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Less Than Evil
Promotional poster
Also known as	Luther
Hangul	나쁜 형사
Hanja	나쁜 刑事
Literal meaning	Bad Detective
Revised Romanization	Nappeun Hyeongsa
Genre	Crime Detective Thriller
Created by	Park Jae-beom (MBC Drama Operation Team)
Based on	Luther by Neil Cross
Written by	Heo Joon-woo Kang Yi-hun
Directed by	Kim Dae-jin
Starring	Shin Ha-kyun Lee Seol Park Ho-san Kim Gun-woo
Country of origin	South Korea
Original language	Korean
No. of episodes	32
Production
Executive producers	Teddy Jung [ko] Kim Sang-young
Producer	Yoo Hyun-jong
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	35 minutes
Production companies	MBC iHQ
Budget	₩7.5 billion
Original release
Network	MBC TV
Release	December 3, 2018 (2018-12-03) – January 29, 2019 (2019-01-29)
Related
Klim (Russia)

Less Than Evil (Korean: 나쁜 형사; RR: Nappeun Hyeongsa) is a 2018 South Korean television series based on the British series Luther. It stars Shin Ha-kyun, Lee Seol, Park Ho-san and Kim Gun-woo. It aired on MBC from December 3, 2018 to January 29, 2019.

Synopsis

The drama centers on the ongoing psychological battle between a brilliant psychopathic murderer and a hot headed, justice-driven Detective Chief Inspector.

Cast

Main

• Shin Ha-kyun as Woo Tae-suk

A tough and unscrupulous detective with the highest arrest rate, a character based on DCI John Luther.

• Lee Seol as Eun Sun-jae/Bae yeo-wool

A female psychopath based on antagonist Alice Morgan.

• Park Ho-san as Jeon Choon-man

A leading detective in the metropolitan area who is at odds with Woo Tae-suk

• Kim Gun-woo as Jang Hyung-min

A serial killer who pretends to be a prosecutor and Woo Tae-suk's greatest enemy based on serial killer Tom Marwood.

Supporting

• Cha Sun-woo as Chae Dong-yoon

A straight-as-an-arrow detective who graduated early from the police academy based on Luther's partner DS Justin Ripley.

• Bae Da-bin as Shin Ga-young

A prickly police officer based on DCI Erin Gray.

• Bae Yoo-ram as Ban Ji-deuk

An expert in IT programming who sets up her own detective agency based on DS Benny Silver.

• Yoon Hee-seok as Jo Doo-jin

The head of the PR department at the police station and Woo Tae-suk's best friend based on John Luther's best friend DCI Ian Reed.

• Yang Ki-won as Lee Moon-ki

A policeman on Woo Tae-suk's team

• Kim Na-yoon as Team Leader Sung

The head of forensic investigative team based on Luther's bosses DSU Rose Teller and DSU Martin Schnek.

• Hong Eun-hee as Kim Hae-joon

A lawyer and Woo Tae-suk's wife based on John Luther's wife Zoe Luther.

• Cho Yi-hyun as Bae Yeo-wool

A victim of a case that Woo Tae-suk cannot forget

• Bae Yoon-kyung as Woo Tae-hee

Woo Tae-suk's sister

• Ryu Tae-ho as Choi Jung-woo

A timid head detective who is indecisive. He works with Jeon Choon-man

• Kim Yi-kyung as Kwon Soo-ah

Special appearances

• Ahn Nae-sang as Commissioner general.

Production

The actress Lee Seol was chosen among 300 others who auditioned for the role of Eun Sun-jae to play the female lead.

The first script reading was held in early September, 2018 with the attendance of cast and crew at the MBC in Sangam-dong.

Original soundtrack

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Ratings

• In this table, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.
• NR denotes that the drama did not rank in the top 20 daily programs on that date.
• N/A denotes that the rating is not known.

Awards and nominations

Notes

1. ^ In order to circumvent Korean laws that prevent commercial breaks in the middle of an episode, what would previously have been aired as single 70 minute episodes are now being repackaged as two 35 minute episodes, with two episodes being shown each night with a commercial break between the two.
2. ^ Due to some ratings not recorded, the exact average rating is unknown.

