ListNook

axleflunk Mar 25, 2026 +134

How has The Americans Complete Series never been released on Blu-Ray? Unforgivable.

134

keving87 Mar 25, 2026 +31

The only studio worse than Fox was for TV on BD is Disney, and then Disney bought 20th Century Fox. So it's not at all surprising. Had 20th Century Fox not been bought, I'm sure it and stuff like New Girl etc would have eventually been licensed out to either Mill Creek or Shout.

31

Pure_Event_2559 Mar 25, 2026 +7

I get ticked off about this about four times a day.

7

bittercoolsoul Mar 25, 2026 +1

What? Are you fr? I always wanted to buy it on blu ray 😭😭

1

Takemyfishplease Mar 25, 2026 +1

Just buy the first few seasons and watch on repeat

1

Tossawaysfbay Mar 25, 2026

Because in 2005 DVD/home sales were $16b and in 2024 it was $900m. Owning your movies is an increasingly niche hobby now. Like records.

0

Koppite93 Mar 25, 2026 +43

I'm guessing they're playing NK spies?

43

Ok_Squirrel388 Mar 25, 2026 +20

Yes. And set during the early 1990s. Which makes me dubious that there will be the same degree of nuance regarding the history and politics of the two nations at that time as there was with The Americans and their portrayals of the USSR and the USA. It’d be cool if this was good but I think it’s gonna be a mess if I’m honest. To my understanding, depictions of North Korea in South Korean popular culture are even more over-the-top and sensationalized than they are in the West. But I could be wrong.

20

Achaewa Mar 25, 2026 +16

There have been plenty of nuanced takes on North Korea in South Korean media. *JSA: Joint Security Area* *The Spy Gone North* *Escape From Mogadishu* *Steel Rain 1 and 2, the sequel more than the latter.* Are just a few examples of South Korean movies that portray North Koreans in a nuanced if not sympathetic light that I can think of at the moment. Less nuanced depictions usually appear in their run-of-the-mill productions and media aimed at the lowest common denominator, which is usually not what is exported to the rest of the world. Edit: As someone who watches a lot of South Korean media, it is actually Western productions that have less nuanced portrayals of North Korea.

16

Ok_Squirrel388 Mar 25, 2026 +2

Thanks! I'll check them out.

2

Achaewa Mar 25, 2026 +3

One thing you'll notice in a lot of South Korean media is that criticism of the ruling class permeates all aspects of their storytelling in different ways and when they tackle the North and South divide, the underlying theme is about how they're ultimately the same people. Of course some do it better than others and there are examples where North Koreans serve as little more than stereotypical bad guys. The 2022 movie *Carter* is one such example, it's also not very good either, in my opinion.

3

TrueLegateDamar Mar 25, 2026 +10

Wouldn't call The Americans very nuanced given how many people they killed or tortured on US soil while regularly screwed over by USSR yet never get caught or defect just to keep the action and drama going.

10

Ok_Squirrel388 Mar 25, 2026 +20

I didn’t mean in terms of the action/plot. That was all standard TV stuff. (And in that instance I don’t think nuance is the word you’d be looking for… I think you’re talking about realism or the lack of it.) I meant in terms of the politics. One of the reasons The Americans is so good is because the show itself doesn’t resort to tired/lazy anti-Soviet or anti-Communist propaganda, despite being a US production. It was a surprisingly nuanced portrayal of the actual politics of the Cold War and the ideologies behind them. What I was expressing with my comment is that I am unsure that this South Korean production would be able to replicate that level of nuance, and portray North Korea, North Koreans, their politics and ideological foundations with the same level of complexity. The creators of The Americans had the benefit of writing and producing the show long after the Cold Was had ended. We now have more perspective on that era and our own governments actions, and on those of the Soviets. The situation in Korea is quite different. There is no distance or historical hindsight yet. Their “Cold War” is ongoing. I could be completely wrong, though. And I’d be delighted if I am. It will be interesting to find out.

20

PetyrDayne Mar 25, 2026 +6

I'd argue that the Cold War never ended, it evolved.

