SBS's new fantasy-drama "Legend of the Blue Sea" has finally hit the TV screens as it aired their first episode last Nov. 16, 2016.
The show stars Lee Min Ho who plays as a conman, and Jun Ji Hyun as the last surviving mermaid. Positive that the series will be a blockbuster, Lee Min Ho is hopeful that the fantasy-drama will be as equally good if not surpass the hit series "Descendants of the Sun." Lee Min Ho's partnership with Jun Ji Hyun is also as perfect as the Song Joong Ki and Song Hye Kyo duo was a big hit.
While fans are excited, a lot of the viewers pointed out similarities of the show with the British series "Sherlock." Netizens indicated that Lee Min Ho's role as a conman who is good with profiling people is said to be too similar with the British TV series "Sherlock." While in "Sherlock," Benedict Cumberbatch who plays as Sherlock Holmes is a detective and is also good at profiling people.
Furthermore, netizens claimed that while profiling people, the use of text overlays on different parts of a person's body is too similar with the British TV series as well. Some netizens also saw that the scene must have been "Sherlock" parody, according to allkpop.
Writer Park Ji Eun has been previously accused of plagiarizing foreign drama before. "You Who Come from the Stars" which aired in 2014 was also said to be too similar with American TV series "New Amsterdam" which aired back in 2004. Park Ji Eun has yet to comment on the said issue.
More on the "Legend of the Blue Sea," Soompi reported that the drama producers are spending so much on the film, as the Lee-Jun tandem will go to Palau and Spain for their beach scenes. Since the show's story revolves around on a mermaid, the scenes are mostly done on exotic beaches abroad.
"Legend of the Blue Sea" will be the last drama of Lee Min Ho before he sets off to do his military service. He is optimistic that the show will be a hit, and that this will leave his fans contented while he is away.