Black (TV series)

Black
Promotional poster
Original title 블랙
Genre
Created by Studio Dragon
Written by Choi Ran
Directed by Kim Hong-sun
Starring
Country of origin South Korea
Original language(s) Korean
No. of episodes 18
Production
Executive producer(s)
  • Kim Jong-sik
  • Song Jae-joon
Production company(s) iWill Media
Distributor
Release
Original network OCN
Picture format 1080i (HDTV)
Audio format Dolby Digital
Original release October 14 (2017-10-14) – December 10, 2017 (2017-12-10)
External links
Website

Black (Hangul: 블랙; RR: Beullaek) is a 2017 fantasy-thriller South Korean television series starring Song Seung-heon, Go Ara, Lee El and Kim Dong-jun. It aired on OCN from October 14 to December 10, 2017 on Saturdays and Sundays at 22:20 (KST) time slot.[1][2][3][4]

Synopsis

Black is the story of a grim reaper who is forced to track down his fugitive partner. In the process, he uncovers the truth about a series of cold case murders from 20 years ago. Investigating the murders complicates the reaper's primary role of guiding the deceased to their respective afterlife, especially after he falls in love with a mortal woman - which leads him to break supernatural rules against involvement in human affairs.[5][6]

Cast

Main

A grim reaper who has taken over the body of a detective named Han Moo-gang[5][7] who was investigating the serial murders surrounding the death of his older brother Kim Joon. Towards the end of the series, the grim reaper is revealed to be the soul of Kim Joon who became a grim-reaper after being murdered by his adopted mother (Moo-Gang's biological mother) after she found out that her son needs a heart transplant immediately, instead of saving Kim Joon's life she harvested his heart for his brother (Moo-Gang). After saving Kang Ha-ram by killing the masterminds behind the serial murders, Black commits suicide so that she can live a long and normal life. The grim reaper was later punished for his disobedience by dissipation but he asked for the maximum penalty that his existence will be erase from everyone who knew him thus, erasing all of the actions he made while he was still living as Kim Joon. In the end, Black reunites with Kang Ha-ram to collect her soul after she had lived a peaceful life, and they are seen walking away hand in hand in the final scene
A woman who can foresee death[7] as a dark shadow looming over someone which turns out to be a grim reaper following them to their moment of death. She initially is drawn to the detective Moo-Gang (before his body is possessed) since he tries to help her prevent death using her premonition skills, but later stays with Black in Moo-Gang's body because she initially mistakes Moo-Gang for his brother Joon (eventually falling in love with Black, who really is Joon). She also unknowingly keeps a video tape revealing one of the masterminds behind the crimes and serial murders of the series. Her insecurities surrounding her supernatural abilities and broken childhood kept her socially isolated and caused her to easily misled by Black and Soo-Wan, as well as other minor characters.
A doctor who is in love with Han Moo-gan. She was adopted by Kim Joon's family decades prior to the main storyline, and was the victim of several filmed sexual assaults by the perpetrators of the serial murders.[7]
A second generation chaebol[8]

Supporting

People around Moo-gang

  • Kim Won-hae as Na Gwang-gyun/Crazy Dog
  • Jung Suk-yong as Bong Man-shik
  • Lee Chul-min as Oh Soo-tae
  • Huh Jae-ho as Park Gwi-nam[9]
  • Ji Su-won as Seo Young-hwa

She is the mother of Han Moo-gang and the adoptive mother of Kim Joon. She is a cardiologist who is also responsible for killing Kim Joon as she harvested his heart for her son Moo-gang to live prior to the series. Towards the end of the series, she was confronted by her angered son Moo-gang who is possessed by the grim reaper which is the soul of Kim Joon after she murdered her older brother two decades ago. In the end of the series, she writes a note in which she apologizes to both Moo-gang and Kim Joon before she commits suicide from drug overdose.

People around Ha-ram

  • Kim Jung-young as Ha-ram's mother

She is the mother of Ha-ram who recognizes Han Moo-gang as the grim reaper when it glows orange on his neck and wants him to stay away from her daughter.

  • Kim Hyung-min as Kang Soo-hyuk, Ha-ram's father

He is the father of Ha-ram who is the previous grim reaper 444 and was killed by an unknown assailant.

