Less than Evil

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Drama: Less than Evil (English title) / Bad Detective (literal title)
Revised romanization: Nabbeun Hyungsa
Hangul: 나쁜 형사
Director: Kim Dae-Jin, Lee Dong-Hyun
Writer: Heo Joon-Woo, Kang Yi-Hun
Network: MBC
Episodes: 32
Release Date: December 3, 2018 - January 29, 2019
Runtime: Monday & Tuesday 22:00 (35 minutes each / 2 episodes per day)
Language: Korean
Country: South Korea

Plot Synopsis by AsianWiki Staff ©

Woo Tae-Seok (Shin Ha-Kyun) is a lonely veteran detective. He focuses solely on solving cases. He teeters on a line between good and evil. Woo Tae-Seok crosses paths with a female psychopath (Lee Seol), but he is unable to arrest her due to a lack of evidence. The woman eventually helps Woo Tae-Seok solve other cases.

Notes

"Less than Evil" takes over MBC's Monday & Tuesday 22:00 time slot previously occupied by "Bad Papa" and followed by "Item" on February 11, 2019.
Drama series is a remake of the UK television series "Luther" that aired on BBC One from 2010.
Early working title was "Luther."
Park Ho-San & Baro cast in supporting roles for MBC drama series “Less than Evil.”
Actress Lee Seol was cast for the lead female role after going through auditions involving 300 other contestants.
First script reading took place early September, 2018 at MBC Broadcasting Station in Sangam, South Korea.

Cast



Shin Ha-Kyun	Lee Seol	Park Ho-San	Kim Gun-Woo
Woo Tae-Seok	Eun Sun-Jae	Jeon Choon-Man	Jang Hyung-Min



Baro	Bae Da-Bin	Bae Yoo-Ram	Yang Ki-Won	Yoon Hee-Seok
Chae Dong-Yoon	Shin Ka-Young	Ban Ji-Deuk	Lee Moon-Ki	Jo Doo-Jin



Ryu Tae-Ho	Kim Na-Yoon	Hong Eun-Hee	Bae Yoon-Kyoung	Cho Yi-Hyun
Choi Jung-Woo	Team Leader Sung	Kim Hae-Joon	Woo Tae-Hee	Bae Yeo-Wool



Choi Moon-Kyoung	Kim Yi-Kyeong	Bae Hyun-Kyung
Seo-Rin	Kwon Soo-Ah (ep.9-10)	Jang Suk-Goo (ep.21-24)

Additional Cast Members:

Lee Jae-Yoon - Kang Woo-Joon
Jung Sung-Yoon - Kim Jung-Kyu
Kim Dong-Won - Song Yoo-Jin
Lee Si-Woo - Song Yoo-Jin (young)
Lee Yong-Joo - Ko Joo-Sung
Sim Eun-Woo - Jeon Joo-Yeon
Lee Jong-Goo - detective
Jung Yoon Seo - Yeo-Wool's mother
Min Joon-Hyun - section chief
Hong Seo-Jun - Yoo Jung-Soo
Lee A-Ra - Hwang Eun-Joo
Ha-Min - Koo Young-Mi
Kwon Tae-Won - local police chief
Ahn Nae-Sang - police commissioner
Jeon Jin-Ki - Song Man-Soo
Choi Jong-Won - Lee Sung-Hak
Hwang Suk-Jung - Hwang Boo-Kyung
Kim Ki-Cheon - Assistant Manager Seo
Song Min-Hyung - Lee Soo-Han
Kim Dan-Yul - Lee Dae-Woong
Um Tae-Yoon - Seo Ji-Hoon
Jeong Seo-Yeon - Kim Sung-Mi
Ahn Hye-Won - wife of Detective Jo
Kim Jong-Goo - lawmaker
Kang Pil-Sun - doctor
Ahn Soo-Bin - female police officer shot
Han Bom - bank clerk
Park Se-Hoon - coast guard
Kim I-San - announcer
Bae Eun-Woo
Shin Soo-Hyun
Kwon Oh-Soo

