Korea’s tvN spins off Grandpas into comedy

South Korean channel tvN is riding the wave around its popular pensioner travelogue Grandpas Over Flowers by launching a spin-off detective comedy.

Flower Grandpas Investigators will star actor Lee Soon-jae, 78, who appears in the original Grandpas, which Small World IFT launched internationally at MIPTV this year.

Soon-jae will be joined by Byun Hee-bong, 71, Jang Gwang, 63, and pop star Kim Hee-chul, who will play a much younger detective – aping the format of Grandpas Over Flowers. That saw a young ‘porter’ chaperone a group of pensioners around the world.

Producer CJ E&M said: “Flower Grandpas Investigators depicts the story of detectives whose bodies are transformed into 70-year olds while their mental maturity remains in the 20s.”

‘“Starring three elderly actors, Flower Grandpas Investigators is a novel departure from conventional Asian and global TV programming which usually depends on a younger, highly attractive cast,” added Kim Jin-young, chief producer of Flower Grandpas Investigators.

The show has bagged a 9.50pm KST slot, taking over from Grandpas Over Flowers, which recently concluded its second season having premiered as the most-watched show in that timeslot among 20-40 year-olds.