  • Go Seung-bo as Hoon-seok, Ha-ram's stepbrother
  • Park Jung-hak as Ha-ram's stepfather

Grim Reaper

  • Kim Tae-Woo as Grim Reaper #444
  • Park Doo-sik[10] as Je Soo-dong/Grim Reaper #419
  • Jo Jae-yoon as Grim Reaper #007
  • Lee Kyu-bok as Grim Reaper #416
    • Jung Jun-won as Jang Hyun-soo, #416 real form

People around Man-soo

  • Lee Do-kyung as Oh Chun-soo, Man-soo's father
  • Choi Min-chul as Oh Man-ho, Man-soo's half-brother
  • Choi Won-hong as Oh Sang-min, Man-ho's son
  • Kim Jae-young as Leo/Kim Woo-sik
  • Oh Cho-hee as Tiffany/Lee Young-hee
  • Kim Young-sun as Man-soo's mother

Other

  • Lee Hae-young as Min Jae-hong
  • Woo Hyun as Wang Yong-chun, man with spider tattoo
  • Lee Kwan-hoon as Chen (Man with missing finger)
  • Bae Jung-hwa as Han Jin-sook
  • Lee Hyo-je as Kim Joon/Han Moo-chan

Kim Joon is the older brother of Han Moo-Gang, and is renamed Han Moo-chan after being adopted by Moo-Gang's mother. Kim Joon is the only person to have witnessed all of the serial murders that happened two decade prior to the storyline. He was shot in the head by an unknown assailant shortly afterward, but survives to call his adoptive mother, Seo Young-hwa, for help. She eventually finds Joon unconscious, and assumed that he was on the brink of death, so she uses her skills as a cardiac surgeon to secretively harvests his heart to save Moo-Gang. To cover up his death from arousing suspicion due to his missing heart, she hides his body in a car and pushes it off of a cliff into the ocean. This incident leads Kim Joon to become a grim reaper, Black (#444), who then loses all of good memories from when he was living as Joon Kim. Black as a grim reaper is cold and collected, and prior to the events of the main storyline, is unswayed by the emotionally ridden nature of death, something unusual for grim reapers which he takes much pride in.

Moo-Gang's mother then moves to the US, where Moo-Gang is reared. Eventually, Moo-Gang returns to Korea to become a detective and investigate his brother's mysterious death, running into Ha-ram when ordering dinner. Eventually, he discovers her ability of premonition and tries to save lives using her gift, but is himself killed in a mysterious hostage situation.

Meanwhile, Black is having issues training a new partner in the grim reaper work, and eventually is forced to find him when he goes missing. He discovers Moo-Gang's corpse and inhabits it, and realizing his luck with finding a detective with deep connections to a person capable of seeing other grim reapers, lives as Moo-Gang to hunt down his missing comrade.

  • No Tae-yeob as Steve
  • Lee Jun-suk as Park Seung-chul
  • Song Min-hyung as Woo Byung-sik
  • Cha Chun-hwa as Clara
  • Yeon Jae-wook as Lee Byung-tae

Production

  • The script reading of the cast was held on July 24, 2017.[11][12]
  • The series was under negotiation with Netflix for a simultaneous streaming deal, and it is currently available on the streaming service.[13][14][15]

Original soundtrack

Black
Original soundtrack
Soundtrack album by Various Artists
Recorded 2017
Genre Soundtrack
Language
Label

OST Part 1

No.TitleArtistLength
1."Take Me Out"Nam Tae-hyun4:31
2."Take Me Out" (Inst.)Nam Tae-hyun4:31
Total length:9:02

OST Part 2

No.TitleArtistLength
1."Like A Film"leeSA (리싸)3:37
2."Like A Film" (Inst.)leeSA (리싸)3:41
Total length:7:18

OST Part 3

No.TitleArtistLength
1."Another Me"Han Min-Chae (민채)4:35
2."Another Me" (Inst.)Han Min-Chae (민채)4:41
Total length:9:16

Ratings

In the table below, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.

Ep. Broadcast date Average audience share
AGB Nielsen[16] TNmS[17]
Nationwide Seoul
1 October 14, 2017 2.141% 2.416% 2.0%
2 October 15, 2017 3.876% 4.170% 3.0%
3 October 21, 2017 3.963% 4.715% 2.7%
4 October 22, 2017 4.318% 5.080% 3.7%
5 October 28, 2017 3.595% 4.229% 2.9%
6 October 29, 2017 4.087% 4.714% 3.6%
7 November 4, 2017 3.580% 4.427% 3.0%
8 November 5, 2017 3.247% 3.727% 2.6%
9 November 11, 2017 2.966% 3.636% 2.3%
10 November 12, 2017 3.409% 4.245% 3.6%
11 November 18, 2017 2.535% 2.795% 2.1%
12 November 19, 2017 3.074% 3.613% 2.9%
13 November 25, 2017 2.532% 2.707% 2.4%
14 November 26, 2017 3.038% 3.234% 2.8%
15 December 2, 2017 2.453% 2.395% 2.0%
16 December 3, 2017 3.470% 3.810% 2.6%
17 December 9, 2017 3.085% 3.403% 2.2%
18 December 10, 2017 4.181% 4.518% 3.7%
Average 3.308% 3.769% 2.783%
  • This drama airs on a cable channel/Pay TV which normally has a relatively smaller audience compared to free-to-air TV/Public broadcasters (KBS, SBS, MBC and EBS).