Trailers

Episode Ratings

Date	Episode	TNmS		AGB
Date	Episode	Nationwide	Seoul	Nationwide	Seoul
2018-12-03	1	6.5%	-	7.1% (15th)	8.1% (9th)
2018-12-03	2	6.5%	-	8.3% (9th)	9.2% (6th)
2018-12-04	3	8.2%	-	8.6% (9th)	9.8% (6th)
2018-12-04	4	9.7%	-	10.6% (6th)	11.5% (5th)
2018-12-10	5	6.9%	-	7.4% (13th)	8.1% (9th)
2018-12-10	6	9.1%	-	9.1% (9th)	10.0% (5th)
2018-12-11	7	6.2%	-	7.3% (13th)	8.0% (8th)
2018-12-11	8	7.3%	-	8.7% (6th)	9.5% (5th)
2018-12-17	9	6.2%	-	7.1% (14th)	7.8% (11th)
2018-12-17	10	7.2%	-	8.5% (9th)	9.4% (6th)
2018-12-18	11	6.6%	-	7.6% (11th)	8.5% (8th)
2018-12-18	12	8.3%	-	8.7% (7th)	9.6% (4th)
2018-12-24	13	6.1%	-	6.6% (16th)	6.8% (16th)
2018-12-24	14	7.7%	-	8.5% (9th)	8.9% (7th)
2018-12-25	15	6.5%	-	7.0% (14th)	7.5% (13th)
2018-12-25	16	7.7%	-	8.7% (8th)	9.4% (6th)
2019-01-07	17	4.8%	-	5.4%	6.4% (15th)
2019-01-07	18	5.2%	-	5.7% (19th)	6.4% (15th)
2019-01-08	19	5.4%	-	5.7%	NR
2019-01-08	20	5.7%	-	5.9%	6.5% (20th)
2019-01-14	21	4.7%	-	5.6%	6.1% (20th)
2019-01-14	22	5.7%	-	6.8% (15th)	7.8% (13th)
2019-01-15	23	-	-	5.6%	6.2% (20th)
2019-01-15	24	-	-	6.3% (17th)	6.9% (15th)
2019-01-21	25	4.4%	-	5.4%	6.2% (18th)
2019-01-21	26	5.5%	-	6.5% (17th)	7.1% (15th)
2019-01-22	27	3.6%	-	3.9%	NR
2019-01-22	28	4.3%	-	5.0% (17th)	5.3% (17th)
2019-01-28	29	4.8%	-	5.7%	6.2 (19th)
2019-01-28	30	5.8%	-	6.9% (13th)	7.3% (13th)
2019-01-29	31	-	-	5.7% (19th)	6.0% (15th)
2019-01-29	32	-	-	7.2% (11th)	7.7% (10th)

Source: TNS Media Korea & AGB Nielson

Awards

2018 MBC Drama Awards - December 30, 2018
- Best Actor (Monday & Tuesday mini series) (Shin Ha-Kyun)
- Best New Actress (Lee Seol)

Comments

Park Min May 05 2023 11:48 am Interesting premise but horrible execution. Unfortunately it ended up being disappointing especially with how they handled both leads characters. Aside from the main story, the side cases, investigations, and side villains all were mediocre anyway. The team doesn't matter, they were rarely shown, they had no existing persona, everything was led by and from the perspective of Tae Seok and they don't have any meaningful contribution even for the small cases. Which is why you can't consider this drama as one of those team investigation ones. Dare I say the drama was "less than average"!

Maq Yusuf Sep 24 2022 10:26 am sorry, I think better find a better cast. honestly, I didn't like the cast. like unsuitable and "less strong" for a drama like this. the rest of the cast always rely on Tae Seok alone. like when Tae Seok isn't around, the other players can't do anything.

every episode there is always a new case. I love the story and the case. but they discussed and dealt with it too quickly. one case only 1 episode, I think it's better for each case 2-3 episodes. because there are still many cases that can be explored more deeply.

but maybe so many cases and murders, I feel they react too normal when handling the case?

Gogontle Setlhare Jul 18 2022 8:48 am Look, this is a masterpiece! The acting is super and they really delivered on what they were supposed to. I love the way this genre is explored and as weird as it may sound, it really was a comforting watch. The chemistry between the male and female leads was so amazing and I was rooting for them deep down. I honestly regret not having watched this sooner. I keep replaying the female lead's monologues ?? I hope they will give us a season two.

anzal Mar 15 2021 5:07 pm tremendous drama..... season 2 please....

