Korean reality TV's pioneering mystery show brings its fifth season to global streaming
"Will we be able to come back? Will there be another season?" Producer Yoon Hyun-joon got straight to it Tuesday afternoon at a production briefing at a Seoul hotel. "Those questions haunted us. Just happy we're here again."
After a decade-long run that built a devoted following across four seasons and three networks, Korea's go-to roleplay whodunit has now landed on Netflix. Its fifth season, "Crime Scene Zero," brings the show's theatrical sleuthing to 190 countries starting Sept. 23.
The format hasn't changed much since 2014: Cast members become both suspects and detectives in elaborately staged murder scenarios, investigate the scene and interrogate each other, then vote on who they believe to be the killer. Get it right, win gold coins. Get it wrong, and the murderer takes everything.
It's the execution that matters. This season's sets include a recreation of an entire hospital building and a Han River bridge.
"We actually built entire structures," said co-director Hwang Seul-woo. "Not backdrops -- actual buildings that could support cars and people." Filmmaker Jang Jin, who's been with the show since season two, walked onto set thinking, "These people have no interest in making money."
The 24-hour shoots tested everyone's endurance. Comedian Jang Dong-min, a regular on brain-teaser shows who has proved his investigative chops elsewhere, figured this season would be easier with an experienced cast. "Dead wrong. Everyone got so deep into character, I had to keep reminding them: Nobody actually died here!"
Park Ji-yoon has appeared in every season since the show's beginning. "New viewers are definitely coming in through Netflix," she said. "I felt responsible for protecting what fans have always loved while helping newcomers find their footing."
This year's wildcard is An Yujin from K-pop group Ive, back after her debut in last year's "Crime Scene Returns." Producer Yoon noted her growth between seasons: "She really studied. Her briefing presentations are so logical now — honestly, might be one of the best ones we get."
An seemed ready to embrace her reputation. "People call me the 'clear-eyed madwoman.' I'm just leaning into it."
The Netflix deal meant having to consider global audiences for the first time. "'Crime Scene' has all this Korean wordplay," Yoon explained. "We worried about translation, about different cultural sensitivities." The team consulted on everything from same-sex relationships to religious imagery — details that might land differently across markets.
Still, they promised they kept the show's DNA intact. "We didn't want to change ourselves for global audiences," Yoon said. "We wanted to show them what 'Crime Scene' actually is."
The show drops its first four episodes Sept. 23, with subsequent batches arriving Sept. 30 and Oct. 7.
moonkihoon@heraldcorp.com
