Nine remake pilot in the works, aiming at U.S. broadcast

[tag-traumer.livejournal.com]

A potential American remake is in the works for tvN’s drama Nine: Nine Time Travels, which was a solid cult hit for the cable station earlier this year. It’s just been sold to American producers to be made into a pilot episode (which would be filmed first, then hopefully picked up for a full run).

Every now and again there are rumblings of a Korean drama heading to the U.S. for an adaptation so I’m taking this one with a grain of salt, but it does sound a bit more concrete this time around so I’m perking my ears up in interest.

Of all the dramas that have toyed with remakes, Nine does seem to me to be the perfect vehicle for crossover potential, because above all it has a fantastic plot with lots of twisty turns and taut suspense that lasts till the end. I did end up finishing the series despite getting stuck on the early episodes back when it aired, and found that things do pick up nicely—it’s just too bad it didn’t have that intensity in its early weeks that it built up to later on. Otherwise I would’ve been all over it from the start.

There’s always a sense of a K-drama or movie losing its special appeal when it tries to go abroad (for instance, with My Name is Kim Sam-soon, which was licensed for a remake that didn’t happen, or My Sassy Girl and Il Mare, which did happen), but Nine is so jam-packed with tightly plotted mystery and action that I think it would withstand the jump intact. The concept is both familiar enough to be saleable (time-traveler seeks to correct an injustice) and unique enough to give the genre a new twist (in the way it handles time and time manipulation differently than previous time-traveling shows).

Actress Kim Yun-jin (Lost) will be serving as a producer and is a key player in getting the project off the ground, using her connections in both countries to get the deal going. The production company on the Hollywood side is Fake Empire, which is run by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage (Gossip Girl, The O.C., The Carrie Diaries, Chuck); the Nine remake is looking for a slot on the ABC lineup.

The would be a pretty sweet deal, though it’s certainly not a done one—the production has a lot of hoops to go through before it could make it on air. According to tvN, currently the pilot script is being written for the American remake, and is looking to be a part of spring’s pilot roundup to be sold at the networks’ May up-front presentations. If everything pans out well, it would hit the air as soon as next fall. Which seems like a long, long process by K-dramaland’s hectic standards but is actually really speedy by American ones.

(Just a note: Inasmuch as Nine is a show that’s heavily dependent on suspense, for the sake of folks who haven’t seen it, I’ll ask that you don’t give away huge spoilers here. (That includes stuff like “I won’t say who died/got married/turned evil, but OH MY GOD that was a shocker!” Dude, still a spoiler.) I promise I’ll put up a review post at some point where you’ll be able to talk about the ending to your heart’s content, but I don’t want to ruin the fun for others.)

Sources: Star News via Dramabeans

Nine is one my favourite dramas for the first half of 2013 so I'm excited to know this. I think it's a great drama to be remade (provided that the production company remake to be as great as its original). It'll be interesting to see how the remake will be. How about the rest of Omona? Are you excited or are you not?

Comments

[anthonymarie.livejournal.com]

nine was one of my favourite dramas too! i hope the pilot is good

[vermicelli-rice.livejournal.com]

just here to pile on the love for Nine. I absolutely loved it. I'm just slightly wary about remakes. please don't make a mess of it. sigh at the mention of ppl behind Gossip Girl. sigh.

[gundae.livejournal.com]

I couldn't get through Nine. I don't even remember why anymore.

[nandexdame.livejournal.com]

me too. i was bored early on

[ohlookshiny.livejournal.com]

tbh i didn't like nine at all, the plot was pretty convoluted and the acting was... not so good. it didn't do anything for me. tvn have done better shows, and it wasn't exactly a ratings hit either.

ia w/ db that the premise has crossover potential though. but if it's done by josh schwartz et al it will crash and burn.

[ceecile.livejournal.com]

Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage (Gossip Girl, The O.C., The Carrie Diaries, Chuck)" though.
Anyway this will be a series with multiple seasons (if it gets picked up and so on) so it will definitely suck.

[edanz-castle.livejournal.com]

Nine was really good. It did start off slow but through out the series I couldn't wait to watch the next episode. It was suspenseful and the acting was pretty good. I think this will be a good cross over and it could actually work here in the U.S.

[dc222.livejournal.com]

One of the best dramas of 2013. It's definitely an interesting concept that could translate well for the US. But it would have to be a limited or one-season series. I can't see them doing more than 20 eps.

I'd love to see Yunjin Kim star as the lead.

[shocko-o.livejournal.com]

i loved nine. i started watching when it was wrapping up its broadcast and ended up marathoning my way through it.
i can't see it worked into more than 1/2 seasons though.

[dori-liv.livejournal.com]

I wanted to watch this when I first heard about it but never did. Putting it back on my list now

[mya13.livejournal.com]

this drama was good but i dropped it because the female lead was so annoying.

[hearttaek.livejournal.com]

Same.

[tempestdance.livejournal.com]

knowing how american tv shows work i feel like each episode is gonna be a season.