you heard this news?
I was surprised that such good actors could all join one project. After the casting, the characters that once existed only in imagination began to materialize and move vividly, and it felt like the actors were leading the characters, not the script, which made me feel pleased and excited. I am grateful and happy just to be able to see these actors together on screen.
– Director Shim Na-yeon is one of the most noted directors, having directed ‘Monster’ and ‘Bad Mom’. How was the process of working with her?
I liked the director’s determination and persistence filled in the screen, evident in her work. ‘Good Boy’ is a complex genre with scale, so there were many challenges. However, thanks to the director’s trust, I could comfortably write.
Above all, as a writer and viewer, I am excited to see how the director’s strength and meticulousness have been incorporated into the work. Teaming up with such excellent directors and actors is like the ‘Avengers’ appearing with ‘dudung!’ to confront villains in critical moments; I am filled with expectations and hopes that our ‘Goodvers’ will overcome any hardship.
– What message do you want to convey through ‘Good Boy’?
In the drama, there is a line by ‘Yoon Dong-joo’ (played by Park Bo-gum), “No one is born good; they try to live good because they don’t want to regret.” I believe everyone enduring and living through the monotonous and sometimes frustrating life, making them a ‘Good Boy’.
I worked on this with the hope it would be a drama like a gift for those good boys. When they are tired and struggling, wanting to give up, I hope it reignites a passion left in one’s heart and serves as a small spark to remind viewers of the hot ‘that day’, helping them take a step forward.
– Lastly, what are the ‘good’ points that viewers should note?
I think the chemistry between Dong-joo and the strong team members, who bicker and move forward together, and their uniquely expressive action, are what viewers should look out for. Please look forward to the synergy that these individuals, who were each a rough stone, will create as they join forces to combat crime.
Meanwhile, ‘Good Boy’ will first air at 10:40 PM on Saturday, May 31st, on JTBC, and will be released globally through Amazon Prime Video.
