Signal (South Korean TV series)
Signal | |
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Hangul | 시그널 |
Genre | |
Created by |
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Written by | Kim Eun-hee |
Directed by | Kim Won-seok |
Starring | |
Opening theme | "I Will Forget You" by Jung Cha-sik |
Ending theme |
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Composers |
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Country of origin | South Korea |
Original language | Korean |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 16 |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Producers |
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Cinematography |
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Editor | Kim Na-young |
Camera setup | Single camera |
Running time | 80 minutes |
Production company | AStory |
Distributor | tvN |
Release | |
Original network | tvN |
Picture format | 1080i (HDTV) |
Audio format | Dolby Digital |
Original release | January 22 March 12, 2016 | –
Chronology | |
Followed by | (2020)[1] |
Related shows |
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External links | |
Website | |
Signal at AStory Co., Ltd. |
Signal (Korean: 시그널; RR: Sigeuneol) is a 2016 South Korean fantasy police procedural television series starring Lee Je-hoon, Kim Hye-soo and Cho Jin-woong. It aired on tvN from January 22 to March 12, 2016 on Fridays and Saturdays at 20:30 KST for 16 episodes.[2][3][4] The series was inspired by real-life criminal incidents in Korea,[5] including the Hwaseong serial murders.[6][7]
The series received widespread acclaim from audience and critics alike for its story and performances. It is also the fourteenth highest-rated Korean drama in cable television history with a peak audience viewership of 12.544%.
Premise[]
A walkie talkie allows a detective in the year 1989 to communicate with a cold case profiler from 2015. With the power of fore- and hindsight, the two not only solve crimes but prevent them from ever taking place.
Synopsis[]
A criminal profiler Park Hae-young (Lee Je-hoon), solves a kidnapping case that ended up with a falsely accused who apparently disappeared after the crime, with a mysterious walkie-talkie he picks up. The success of this case triggers the formation of a long-term cold case team, led by Detective Cha Soo-hyun (Kim Hye-soo), who has been searching her long-lost mentor Lee Jae-han (Cho Jin-woong), for the past fifteen years. With the help of Detective Lee Jae-han, the person at the other end of the walkie-talkie, Park Hae-young solves other cold cases that have remained unsolved for years, while helping Lee Jae-han help solve some cases in the past. Grave unintended sequences follow.
Cast[]
Main[]
- Lee Je-hoon as Park Hae-young,[8] the profiler who finds the walkie-talkie by accident, and uses it to solve cold cases.
- Kim Hye-soo as Cha Soo-hyun,[9] once a timid rookie and the first woman police officer in the department, she leads the "Long Term Cold Case team"
- Cho Jin-woong as Lee Jae-han,[10] the somewhat clumsy and socially inept but incorruptible police officer from the past who establishes a rapport with Park.
Supporting[]
- Police officers
- Jang Hyun-sung as Kim Bum-joo
- Jung Hae-kyun as Ahn Chi-soo
- Kim Won-hae as Kim Gye-chul
- as Oh Yoon-seo
- as Jung Han-ki
- Kim Min-kyu as Hwang Eui-kyung
- Extended
- Kim Hyun-bin as young Park Hae-young
- Kang Chan-hee as Park Sun-woo
- Lee Moon-soo as Lee Jae-han's father
- Seo Ju-hee as Cha Soo-hyun's mother
- Lim Hwa-young as Cha Soo-hyun's younger sister
- Lee Jin-kwon as Supporting
Special appearances[]
- Oh Yeon-ah as Yoon Soo-ah (ep. 1-2)
- Lee Young-eun as Kim Yoon-jung (ep. 1-2)
- Lee Si-a as Kim Won-kyung (ep. 2-4)
- Kim Jung-young as Won-kyung's aunt (ep. 2-4)
- Kim Ki-cheon as Lee Chun-goo (ep. 3-4)
- Lee Dong-ha as Han Se-kyu (ep. 5-8)
- Jung Suk-yong as Oh Kyung-tae (ep. 5-7)
- Park Si-eun as Oh Eun-ji (ep. 5-6)
- Choi Woo-ri as Shin Yeo-jin (ep. 5-6)
- Yoo Ha-bok as Shin Dong-hoon (ep. 5-7)
- Son Hyun-joo as Jang Young-chul (ep. 7, 11, 14, 16)
- Lee Na-ra as Shin Da-hye (ep. 7-8)
- Lee Sang-yeob as Kim Jin-woo (ep. 9-11)
- Lee Chae-kyung as Jin-woo's mother (ep. 10)
- Seo Eun-ah as Yoo Seung-yeon (ep. 10-11)
- Shin Yi-joon as Kang Hye-seung (young / ep. 11-14)