6

Koppite93 Mar 25, 2026 +4

Well the only K drama I've watched (other than Squid Games) was Crash Landing, which was another heavily NK based one... And they did it justice according to the critics and the consultants on the show... I'd imagine Disney would also be doing their due diligence

4

Ok_Squirrel388 Mar 25, 2026 +2

Good to know!

2

Debt101 Mar 25, 2026 +2

The Americans made the russians look competent. If there was a lie, it was made true. Then we get real life where they drop 3 copies of the Sims videogame

2

HooverGaveNobodyBeer Mar 26, 2026 +2

I'm very happy they've moved this to the 1990s. The original description had it set in the 1980s, like the original, which would've opened it up to all the same problems as [Snowdrop](https://www.reddit.com/r/korea/comments/rjri40/why_the_kdrama_snowdrop_is_extremely_problematic/). By moving it after the dictatorship ended, it should be able to sidestep a lot of that mess although I don't know that much of what was happening specifically in this decade since most of what I'm familiar with is either 1980s (Gwangju Uprising/student protests) or late 1990s (IMF crisis).

2

mrnicegy26 Mar 25, 2026 +241

The Americans is one of the best shows of all time but it is funny to see the South Korean industry remaking an American media when it is usually the opposite.

241

CarterAC3 Mar 25, 2026 +213

>when it is usually the opposite. I mean they've remade Suits, Entourage, Designated Survivor, The Good Wife, Criminal Minds, and some more I'm probably unaware of We, as Americans, just notice the remakes on our side, because we are in America

213

kxjiru Mar 25, 2026 +19

The designated survivor one was good.

19

User-no-relation Mar 25, 2026 +24

there are 13 versions of married with children. There are 10 of the nanny and 7 of Everybody loves raymond Argentina: Casados con Hijos (Extremely successful, over 200 episodes) Russia: Schastlivy Vmeste (Happy Together — the most successful version, ran for 6 seasons/364 episodes) Chile: Casado con Hijos (Massive hit, produced more episodes than the original US version) Armenia: Azizyanner (The Azizians) Colombia: Casados con Hijos Mexico: Casados con Hijos (Premiered recently in 2024) Germany: Hilfe, meine Familie spinnt! (Help, my family is crazy!) United Kingdom: Married for Life (Only lasted 7 episodes) Brazil: A Guerra dos Pintos (War of the Pintos) Turkey: Evli ve Çocuklu Spain: Matrimonio con hijos Hungary: Egy rém rendes család Budapesten (A Terribly Neat Family in Budapest) Croatia: Bračne vode (The Waters of Marriage) Bulgaria: Zheneni s detsa v Bulgaria (Married with Children in Bulgaria)

24

pitaenigma Mar 25, 2026 -1

There is also an Israeli version of Married with Children. [It's not good](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JGfxQNXg4M&list=PLIlHlJcx-NTX26s94cuu-hGrPyWZZZaBN)

-1

thefreeair Mar 25, 2026 +6

Leverage and Jane the Virgin too!

6

thatshygirl06 Mar 25, 2026 +6

17 again(18 again)

6

SearchApprehensive35 Mar 25, 2026 +3

Jane The Virgin was itself an international remake, not an American original.

3

zslayer89 Mar 25, 2026 +9

They remade suits?! Is it good?

9

CorrectYesterday4480 Mar 25, 2026 +35

Very much no.

35

ImGonnaImagineSummit Mar 25, 2026 +6

I'm surprised. The formula, especially early on is pretty good and on paper should be fairly easy to emulate. It does fall off after the 3rd or 4th season though.

6

CorrectYesterday4480 Mar 25, 2026 +9

American Suits is great. Korean Suits was poorly cast (Louis Litt character especially), ultra conpressed, and had very little humor or fun.

9

Team7UBard Mar 25, 2026 +1

You’re damn right!

1

braumbles Mar 25, 2026 +3

Didn't they also remake Money Heist too, which obviously isn't American, but still amusing to see them do.

3

Long-Skill4284 Mar 25, 2026 +3

Hell, there's even a Korean SNL

3

JakalDX Mar 25, 2026 +2

They remade Tucker and Dale just a couple years ago! It's called Handsome Guys

2

orangefilmgarden Mar 25, 2026 +1

What's the title of the Korean version of suits?

