American television station NBC has purchased the rights to remake the South Korean variety show "Grandpas Over Flowers."
While three k-dramas are up for an American remake this year, this is the first time that American television has considered remaking a Korean variety show.
The American version will be called "Better Late Than Never."
The original show was launched in 2013 by tvN and the title parodies the manga and hit k-drama "Boys Over Flowers." In the original k-drama Lee Min Ho, Kim Bum, Kim Hyun Joong and Kim Joon played four well-to-do attractive students at an exclusive school. In the variety show, "Grandpas Over Flowers," four veteran 70-something actors went on a backpacking tour of Europe accompanied by a young porter. The veteran actors featured on the program were Park Geun Hyung, Baek Il Seob, Shin Goo and Lee Soon Jae.
Focusing a television series on the adventures of four senior citizens is a gamble, as the television market is primarily youth-oriented. But the gamble taken by producers CJ E&M has paid off. The series was so successful that it led to two spinoffs titled "Sisters Over Flowers" and "Friends Over Flowers."
Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, who collaborated on "The Bucket List," "Sound of Music" and the upcoming NBC series "Peter Pan," are set to produce the American version. Small World IFT will handle international distribution, except in Asian territories, where CJ E&M will produce local versions with Chinese and Southeast Asian partners.
The company is also negotiating with American buyers over another variety show, "Crazy Market" and the remake of the successful k-drama "Reply 1997."
According to Lee Seok Jae, a senior marketing executive at CJ E&M, it is an exciting time for the company as their market is expanding beyond Asia.
"We are not simply exporting ideas but selling full packages of show formats," he said.
American television producers have been paying more attention to Korean television content. CBS has agreed to produce a remake of the medical k-drama "Good Doctor," which starred Joo Won and Moon Chae Won. The adaptation will be co-produced by actor Daniel Dae Kim's production company 3AD, a subsidiary of CBS. Kim starred in "Lost" and "Hawaii Five-O."
The other k-drama up for a remake is "Nine: Nine Time Travels," which starred Lee Jin Wook. Yunjin Kim, who also starred in "Lost" and a few k-dramas, is producing the remake of that drama.