References

1. Park, Jin-hai (May 16, 2017). "Drama viewers angry over commercial breaks". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on August 19, 2020. Retrieved April 17, 2020 – via PressReader.
2. Jang, Ka-young (November 9, 2018). 아이에이치큐, MBC ‘나쁜 형사’ 제작 공급계약 체결 [IHQ signs production supply contract for MBC's 'Bad Detective']. Newsway (in Korean). Retrieved July 29, 2024.
3. "Less Than Evil [Title in the URL]". iMBC.com (in Korean). Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on September 11, 2020. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
4. A. Kim (February 5, 2018). "MBC Confirmed To Remake BBC Crime Drama "Luther"". Soompi. Archived from the original on August 3, 2018. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
5. "[Orion's Daily Ramblings] Morality is Negotiable for the Leads of "Less Than Evil" @ HanCinema :: The Korean Movie and Drama Database". Archived from the original on 2023-08-26. Retrieved 2018-11-23.
6. "Korean adaptation of 'Luther' to go on small screen in winter". Archived from the original on 2023-08-26. Retrieved 2018-11-23.
7. "이설→차선우까지…'나쁜형사' 책임질 美친 캐스팅". 2018-11-23. Archived from the original on 2023-08-26. Retrieved 2018-11-23.
8. "'Less Than Evil': A Korean adaptation of 'Luther' with a twist". The Korea Herald. November 29, 2018. Archived from the original on August 26, 2023. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
9. "[New Drama] BBC Crime Drama "Less Than Evil" to Get Korean Remake @ HanCinema :: The Korean Movie and Drama Database". Archived from the original on 2018-11-23. Retrieved 2018-11-23.
10. "Shin Ha-kyun cast in MBC remake of 'Luther'". Korea JoongAng Daily. 3 August 2018. Archived from the original on 2 August 2018. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
11. "Shin Ha-kyun and Baro Courted for "Less Than Evil" Remake @ HanCinema :: The Korean Movie and Drama Database". Archived from the original on 2018-11-23. Retrieved 2018-11-23.
12. Sung Kyun-yoon (20 August 2018). 바로, '나쁜형사' 합류 확정..신하균·박호산 호흡(공식). Star News (in Korean). Archived from the original on 23 November 2018. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
13. "Bae Da-bin to Join "Less Than Evil" @ HanCinema :: The Korean Movie and Drama Database". Archived from the original on 2021-11-06. Retrieved 2018-11-23.
14. ^ Kim Hye-young (7 September 2018). ‘나쁜형사’ 홍은희부터 배윤경까지··· 황금 라인업 완성! 역대급 앙상블 예고. iMBC (in Korean). Archived from the original on 23 November 2018. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
15. [공식입장] '나쁜형사' 홍은희·류태호·차선우·윤희석·배윤경 합류. Xports News (in Korean). September 7, 2018. Archived from the original on March 18, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
16. Jang Jin-ri (5 September 2018). 홍은희, '나쁜형사'로 2년 만에 안방 컴백…신하균 아내 된다 [공식입장]. Osen (in Korean). Archived from the original on 23 November 2018. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
17. Kim Dong-ki (October 19, 2018). "[공식] 신예 조이현, MBC '나쁜형사' 캐스팅…신하균과 호흡". SE Daily (in Korean). Archived from the original on November 23, 2018. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
18. Noh Kyu-min (October 19, 2018). "JYP 신예 조이현, '배드파파'→ '나쁜형사'…눈도장 제대로". Tenasia HangKyung (in Korean). Archived from the original on November 23, 2018. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
19. ^ Kim Dong-ki (5 October 2018). "'나쁜형사' 신하균X이설X박호산X김건우, 대본 리딩부터 시너지 폭발". SE Daily (in Korean). Archived from the original on 23 November 2018. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
20. "Nielsen Korea". AGB Nielsen Media Research (in Korean). Archived from the original on June 1, 2016. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
21. Jung, Yu-jin (December 31, 2018). 소지섭 ‘데뷔 23년 만에 첫 대상’(mbc연기대상)[포토엔HD] [So Ji-sub Soo'First Debut in 23 Years' (mbc Drama Awards)]. Newsen (in Korean). Archived from the original on December 31, 2018. Retrieved June 5, 2020 – via Naver.
22. "55회 백상예술대상, TV부문 최종 후보 공개". Ilgan Sports (in Korean). April 4, 2019. Archived from the original on April 4, 2019. Retrieved April 4, 2019.

External links

• Official website (in Korean)
• Less Than Evil at IMDb
• Less Than Evil at HanCinema

• MBC TV television dramas
• 2018 South Korean television series debuts
• 2019 South Korean television series endings
• Korean-language television shows
• South Korean crime television series
• South Korean thriller television series
• Television series by IHQ (company)
• South Korean television series based on British television series
• Luther (TV series)