1

Kujaichi Mar 25, 2026 +2

Suits. They're not very creative when it comes to naming remakes, lol. (But then again, neither are Americans)

2

eldenpotato Mar 26, 2026 +1

wow i had no idea! TIL Also entourage is amazing

1

donotgotoroom237 Mar 26, 2026 +1

With how much it's been redone in a lot of countries, I feel like a South Korean The Office would be gas.

1

firesticks Mar 25, 2026 +1

I need the name of this The Good Wife remake please!

1

mdragnarok Mar 25, 2026 +3

same name [The Good Wife](https://mydramalist.com/16851-the-good-wife).

3

firesticks Mar 25, 2026 +1

How convenient! Thank you!!

1

Sasquatchgoose Mar 25, 2026 +43

The concept works. Replace Soviet era spies with North Korean agents and you have a relevant show

43

ali94127 Mar 25, 2026 +9

Yeah, I still have no idea how Crash Landing is supposed to work anywhere else except in Korea.

9

anonyfool Mar 25, 2026 +4

East/West Berlin prior to fall of the wall, like Deutschland 83/86/89 but with a bit of comedy/romance.

4

thatshygirl06 Mar 25, 2026 +6

Maybe a fantasy take on it, like alt history? I know the korean version of money heist takes place in an alternate universe, so why not do the reverse?

6

ali94127 Mar 25, 2026 +3

I think it’s more compelling simply because North Korea is a real place. Making a sci fi or alt history version already makes it less compelling because the audience knows the place isn’t real. It’s also central to the plot. Was there anything in the Korean version of money heist that really necessitated a unified Korea?

3

RealJohnGillman Mar 25, 2026 +14

They also did it with *Designated Survivor* — the Korean version may have been better (since it was not cancelled, and actually had an ending).

14

InnocentTailor Mar 25, 2026 +12

I watched both. The South Korean version of that production was leagues better than the American original - less dramatic bullshit and more focus on the central plot.

12

BeforeSunrise33 Mar 25, 2026 +2

Is the ending of the Korean adaptation good? Please give me hope.

2

InnocentTailor Mar 25, 2026 +3

It's been awhile, but I recall it was satisfying and conclusive. It didn't leave things dangling about and finished the overall plot very well.

3

bilyl Mar 25, 2026 +3

Korean designated survivor was excellent

3

AsleepYesterday05 Mar 25, 2026 +3

Oh I love the Korean version of that so much, the theme song is great too! It is called "60 days: designated survivor" if anybody is curious

3

Devilofchaos108070 Mar 25, 2026 +1

What streaming service is it on?

1

AsleepYesterday05 Mar 25, 2026 +1

Netflix

1

MSochist Mar 25, 2026 +1

Thanks for the recommendation, looked it up and the synopsis seems REALLY interesting.

1

RealJohnGillman Mar 25, 2026 +1

You are welcome! Happy watching!

1

wujo444 Mar 25, 2026 +3

At one point HBO was pushing regional production and made 8 more remakes of BeTipul, after American remake InTreatment.

3

thefreeair Mar 25, 2026 +16

The Americans set a high bar. One of my top 5 favourite shows. I’ll have to go into this one with the mindset that it will be its own, unique thing as I have a hard enough time when kdrama adaptations veer away from the webtoons they’re based on. This could ruin me. 😅

16

Mr_Wh0ever Mar 25, 2026 +6

OK, thats interesting. I'm might check it out.

6

Chasemania Mar 25, 2026 +17

OK I’m all in

17

Enrico_Tortellini Mar 25, 2026 +10

All in, the Americans was phenomenal

10

JustStrolling_ Mar 25, 2026 +4

His performance in A Bittersweet Life was what made me a fan. So understated, displayed such range without overacting.

4

theangryfurlong Mar 25, 2026 +7

Calling Lee Byunghun "Squid Game" star, doesn't quite sit right.

7

dave_ketchup13 Mar 25, 2026 +4

I’ll definitely have to check that out. Just watched No Other Choice a couple nights ago and he was so good

4

tarantulawarfare Mar 25, 2026 +2

I loved him in Mr Sunshine. That’s one of my favorite limited series and I rewatch it regularly.