International broadcast

  • In Malaysia and Singapore, the drama aired within 24 hours after its original South Korean broadcast on tvN Asia from October 15, 2017.[18]
  • In the United Kingdom, the show aired via Netflix one week behind the original South Korean broadcast.
  • In the Philippines, the series aired on ABS-CBN every weekdays at 10pm PST from January 8 to March 9, 2018. [19] both Han Moo-gang and Kang Ha-ram are renamed as Marlon and Sara respectively.
  • Internationally, the show is available on Netflix.
  • In India, The Series Dubbed With Hindi Will Be A Part On Zee TV/Star Plus, Dubbed with Tamil On Star Vijay as பிளாக் (Pilak), Dubbed With Malayalam on Asianet as കറുപ്പ് (Karupp), Dubbed With Kannada On Zee Kannada/Star Suvarna, Dubbed With Telugu on Star Maa as బ్లాక్ (Blak), Dubbed With Bengali on Zee Bangla/Star Jalsha as কালো (Kalo) and Dubbed With Marathi On Zee Marathi/Star Pravah as ब्लॅक (Bleka).
  • In Indonesia, the drama aired on Sony One from July 26, 2018.[20]

References

  1. ↑ "Song Sung-heon, Go A-ra cast in OCN drama". Korea JoongAng Daily. 5 August 2017.
  2. ↑ Mukhopadhyay, Riddhiman. "OCN's Black: Go Ara and Song Seung Heon confirmed for grim reaper drama". IB Times. International Business Times, Singapore Edition. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
  3. ↑ Lee, Ye-eun. "[단독] 송승헌X고아라, OCN 드라마 '블랙' 출연 확정…하반기 방영". Naver (in Korean). The Financial News. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
  4. ↑ Kim, Sol-ji. "OCN 측 "'블랙', 송승헌·고아라 출연 확정…올 하반기 편성"(공식)". Naver (in Korean). MBN. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
  5. 1 2 Choi, Na-young. "[공식입장] OCN '블랙', 송승헌X고아라 "긍정검토 중"". Naver (in Korean). Osen. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
  6. ↑ "5 Korean Horror Dramas You Should Watch During Halloween". Viu. 2017-10-16. Retrieved 2017-10-17.
  7. 1 2 3 "<블랙> 송승헌-고아라-이엘-김동준, 대본 리딩 현장 공개!". iMBC (in Korean). iMBC. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
  8. ↑ Jo, Yoon-seon. "[공식] 김동준, OCN '블랙' 출연 확정…재벌 2세役". Naver (in Korean). Sports Chosun. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
  9. ↑ Jo, Gyeong-yi. "[단독]'귓속말' 허재호, 차기작은 '블랙'‥송승헌과 호흡". Naver (in Korean). Osen. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
  10. ↑ Hong, Se-young. "[단독] 박두식, '블랙' 전격 합류…송승헌·고아라와 호흡". Naver (in Korean). Sports DongA. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
  11. ↑ Hong, Se-young. "[단독] 송승헌x고아라, OCN '블랙' 캐스팅…안방복귀 하나". Naver (in Korean). Sports DongA. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
  12. ↑ Kim, Na-hee. "[Oh!쎈 톡] 송승헌·고아라·김동준, '블랙'으로 뭉친다..오늘 대본리딩". Naver (in Korean). Osen. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
  13. ↑ Yun, Suh-young. "K-drama industry finds new breakthrough with Netflix". KTimes. The Korea Times. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
  14. ↑ Chang, Dong-woo; Youn, Go-eun. "(News Focus) More TV shows turning to Netflix as China's culture ban persists". Yonhap News. Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
  15. ↑ "Black | Netflix". Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  16. ↑ "AGB Daily Ratings: this links to current day-select the date from drop down menu". AGB Nielsen Media Research (in Korean). Retrieved August 24, 2017.
  17. ↑ "TNMS 홈페이지에 오신 것을 환영합니다". TNmS (in Korean). Retrieved August 24, 2017.
  18. ↑ "tvN #24hrExpressDrama". Facebook. tvN Asia. Retrieved October 5, 2017.
  19. ↑ "New Kapamilya shows for 2018". philstar.com. Retrieved 2017-12-10.
  20. ↑ "Black - Trailer". Facebook. ONE TV ASIA. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
OCN Original Series: Saturday–Sunday drama
Previous program Black
(October 14 – December 10, 2017)		 Next program
Save Me
(August 5 – September 24, 2017)		 Bad Guys 2
(December 16, 2017 – February 18, 2018)
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.