Fans of science fiction, time travel and mystery, prepare to have your socks blown off by the riveting K-drama that’s been trending at number one for top 10 shows in Singapore today. Sisyphus: The Myth promises an action-packed storyline, along with twists and turns that’ll leave you at the edge of your seat.
Without further ado, we bring to you 10 facts about Sisyphus: The Myth.
Star-Studded Cast in Sisyphus: The Myth
With top actors Cho Seung Woo and Park Shin Hye as the leads of the show, it’s no wonder that the show has been getting so much hype.
Park Shin Hye is no stranger to the industry, having had many well-known dramas under her belt such as The Heirs and Memories of the Alhambra. She stepped away from television shows for two years and starred in two films in 2020 (#Alive, which is available on Netflix Singapore, too, and The Call). It comes as no surprise that her return to the small screen is highly anticipated this time.
Cho Seung Woo has held lead roles in numerous television dramas such as The King’s Doctor, and God’s Gift: 14 Days. He is best known for his roles in medical drama Life and thriller drama Stranger.
The two main leads are accompanied by a renowned supporting cast including Sung Dong Il, Tae In Ho, Jung Hye In and Chae Jong Hyeop.
All-Or-Nothing Cast
Something rather interesting you may not have known is that Sisyphus: The Myth wouldn’t have existed at all if lead actors Park Shin Hye and Cho Seung Woo had not taken up the main roles.
Director Jin Hyuk was dead set on having the two play the lead roles in the show, saying, “While discussing the casting with the writers, we decided that if we couldn’t get either Cho Seung Woo or Park Shin Hye, we would just work on a different drama.”
Highly Established Director
Since we’re on the topic of Director Jin Hyuk, did you know that he’s well-established in the industry, having worked on plenty of big names such as The Legend of the Blue Sea, Doctor Stranger and The Master’s Sun?
Park Shin Hye expressed her excitement at working with Director Jin Hyuk, saying, “I’ve always been curious about and wanted to work with director Jin Hyuk. I actually met him when I was younger and I’m so happy to have been able to work with him this time.”
Cho Seung Woo shared his co-star’s sentiments exactly, sharing, “The director is very considerate of actors. He will consider any ideas that actors propose.”
Exciting Premise and Plot
Sisyphus: The Myth is set in a dystopian world in which the present and future coexist. The story follows an ingenious engineer, Han Tae Sul (Cho Seung Woo), who is trying to get to the bottom of his older brother’s death that occurred a decade ago.
When he finally uncovers the truth, he sets off on a journey and meets Kang Seo Hae (Park Shin Hye), a woman from the future who has travelled back in time to save the world from impending doom.
Extremely Detailed Set
The show had to feature present-day Korea as well as a Korea from the year 2035 that was in shambles. A lot of details went into the sets portraying future Korea in an attempt to enhance the authenticity.
According to Director Jin Hyuk, “We put in a lot of effort to make the future look realistic and consulted many different experts and researched a lot of different things.”
Park Shin Hye added, “A set that resembles Myeongdong was created, and it felt so realistic and like I was walking through the real Myeongdong. Viewers will be able to recognise some familiar shops in Myeongdong.”
Props to the production team for all their effort in creating such high-quality visuals for the show; you’d understand if you’ve seen how Korea looked like in 2035 in the show.
BTS Appearance in Sisyphus: The Myth
Fans of BTS will be delighted to know that Director Jin Hyuk included some snippets of the top boy group here and there throughout the show by making Kang Seo Hae (Park Shin Hye) a BTS fan.
A teaser was released showing Kang Seo Hae chancing upon a BTS poster and listening to their 2017 song “Spring Day”.
Explaining his choice to include the song, Director Jin Hyuk said, “Seo Hae lives in a future that is in ruins with people killing each other and struggling to survive. So I thought about what would be a source of comfort for her, and I thought that music would be a good fit.”
He also shared that the track “Spring Day” is his personal favourite release from BTS, something that I’m sure all fellow ARMYs can appreciate.
Suspension of Disbelief
Reviews of Sisyphus: The Myth have commented on the necessity of suspending one’s disbelief in order to fully enjoy the show, because there are some pretty unbelievable things that go down. Logic and science are apparently thrown out the window, with certain plotlines ranging from far-fetched to borderline absurd.
But if you just want to have a good time without all the trouble of analysing and dissecting the plausibility of every scene, then this show will more than do it for you.
Drop in Ratings?
Although the show was off to a good start in the beginning, the show has seen decline in recent ratings on broadcasting network JTBC.
Ratings have dropped since the premiere was aired, coming in at a nationwide average viewership of 4.4%, which is its record lowest so far. This is a steep drop from 4.8% in the previous week.
Spilling the Tea on Production Troubles
Not all has been smooth-sailing in the production process of Sisyphus: The Myth. In fact, troubles had already started brewing back in 2016 when the first seeds for the show were being planted.
Screenwriters Lee Je In and Jeon Chan Ho had signed a contract with SBS’ Studio S back in May 2016 to write the script for Sisyphus: The Myth, which could not be aired on any other channel. However, production was eventually cancelled due to challenges in casting directors and actors for the show.
Lee and Jeon were then assigned to write the remaining 36 episodes of another television series Fates & Furies as the previous screenwriter left after writing four episodes.
However, Studio S failed to pay Lee and Jeon the writing fees which were supposed to be paid within 15 days of the end of the series.
The two screenwriters proceeded to terminate their contract with Studio S and switched to JTBC instead for the broadcasting of Sisyphus: The Myth. Studio S then filed a lawsuit against the writers which it lost in November 2020. Yikes.
Temporary Production Halt due to COVID-19
Many K-dramas had to halt filming in the past year due to COVID-19 scares, and Sisyphus: The Myth is no exception.
A background actor on the show had tested positive for the virus, immediately grinding filming to a halt in late November last year. Cast and crew members had to be tested for COVID-19 before filming could resume.
Sisyphus: The Myth is now streaming on Netflix.
You can watch its trailer here:
Featured Image: Netflix
Here’s a simplified summary of the South Korea martial law that even a 5-year-old would understand:
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