Have you ever wished you could enter your favorite TV show and interact with the characters? Well, in Viki’s new international series Dramaworld, they’re aiming to sell you that kind of wish fulfillment. In the 10-episode American-Korean mashup series, written by Josh Billig and Chris Martin and directed by Martin, young college student Claire Duncan (Liv Hewson) is a rabid fan of Korean dramas, and soon finds herself in the middle of one after she’s magically transported into the world of the show she loves. Set in Los Angeles and Seoul and in both English and Korean through the use of well positioned subtitles (it’s a plot point), the show is a love letter to fans of Asian dramas which are incredibly popular around the world. Dramaworld also stars Sean Dulake (Athena: Goddess of War) as the leading man of her favorite drama “Taste of Love”, Justin Chon (The Twilight Saga) as Claire’s newfound friend who helps guide her, and Kim Sa Hee, Bae Noo Ri, and Jimmy Shubert.
Last year when the show was filming in Seoul I got to visit the set and talk to some of the cast and Chris Martin. While some of you might be wondering why we’d cover a web series, I jumped at the chance to do this because while a lot of you might not watch K dramas, they’re hugely popular around the world and I wanted to see how they were made up close.
During my interview with Dulake he discussed how the series came together, what it’s about, memorable moments from filming, the way they can work in organic cameos, and a lot more. Towards the end we even played “Save or Kill.” Check out what he had to say above and watch the recent episodes of Dramaworld on Viki.
Sean Dulake:
- Talks about the genesis of the project and how it took two years to make it happen.
- How five years ago this project wouldn’t have happened.
- Talks about who he plays and what the show is about. How the show is like Toon Town for Korean Drama (which is a great Roger Rabbit reference).
- How they’re playing up the troupes of the genre.
- Memorable moments from filming.
- How many takes do they get to do?
- Talks about the tone and what shows he’d compare it to (mentions Back to the Future and I mention Pleasantville).
- The organic way of working in cameos.
- How tough was it to keep the cameos secret?
- Plays “Save or Kill.”
- What would he recommend to people when they visit Seoul?
