Dr. Brain (TV series)

2021 South Korean sci-fi web series

Dr. Brain
Hangul
Dr. 브레인
Created byKim Jee-woon
Based onDr. Brain
by Hongjacga
Written by
  • Kim Jin A
  • Koh YoungJae
  • Kim Jee-woon
Directed byKim Jee-woon
ComposerMowg
Country of originSouth Korea
Original languageKorean
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes6
Production
Executive producers
  • Kim Jee-woon
  • Samuel Yeunju Ha
  • Jamie Yuan Lai
  • Ham Jung Yeub
  • Daniel Han
  • Joy Jinsoo Lee
  • Min Young Hong
  • Antonio H.W. Lee
CinematographyKim Cheon-seok
Editors
  • Yang Jin-mo
  • Han Mi-yeon
Production companies
  • Bound Entertainment
  • Kakao Entertainment
  • Dark Circle Pictures
  • StudioPlex
Original release
NetworkApple TV+
ReleaseNovember 4 (2021-11-04) –
December 9, 2021 (2021-12-09)

Dr. Brain (Korean: Dr. 브레인; RRDr. Beurein) is a South Korean television series created by Kim Jee-woon. The sci-fi thriller is based on the Korean webtoon of the same name by Hongjacga. Lee Sun-kyun stars in the lead role as a brain scientist trying to solve the mysterious death of his family by hacking into the brains of the deceased. The series is the first Korean-language show produced for Apple TV+. It debuted on November 4, 2021, to accompany the streaming service's launch in South Korea.

On January 27, 2022, multiple official sources stated that the series would have a second season.[1]

Premise

After losing his family in a mysterious accident, Sewon, a brilliant brain scientist, tries to solve what happened. He performs "brain syncs" with the deceased in order to search for clues hidden in their memories, but it becomes difficult to separate those memories from his own experiences.

Cast

  • Lee Sun-kyun as Sewon Koh, the brain scientist
  • Lee Yoo-young as Jaeyi Jung, Sewon's wife
  • Park Hee-soon as Kangmu Lee, a private investigator
  • Seo Ji-hye as Jiun Choi, a lieutenant of an investigative unit
  • Lee Jae-won [ko] as Namil Hong, Sewon's colleague
  • Uhm Tae-goo[2]
  • Joo Min-kyung as Doctor

Episodes

SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
16November 4, 2021 (2021-11-04)December 9, 2021 (2021-12-09)

Season 1 (2021)

No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date
11"Chapter 1"Kim Jee-woonKim Jin A, Koh YoungJae, Kim Jee-woonNovember 4, 2021 (2021-11-04)
22"Chapter 2"Kim Jee-woonKim Jin A, Koh YoungJae, Kim Jee-woonNovember 11, 2021 (2021-11-11)
33"Chapter 3"Kim Jee-woonKim Jin A, Koh YoungJae, Kim Jee-woonNovember 18, 2021 (2021-11-18)
44"Chapter 4"Kim Jee-woonKim Jin A, Koh YoungJae, Kim Jee-woonNovember 25, 2021 (2021-11-25)
55"Chapter 5"Kim Jee-woonKim Jin A, Koh YoungJae, Kim Jee-woonDecember 2, 2021 (2021-12-02)
66"Chapter 6"Kim Jee-woonKim Jin A, Koh YoungJae, Kim Jee-woonDecember 9, 2021 (2021-12-09)

Production and release

Director Kim Jee-woon had reportedly tried to adapt the Daum webtoon Dr. Brain, but it never went into production. In May 2019, however, he was able to go into series production with YG Studioplex.[3] For a time, the project was developed under the working title Mr. Robin, and Lee Sun-kyun was offered the lead role in October 2020.[4] Lee had signed on by March 2021 when Apple picked up the series as it was entering production, making it the first Korean-language series for its streaming service.[5] In October 2021, Apple set a release date of November 4, 2021[6] to coincide with the launch of Apple TV+ in South Korea.[7] Along with the release date, the rest of the main cast was revealed. The series consists of six episodes to be released on a weekly basis from the series debut through December 9, 2021.[6]

On January 27, 2022, multiple official sources stated that the series would have a second season.[1]

Reception

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an 80% approval rating with an average rating of 7.7/10, based on 15 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Working its way through a heady premise perhaps a little too ponderously, Dr. Brain nevertheless gives viewers plenty of cerebral thrills to mull over." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, gave a score of 71 out of 100 based on 11 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[8][9]