ABC Jan 20 2020 7:24 am I am glad I watched the show despite the negative comments, enough to even root for season 2. Tae Seok and Lee Seol's relationship is really worth exploring.

The show was interesting enough to keep me watching until the end. I was prepared a bit for some weird stuff when I read it was based on BBC Luther, the subject was serial killers and psychopath after all.

@Dorothy who wrote such negative comments 2-3 weeks after it aired? I think we watched completely different dramas? He and his wife loved each other so much, despite the divorce.

I do think they held on to Jang Hyung Min's story line a bit too long. They should have moved on to other cases sooner.

The addict Nov 17 2019 12:51 pm I'm currently on episode 11-12. Pls. tell me. Does it have any signs of love story?? I want detective and yeo wool but age gap seems large cause detective is already working when yeo wool was still junior or senior high i suppose? I really like lee seol character. Her voice also is very cute. Will watch her other dramas in the future.

90s Aug 23 2019 2:21 am i stop watching at ep 7. the acting is superb. but the story line is ridiculous.

Verl Jul 25 2019 11:22 am Lee Seol earned my respect as an actress. Her character gives off a very unnerving, creepy, unusually brave yet naive vibe.

Less than evil Mar 28 2019 9:30 am Really good overall. Was hooked till the end because of it's unusual storyline. Glad I had a chance to watch this although I seem to have forgotten parts of it. Needs another season and deserves more recognition.

MisterK Jan 26 2019 12:17 am Most hilarious thriller I’ve seen. Brilliant team of writers. 1000/10 would recommend

Mei Jan 21 2019 10:09 am I really don't like Tae Hee character. She promise will keep the secret but then she's the one that go to police station to confess and cause everything become complicated. When Jang Hyun Min is after Tae Hee, she's in fear but she's more worry about bakery shop than her own life. At the end, make things complicated...undecisive.

Brother Jan 14 2019 11:11 pm A really funny story, a murderer who falls from a height but he is just fine. A really bad story.

fkmly Jan 11 2019 7:06 am Bae Yeo Wool is the heroin that I've been dreaming of. She is so perfect! I can't wait to see her reaction when she finds out about room 101 aka Tae-hee betrayed her. The plot also perfectly focused on them characters. I am very liking it! Gotta free some data to save this series! Definitely saving this series hell yeah!

thea Jan 08 2019 2:50 am Am I the only who remembered the serial killer is protected by cheon man? and most of the police are on cheon man side.. that is why he is a "free-man"... and cheon man also already gave him a way to get out of korea but he choose to stay... cheon man is a corrupted police. and the reason why he keeps helping the serial killer is if the nation know the real killer of kwon soo ah and yeo wool's mom, nation will know the misbehavior of cheon man. i admit some of the plot is not so good but i do understand why this man always get his getaway... i dont think the plot is too ridiculous when you talk about high profile serial killer with polices to back him up.

Yx Jan 01 2019 12:41 am LOL you guys ! drama at time arent suppose to make sense , because its a freaking drama

Koo Dec 24 2018 11:32 pm K-drama screen writers are the only writers on earth that can make a Crime, Detective, Psychological thriller feels totally like a comedy. That's skill.

The series come to the point that almost comical. First, police sets serial killer free after he was caught, next, with a serial killer at large killing people for fun, police are not in any pressure to catch him whatsoever. Station is empty after hour; everybody goes home or hits the bar. There is no additional reinforcement, special unit etc. One can say public truly respect the right of a serial killer having fun.

Since the public, polices and prosecutors don't seem to be concern at all, viewers are left wondering why is protagonist so overly zealous of catching the criminal? What's his problem?

