On Thursday, news broke that Bong Joon-ho’s critically acclaimed movie Parasite might soon become a TV series on HBO. Director Bong and Adam McKay (Succession, The Big Short) were reportedly in talks with the network after beating Netflix (among others) in a bidding war for the rights.
They won’t, however, be the first force to bring Parasite to TV. Sort of.
South Korean cosmetics brand Laneige, realizing that Parasite fever is unquenchable, collaborated with actor Park Myung-hoon on a series of ads that capitalize on his character’s tics. “Today, I can’t RESPECT my skin,” he says in one, emphasizing the central word. (If you know, you know.) “What do I do about my complexion?” he wails in another, while banging his head against a wall and causing the lights to flicker. In yet another, he lies about on a couch while giddily looking at a cell phone.
Details on the impending HBO series are sparse — it’s unclear whether the limited series will be a remake or a continuation, or even if it’ll be in English — but it presumably won’t feature the original actors as themselves, lampooning their own roles. The good news, on the other hand, is that director Bong will be among the series’ executive producers, as well as Dooho Choi (Bong’s writing and producing partner), and CJ Entertainment.
There’s always a chance that, like the upcoming TNT version of Snowpiercer series, the Parasite adaptation will get stuck in limbo, but for now, let’s take solace in self-care, and the possibility that Parasite might take home Best Picture at the Oscars this year.