References

  1. ^ a b Park Jeong-sun (January 27, 2022). "[단독] 애플TV+ 'Dr. 브레인', 시즌 2 제작…이선균 돌아온다" [[Exclusive] Apple TV+ 'Dr. Brain', season 2 production... Lee Sun-kyun is back] (in Korean). JTBC. Retrieved January 27, 2022 – via Naver.
  2. ^ 강, 효진 (October 27, 2021). "엄태구, 애플TV+ 론칭작 'Dr.브레인' 출연…김지운 감독과 재회". entertain.naver.com (in Korean).
  3. ^ Han, Hyeon-jeong (May 29, 2019). "김지운 감독, YG 손잡고 웹툰 '닥터 브레인' 드라마로 연출". Maeil Business Newspaper (in Korean).
  4. ^ Jung, Yu-jin (October 28, 2020). "이선균, 애플TV플러스 '미스터 로빈' 출연할까 "제안받은 상태"". 뉴스1 (in Korean).
  5. ^ Otterson, Joe (March 3, 2021). "'Dr. Brain' Korean Webtoon to Get Live-Action TV Series Adaptation at Apple". Variety. Penske Media Corporation.
  6. ^ a b Villei, Matt (October 25, 2021). "'Dr. Brain' Trailer Reveals Sci-Fi Thriller From 'I Saw the Devil' Director Coming to Apple TV+". Collider. Valnet, Inc.
  7. ^ Eun-byel, Im (October 25, 2021). "Apple TV+ to launch service in Korea on Nov. 4". The Korea Herald.
  8. ^ "Dr. Brain: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  9. ^ "Dr. Brain: Season 1". Metacritic. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  • v
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  • e
Projects directed by Kim Jee-woon
Features
Shorts
  • Coming Out (2000)
  • Three ("Memories", 2002)
  • 60 Seconds of Solitude in Year Zero (2011)
  • Doomsday Book ("The Heavenly Creature", 2012)
  • One Perfect Day (2013)
  • The X (2013)
  • Live Your Strength (2020)
Television
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Television
Current
  • Acapulco (since 2021)
  • Bad Sisters (since 2022)
  • The Buccaneers (since 2023)
  • Bad Monkey (since 2024)
  • The Changeling (since 2023)
  • The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin (since 2024)
  • Criminal Record (since 2024)
  • Curses! (since 2023)
  • Dark Matter (since 2024)
  • Dr. Brain (since 2021)
  • Drops of God (since 2023)
  • For All Mankind (since 2019)
  • Foundation (since 2021)
  • Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock (since 2022)
  • Friday Night Baseball (since 2022)
  • Hijack (since 2023)
  • Interrupting Chicken (since 2022)
  • Invasion (since 2021)
  • Jane (since 2023)
  • Land of Women (since 2024)
  • The Last Thing He Told Me (since 2023)
  • Liaison (since 2023)
  • Loot (since 2022)
  • The Morning Show (since 2019)
  • Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (since 2023)
  • Mythic Quest (since 2020)
  • The New Look (since 2024)
  • Pachinko (since 2022)
  • Palm Royale (since 2024)
  • Platonic (since 2023)
  • Prehistoric Planet (since 2022)
  • Presumed Innocent (since 2024)
  • The Reluctant Traveler (since 2023)
  • Severance (since 2022)
  • Shape Island (since 2023)
  • Shrinking (since 2023)
  • Silo (since 2023)
  • Slow Horses (since 2022)
  • The Snoopy Show (since 2021)
  • Sugar (since 2024)
  • Surface (since 2022)
  • Strange Planet (since 2023)
  • Sunny (since 2024)
  • Tehran (since 2020)
  • Trying (since 2020)
  • Time Bandits (since 2024)
  • WondLa (since 2024)
Ended
Continuations
  • Carpool Karaoke: The Series (season 5; 2022-2023)
Upcoming
  • Disclaimer (2024)
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  • The Last Frontier (TBA)
  • Murderbot (TBA)
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  • The Savant (TBA)
  • Sinking Spring (TBA)
  • The Studio (TBA)
  • Your Friends and Neighbors (TBA)
  • Untitled Vince Gilligan TV series (TBA)
Released
2019
2020
2021
  • Palmer
  • Billie Eilish: The World's a Little Blurry
  • Cherry
  • The Year Earth Changed
  • Fathom
  • CODA
  • 9/11: Inside the President's War Room
  • Come from Away
  • Blush
  • The Velvet Underground
  • Finch
  • Swan Song
2022
2023
2024
Upcoming
  • Wolfs (2024)
  • Blitz (2024)
  • F1 (2025)
  • Echo Valley (TBA)
  • Fountain of Youth (TBA)
  • The Gorge (TBA)
  • High and Low (TBA)
  • The Lost Bus (TBA)
  • Mayday (TBA)
  • Outcome (TBA)
  • Way of the Warrior Kid (TBA)
  • v
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Webtoons published by Tapas
First published in Korean
First published in English
First published in Italian
  • The Enchantment Agency (2015–19)
Adaptations
  • A Girl Who Sees Smells (2015)
  • Street Angel (2018)
  • Cheshire Crossing (2019)
  • Taxi Driver (2021–present)
  • Dr. Brain (2021–present)
  • The Goodbye Family (2021–present)
  • Navillera (2021)
  • Dead End: Paranormal Park (2022)
  • Solo Leveling anime (2023–present)
  • Erma: The Game (2023)
  • Solo Leveling video game (2023)
  • Tomb Raider King animated series (2026)
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Webtoons published by Kakao Webtoon
First published in Korean
Adaptations