Vivian Dec 22 2018 5:28 pm This drama is getting unnerving. I couldn't wait to see the next ep

  which I hope there's no one injured in SNS group.  What a nice   
  drama since I am not a fans of the actors tho

Gie Dec 22 2018 8:57 am It was promising for the first 3 episodes and the writers get lazy, removing evidence and escaping from police is like walk in the park. Such a shame but I'm dropping this after episode 5, the story become just too ridiculous now

Karin Dec 21 2018 1:24 pm interesting storyline and refreshing plot so far. of course, it is too far from the ordinary but i like the originality. on a side note, baro’s acting bothers me a lot. i cringe every time it’s his lines. i hope he’ll improve.

wwe Dec 18 2018 5:05 pm episode 5 got me SOOOOOOOO angry, how the writers can script this psychopathic killer prance around so freely killing at will, visiting witnesses without any police escorts!!!...Im hoping Eun Sun-Jea vents all her anger and vengeance on these crocked cops/detectives/politicians and clean this mess of a drama!!

PS. never heard anything about Tae-Seok sister, hope Eun Sun-Jea has nothing to do with what ever happened to her!!!

Dorothy Dec 18 2018 3:19 pm The series had the wrong name, it should be named, “More Than Evil”. The screenwriter has portrayed protagonist to be more evil than serial murder (at least, villain was honest). Honestly, he didn’t care about his wife at all. Yes, he felt guilty, but that’s it.

Thought of his wife’s never came to him even before he suffocated and almost died. His last word was, “I’m sorry, Yeo Wool”, thought of his wife never came across him.

Strange enough, he was never interested in finding out who helped the criminal escaped that resulted in his wife’s death. After witnessing his Jeon Choon-man shot an innocent man in the back, and he was framed, he must have suspected his colleague was responsible for all these, but thoughts of revenge or exposed this corrupt dude never came across his mind. Why?

Because he never really cared about the dead (except Yeo Wool). Solving crime was his way of moving to the top, not upheld justice, so he could join the table of corrupt senior officers. Exposing to revenge against his colleague meant he would never be accepted into the circle.

With police like that, society is much safer with serial murder.

Lopoi Dec 18 2018 1:14 pm I really just want jang Hyun min to go and die he’s such a bastard

polliesoe Dec 18 2018 1:11 pm I don’t really care even if it’s just acting he was such a cold blooded killer in bad Detective that I couldn’t help but curse him to die every time I watched an episode ??? Maybe I’m just petty but I really can’t think highly off him and probably never will ?

wwe Dec 17 2018 4:35 pm This drama is annoying as hell, Tae-Seok maybe one that uses lawless techniques to solve cases and still keep his moral compass facing north, but his approach to the past truth is pathetic to the point people he wants dead are alive and people he's trying to protect are dying!!! Sun-Jae has a better understanding of how lawless justice should be handled fuelled by revenge (and amnesia), but its good to have her siding with Tae-Seok at critical moments. If another Tae-Seok stupid decisions causes a death with one of the SNS members....im going to give up on this drama!!!!!!

LuLu Dec 15 2018 9:47 pm I can't read any negative comment before I watch. but when I read any negative comments, I will never watch them because the negativity will keep playing in my head.

Even only 1 or 2 negative comments compared to other 10++ positive comments, it's still gave me bad feeling about the drama.

Whyyyyyyy???

Dorothy Koo Dec 14 2018 12:20 pm Is there a line of common sense, logic, and reasoning Kdrama would not cross for the sake of telling a story? I guess not. I have no problem with the premise of the story; a cop is willing to sidestep the law to apprehend evil criminal, I like that, but this drama is so totally void of common sense and logic that makes it a complete nonsense.

Evil serial murder fell from many stories high, it was already unbelievable anyone could survive the fall, doctor pronounced villain might comatose forever, but in a couple of days, villain not only recovered, but more charged up than energizer bunny? Nothing broken?

Police would let a most dangerous criminal lied in the hospital unguarded, not even surveillance camera? All visitors are welcome and bring whatever you like with you. Korea must be the most humane place on earth.

A serial killer could held public interview with national news and reporters, claiming his innocence, post his story on internet and accused police framing him before police interrogation? I know there is freedom of speech, but isn’t this a bit much? So the law says whoever has more juicy story win?

Main actress reporter Eun Sun-Jae possessed the ability of “Teleport”, did Stanford University taught her that? She was in maximum security prison to poison inmate; hospital to interrogate serial killer, police storage center, she could go anywhere she pleased.

