The Good Detective

A drama about the race between people who want to get closer to the truth and those who want to cover it up. Jang Seung Jo will take on the role of Oh Ji Hyuk, an elite detective of nine years who does not share his feelings with others due to pain he experienced when he was young. He is not swayed by money and power, even with the huge wealth he inherited from his uncle.

The Good Detective (2020-2022) is a South Korean crime drama created by Cho Nam-guk and Choi Jin-won for JTBC, running two seasons of sixteen episodes each. Jang Seung-jo plays Oh Ji-hyeok, a nine-year veteran detective who keeps everyone at arm's length because of a painful childhood, and who refuses the money and influence of the uncle who left him a fortune. Son Hyun-joo plays Kang Do-chang, a figure whose loyalties pull against Oh's, while Lee Elijah and Kim Hyo-jin round out the principal cast as people drawn into the investigation. Each season is built around a contested murder case in which investigators and reporters race toward the truth while others work to bury it. The engine is the pressure of the cover-up: evidence goes missing, witnesses shift, and every step closer exposes someone more powerful. Set in contemporary Seoul, the show moves through police offices, courtrooms and newsrooms with a tense, procedural rhythm. Its tone is gritty and suspenseful, with melancholic undertones around loneliness and loyalty. Fans of Signal, The Wire and Chicago P.D. will find resonance in its portrait of institutional corruption and the lone investigator who will not look away.

Viewers broadly praise the tight corruption-and-investigation plotting and the lead performances, with the second season rated higher than the first.

• Chicago P.D.shared tones of gritty institutional corruption and a lone detective pursuing the truth against a cover-up
• Signalshared subgenre of korean crime thriller with corrupt power structures and a morally driven investigator
• The Wireshared themes of institutional corruption and wealthy elites shielding crime, with serialized investigative tension
• Mindhuntershared tone of procedural suspense where the investigation itself is the engine and corruption runs deep

Created by

Cho Nam-guk, Choi Jin-won

Release Date

2020-07-06

Episode runtime

65 min

Rating

7.6 / 10 (45)

What is The Good Detective about?

An elite, emotionally guarded detective pursues a murder case against a network of cover-ups that reaches into powerful institutions.

What is The Good Detective like to watch?

Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Good Detective as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.

Is The Good Detective violent?

Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in The Good Detective as moderate.

What did critics think of The Good Detective?

Viewers broadly praise the tight corruption-and-investigation plotting and the lead performances, with the second season rated higher than the first.

Which shows are like The Good Detective?

Shows with a similar feel include Chicago P.D., Signal, The Wire, and Mindhunter.

How long is The Good Detective?

The Good Detective: 2 seasons, 32 episodes.

Is The Good Detective still running?

No, The Good Detective has ended.

Where can I watch The Good Detective?

In United States, The Good Detective streams on Netflix, Rakuten Viki, Netflix Standard with Ads.