- Kim Woo-suk as Lee Dong-jin (ep. 12-14)
- Hwang Seung-eon as Han Do-yeon (ep. 13)
- Jeon Su-ji as Kang Hye-seung (adult / ep. 13-14)
- Seo Ji-hoon as Jang Tae-jin (ep. 14)
Original soundtrack[]
Signal OST | |
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Soundtrack album by Various Artists | |
Released | 15 March 2016 |
Genre | Pop, K-pop, soundtrack |
Producer | CJ E&M |
No. | Title | Artist | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "회상" (Reminisce) | Jang Beom-june (Busker Busker) | 4:27 |
2. | "떠나야할 그사람" (The One Who Will Leave) | INKII | 4:06 |
3. | "나는 너를" (I Will Forget You) | Jung Cha-sik | 4:24 |
4. | "길" (The Road) | Kim Yoon-ah | 4:27 |
5. | "행복한 사람" (Happy Person) | Jo Dong-hee | 3:34 |
6. | "꽃잎" (A Petal) | Leesa | 3:16 |
7. | "꽃이 피면" (As Flower Blooms) | Lee Seung-yeol | 3:38 |
No. | Title | Artist | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Detective Lee Jae-han" (형사 이재한) | Various Artists | |
2. | "For Those Who Left Behind" (남겨진 이들을 위해) | Various Artists | |
3. | "Young Park Hae Young" (소년 박해영) | Various Artists | |
4. | "Conclusive Evidence" (결정적 증거) | Various Artists | |
5. | "Heartfelt Desire" (절실한 염원) | Various Artists | |
6. | "Send The Signal Desperately" (간절함이 보내온 신호) | Various Artists | |
7. | "New Clue" (새로운 단서) | Various Artists | |
8. | "Past Can Be Changed" (과거는 바뀔 수 있습니다) | Various Artists | |
9. | "Jae Han's Reason" (재한의 추리) | Various Artists | |
10. | "Pain That Can't Be Heal" (치유되지 않는 아픔) | Various Artists | |
11. | "Footsteps of Nostalgia" (그리움의 발자취) | Various Artists | |
12. | "Profiling" (프로파일링) | Various Artists | |
13. | "형기대의 하루" | Various Artists | |
14. | "Tracking" (추적) | Various Artists | |
15. | "Don't Give Up" (포기하지마) | Various Artists | |
16. | "Crime Scene" (범행현장) | Various Artists | |
17. | "A Series of Labyrinthine" (미궁의 연속) | Various Artists | |
18. | "Real Culprit" (진범) | Various Artists | |
19. | "Run Too, Today" (오늘도 달린다) | Various Artists | |
20. | "Only I Didn't Know" (혼자만 모른다) | Various Artists | |
21. | "Long-term Unsolved Case" (장기미제사건) | Various Artists | |
22. | "The Truth Revealed" (드러나는 진실) | Various Artists | |
23. | "Cool Air" (서늘한 공기) | Various Artists | |
24. | "Plot" (음모) | Various Artists | |
25. | "Suggestion" (암시) | Various Artists |
Reception[]
Upon its premiere, the series attracted attention for weaving actual cases into its plot and attained high ratings.[11][12] With its finale rating of 12.54%, it is one of the highest rated Korean dramas in cable television history.[13][14] It received praise for its solid acting, tightly-constructed plot and detailed and sophisticated direction; and enjoyed success internationally in China and Japan.[15][16][17]
The drama went on to win several awards from different award-giving bodies, including Best Drama, Best Screenplay for Kim Eun-hee, and Best Actress for Kim Hye-soo at the 52nd Baeksang Arts Awards, as well as another Best Actress award for Kim and the Daesang (Grand Prize for Television) for Cho Jin-woong at the tvN10 Awards. Cho also won the Daesang at the 1st Asia Artist Awards for his performance.
Ratings[]
In this table, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.
Ep. | Original broadcast date | Average audience share | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
AGB Nielsen[18] | TNmS[19] | |||
Nationwide | Seoul | Nationwide | ||
1 | January 22, 2016 | 5.415% | 5.960% | 6.4% |
2 | January 23, 2016 | 6.926% | 7.343% | 6.1% |
3 | January 29, 2016 | 8.239% | 8.910% | 8.5% |
4 | January 30, 2016 | 7.666% | 8.601% | 7.5% |
5 | February 5, 2016 | 7.789% | 7.568% | 7.6% |
6 | February 6, 2016 | 7.077% | 6.710% | 7.3% |
7 | February 12, 2016 | 8.612% | 8.454% | 9.0% |
8 | February 13, 2016 | 7.784% | 7.913% | 8.6% |
9 | February 19, 2016 | 7.803% | 7.672% | 8.4% |
10 | February 20, 2016 | 9.195% | 8.945% | 8.7% |
11 | February 26, 2016 | 10.456% | 11.915% | 8.8% |
12 | February 27, 2016 | 10.065% | 10.865% | 9.2% |
13 | March 4, 2016 | 9.667% | 8.918% | 9.7% |
14 | March 5, 2016 | 11.120% | 12.155% | 10.6% |
15 | March 11, 2016 | 10.772% | 12.145% | 9.8% |
16 | March 12, 2016 | 12.544% | 13.541% | 12.8% |
Average | 8.821% | 9.226% | 8.7% |
- This drama airs on a cable channel/pay TV which normally has a relatively smaller audience compared to free-to-air TV/public broadcasters (KBS, SBS, MBC and EBS).