In Ep 1 and 2, our protagonist was willing to cross the line and break all rules to catch the villain, after he got his promotion, he became the patron saint of the justice; he watched his corrupt colleague shot the wrongfully accused victim in the back and did nothing, was he trying to to set an example of a “Good Cop” image after the promotion?

List goes on, there is almost no common sense or logic anywhere.

Bumkey Dec 09 2018 7:39 am Woww this drama so insteresting and so intense!! All the character so good potraying their character... wow jang hyung min as villian damn make me want to kill him so badly!! Haha.. i can't wait for more episode!! Eun sun jae character so mystery!! I thot she is bae yeo wool!!

Olivia Dec 09 2018 5:27 am This drama is just amazing !!!! I really love the main character

Sandhora Jamil Dec 08 2018 10:49 am This series is amazing! The actor and actress are great. They were amazing at portraying their respective character. It's perfect! It's already ep 4, and I can't wait for more! Wohooo. I just so happy of how complicate each episodes are. Credit to the actor and actress.

Ritika Verma Dec 06 2018 1:11 am OMo ITs such an interesting and thrilling drama lol. I wasn't having much expectations from this one since its been months I watched any suspense thriller genre but this one really got me bad!! I loved it so much damn!! It's a masterpiece for me. I know I am being hyped up since there r only 2 episodes out at The moment but still, I think premiere rocked it! Highly recommended, watch it even if you dont want to cause leads already have a simmering chemistry hot!! I am burnt to the core!

dododo Dec 04 2018 10:58 am The title look so evil... Interesting plot, psychopath term... Ughhh, i am so done

Nux Nov 25 2018 9:40 am Really interesting plot line, you have me intrigued ... can't wait to watch.

BfromBrazil Sep 03 2018 10:20 am Looking forward to it. Love dramas with new faces.

Tori Aug 30 2018 1:07 pm Yaasss BARO!!

Sooyi Aug 27 2018 3:36 am I have mixed feelings about the drama title. I know they can’t use “Luther” or the Korean name counterpart of the protagonist because it’s not gonna sound right, but I was hoping for a more inventive title.

Ann Aug 24 2018 4:53 am Excited for Park Ho San!

Mira Aug 23 2018 1:00 am Yey... looking forward to know who they will be casting as the female lead

del Aug 14 2018 10:19 am @imsafiya

I like your choices too!

imsafiya Aug 11 2018 8:28 pm i vote chun woo hee, esom or bae doona as alice...i might be dreaming but jeon do yeon would be really good as well. pleaseeeeeee get this right, please

del Aug 10 2018 6:37 am I vote for Shim Eun-kyung as Alice. I think she has the acting chops, the intelligence and the steely manner. She is a lot younger than Shin Ha-kyun, but there was also quite a big age gap between Elba and Wilson.

Dally Aug 08 2018 3:24 am Dasom could be the psychopath woman. I can imagine her into this role. Her acting in Unnie is alive was really good. If they did not finde a female leading role for this,they should come in contact with Dasom.

femalegaze Aug 06 2018 4:35 pm holy sh*t... my fave BBC show is becoming a kdrama

Zedi Aug 04 2018 3:46 pm This should have been an OCN drama... They do crime dramas really well... Hope Shin Ha Kyun does my boy John Luther justice... I agree with you guys in that the casting of the Alice role is significant Hope It works out

imsafiya Aug 03 2018 12:51 am they need to get the alice role spot!!! on!!! otherwise the whole remake will be ruined, shin ha kyun will do well enough in idris elba's place but alice truly stole the show so........it's a bit sticky

del Aug 02 2018 11:16 am First Life on Mars and now Luther? What next, Call the Midwife? Actually that might kinda work as a weekend drama... Quick, BBC, make your pitch to KBS or SBS!

While the casting was perfect for the Korean LOM, Shin Ha-kyun might be a bit too nervy for the laid-back Idris Elba role. He's charismatic enough, though. And it's the Ruth Wilson role that worries me. They'd better cast a proper actress, not some young pop idol...

External Links

Official Website

Less than Evil

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Plot Synopsis by AsianWiki Staff ©

Notes

Cast

Trailers

Episode Ratings

Awards

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