TvN Makes Another ‘The Good Wife’

The rumor of a remake doesn’t always make me happy. Especially, when it’s country to country, small screen to small screen, for though there are several things that are relatable the world over, like a woman who finds herself back in the working world, after being a house wife for over fifteen years— the elements have to be presented in a way that not only stays true to the original work, yet reflects the culture. And for me, here in lies my hesitation. TvN ended 2015 announcing their intention of tackling CBS hit series The Good Wife with an offer of the titular role to movie actress Jeon Do-yeon. Personally, I’d hoped to wait on discussing this drama until it aired but once Jeon was mentioned I knew immediately if there is any actress I’d like to see do this role, it’s Do-yeon, simply because I love the woman. But even with all the love, there is plenty of fear on my part about where the production will take it, given the writer is Han Sung-woon.

The CBS show has now entered the second half of its seventh season and while I’ve found that it has fared well over all, it was certainly strongest during its first four. The show fuses, law and love, marriage ans family, as it transitions its female lead from her life’s unaware wallflower to instinctive commander. And I suppose if there is a network that can weave those elements into something winning and captivating, it’s definitely TvN. A remake would be lovely in terms of a 16-20 episode format, for there is so much material to deal with and a tightly woven condensed story could be just as spellbinding and heady as Secret Love Affair. There is always the concern for watered-down or down played content, but I’d like to believe Jeon won’t sign on to something that didn’t guarantee expounding on the darker facets of the story’s narrative and main character, like prostitution, dirty politics and adultery.  

For now, we’re looking at a 2016 airdate, but that’s tentative, and who knows, if they steer toward pre-production, we may not see this one until we’re closer to ringing in 2017.