2

JustStrolling_ Mar 25, 2026 +1

I wanted to check it out. But 24 episodes is a big commitment with my attention span lmao

1

notthatbluestuff Mar 25, 2026 +3

These two costarred in Our Blues, a lovely little K-drama that I’d thoroughly recommend.

3

kevinsixhohsix Mar 25, 2026 +2

They did Age of Shadows together also. The cast is stacked in that movie

2

nescenteva Mar 25, 2026 +1

For me, Our Blues is one of the best K-dramas out there and is underrated.

1

MagnusCthulhu Mar 25, 2026 +12

This being a Disney+ production doesn't give me any hope, but maybe their K-Drama division actually rocks. Anyone know if their K-Drama productions suck or not?

12

thatshygirl06 Mar 25, 2026 +8

I really liked "moving", "light shop" and "a shop for killers" The first one deals with super powers, the second one is a horror, and the last one is action and deals with mercenaries. They're short but enjoyable. They dont feel different from any other kdrama. I recommend all of those i listed. And small spoiler for the first 2 >!theyre set in the same world!<

8

anonyfool Mar 25, 2026 +3

Is >!Light Shop the second season of!< Moving? I thought we were getting second season of moving.

3

thatshygirl06 Mar 25, 2026 +3

It is not. We're still getting season 2 of Moving. >!there's an after credit scene in the final episode of light shop where a character from Moving shows up and it's just there to connect the 2 stories.!< >!both shows are based on webtoons by the author Kang Full.!<

3

ImGonnaImagineSummit Mar 25, 2026 +5

All three are great but Light Shop is my favourite. Moving is easily the best but Light Shop hits differently especially at the end.

5

HooverGaveNobodyBeer Mar 26, 2026 +1

Disney+ actually has a reputation for making somewhat grittier K-dramas than your average. It might seem weird to Americans, but it's the niche they've carved out, coming in later to the game than Netflix. So I think they are a good fit for the material. If I had one major complaint about Disney+ dramas, it's that they like to do short episode counts compared to dramas broadcast on Korean terrestrial TV, and then leave them open for another season, something that is very American, but is not how the Korean productions are usually made. I can't tell from the article if this is a direct-to-streaming release or a broadcast release they are just producing since the series mentioned in the article are a mix of the two, so it could be either.

1

AsleepYesterday05 Mar 25, 2026 +1

they have had a couple of good ones. But also it was always going to be there probably since they own "The Americans".

1

giventofly2 Mar 25, 2026 +1

It's actually really good! Check out "Moving", and "A ship for killers"

1

TheeAmateurArtist Mar 25, 2026 +5

Ooo

5

vadergeek Mar 25, 2026 +2

Could be interesting. On the other hand, given that the show is set in the 90s Lee Byung-hun would have grown up with parents who were born before Korea was even split, so maybe less of an interesting cultural difference.

2

Devilofchaos108070 Mar 25, 2026 +2

I like these actors and The Americans was so damn good. I dunno about this tho. I should trust it, FX makes some good stuff usually

2

AsleepYesterday05 Mar 25, 2026 +4

This isnt from FX technically speaking though

4

Devilofchaos108070 Mar 25, 2026 +1

Oh I see. So quality may not be as good. Still sounds interesting

1

gwhh Mar 25, 2026 +1

That sounds interesting. I wonder what business will be there cover story in South Korea?

1

Frog_Brother Mar 25, 2026 +1

I was hoping it’d be more like The Californians.

1

AlexJSee Mar 25, 2026 +1

Could consider it a spiritual successor/predecessor to Iris

1

-Clayburn Mar 25, 2026 +1

The Americans, but even sexier.

1

PetyrDayne Mar 25, 2026

Stop, I can only get so erect

0

kevinsixhohsix Mar 25, 2026

She's did at least 2 movies with Byung-hun in the past. I'm def curious about this.

0

grimorg80 Mar 25, 2026 -1

Can't wait for South Korean propaganda

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‘Squid Game’ Star Lee Byung-hun, Han Jimin Begin Production on Disney+ K-Drama ‘The Koreans,’ Reimagining of FX’s ‘The Americans’

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