Awards and nominations[]
Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2016 | 52nd Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Drama | Signal | Won | |
Best Director | Kim Won-seok | Nominated | |||
Best Actor | Cho Jin-woong | Nominated | |||
Best Actress | Kim Hye-soo | Won | |||
Best Screenplay | Kim Eun-hee | Won | |||
5th APAN Star Awards | Best Screenwriter | Won | |||
Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries | Cho Jin-woong | Won | |||
Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries | Kim Hye-soo | Nominated | |||
9th Korea Drama Awards | Best Drama | Signal | Nominated | ||
Best Production Director | Kim Won-seok | Nominated | |||
Best Screenplay | Kim Eun-hee | Nominated | |||
tvN10 Awards | Grand Prize (Daesang), Actor | Cho Jin-woong | Won | [20] | |
Best Actor | Nominated | ||||
Lee Je-hoon | Nominated | ||||
Best Actress | Kim Hye-soo | Won | [20] | ||
PD's Choice Award | Lee Je-hoon | Won | |||
Scene Stealer Actor | Jang Hyun-sung | Nominated | |||
Best Content Award, Drama | Signal | Won | |||
1st Asia Artist Awards | Grand Prize (Daesang) | Cho Jin-woong | Won | ||
Kim Hye-soo | Nominated | ||||
Best Celebrity Award, Actor | Lee Je-hoon | Nominated | |||
18th Mnet Asian Music Awards | Best OST | Jang Beom-jun | Nominated | ||
Korea Content Awards | Presidential Commendation Award | Kim Eun-hee | Won | ||
2017 | Brand of the Year Awards | Drama Writer of the Year | Won |
Adaptations[]
- A Japanese remake starring Kentaro Sakaguchi aired from April 10 to June 12, 2018 on Fuji TV.[21][22]
- On October 23, 2019, , a Chinese remake of Signal, started airing on Tencent Video.
See also[]
- Hwaseong serial murders
- Miryang gang rape
References[]
- ^ ""Signal" and "Prison Playbook" to Come Back as Multi-Season Dramas". HanCinema. August 13, 2019. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
- ^ Radwa Ashraf (9 December 2015). ""Signal": a paranormal cop drama debuts in 2016". The Asian. Retrieved 2017-07-21.
- ^ "New tvN thriller to pick up where 'Reply 1988' left off". Yonhap News Agency. 14 January 2016.
- ^ "Signal drama plot and cast update". The AsiaN.
- ^ Jung, Min-kyung (2016-03-07). "Crimes in 'Signal' based on real Korean cases". The Korea Herald.
- ^ '시그널' 김혜수·이제훈, 화성연쇄살인사건 맡았다. The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). 23 January 2016. Retrieved 2016-03-25.
- ^ "Unsolved cases that 'Signal' could crack". The Korea Times. 18 February 2016.
- ^ Lee, Mina (August 20, 2015). "이제훈, tvN 드라마 '시그널' 출연". Oh My Star News (in Korean). Retrieved August 27, 2019.
- ^ Hwang, Joo-won (September 21, 2015). "김혜수·조진웅·이제훈 tvN 드라마 '시그널' 출연 확정". Interview 365 (in Korean). Retrieved August 27, 2019.
- ^ Park, So-hyun (September 21, 2015). "'시그널' 김혜수, 그 우아한 도전에 거는 기대". Xports News (in Korean). Retrieved August 27, 2019.
- ^ "TV drama 'Signal' enjoying high viewer ratings". The Korea Herald. 29 February 2016.
- ^ "'Signal' sets another ratings record". The Korea Times. 28 February 2016.
- ^ "'Signal' lures record TV audience". Korea Times. 23 January 2016. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
- ^ "Drama 'Signal' concludes with double-digit viewership". The Korea Times. 14 March 2016. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
- ^ "'Signal' tells Korea's true crime tales". Korea JoongAng Daily. 18 February 2016.
- ^ "Korean drama 'Signal' sees critical success in China". The Korea Times. 2016-06-17.
- ^ "'Signal' to begin airing in Japan next month". The Korea Herald. 2017-05-10.
- ^ "AGB Daily Ratings: this links to current day-select the date from drop down menu". AGB Nielsen Media Research (in Korean). Archived from the original on December 26, 2013. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
- ^ "TNmS Daily Ratings: this links to current day-select the date from drop down menu". TNmS Ratings (in Korean). Archived from the original on November 28, 2013. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "'Reply 1988' chosen as tvN's top drama". Yonhap News Agency. 10 October 2016.
- ^ "[단독] '시그널' 日 리메이크 확정, 사카구치 켄타로 출연". YTN. February 2018.
- ^ "坂口健太郎、ドラマ初主演で警察官に!過去と現在が交差…未解決事件に挑む". Cinema Today.
External links[]
- Official website (in Korean)
- Signal at IMDb
- TVN (South Korean TV channel) television dramas
- 2016 South Korean television series debuts
- 2016 South Korean television series endings
- Korean-language television shows
- South Korean crime television series
- South Korean fantasy television series
- Police procedural television series
- Television series about multiple time paths
- South Korean time travel television series
- Television shows written by Kim Eun-hee
- Television series by AStory