Sisyphus: The Myth


Sisyphus: The Myth is a 2021 South Korean television series starring Cho Seung-woo and Park Shin-hye. Labeled as "JTBC's 10th Anniversary Special Drama", it aired on JTBC from February 17 to April 8, 2021; each episode was released on Netflix in South Korea and internationally after its television broadcast every Wednesday and Thursday at 21:00.

Synopsis

A series of unexplainable events introduces a famous engineer and physicist to dangerous secrets and to a beautiful woman from the future who has come looking for him. Together they must break the time loop to prevent a nuclear war from happening.

Cast

Main

Supporting

  • Heo Joon-seok as Han Tae-san
  • * Cha Sung-je as young Han Tae-san
  • Chae Jong-hyeop as "Sun" / Choi Jae-sun

''Quantum and Time''

The Control Bureau Team 7

Asia Mart

  • Sung Dong-il as Park Hyeong-do
  • Jung Ha-joon as Uhm Seon-ho
  • Lee Myeong-ro as Uhm Seon-jae
  • Lee Si-woo as Lee Ji-eun/Bingbing

Sigma / Σ

Others

  • Kim Jong-tae as Kang Dong-ki
  • Lee Yeon-soo as Lee Eun-hee
  • Kim Hee-ryeong as Kim Han-yong's wife
  • Ha Yu-ri as Choi Go-eun

Special appearances

  • Kim Byung-chun as a restaurateur
  • Hwang Dong-joo as the co-pilot
  • Sung Byoung-sook as Jung Hyun-gi's mother

Production

Development

In May 2016, Lee Je-in and Jeon Chan-ho signed a contract with Seoul Broadcasting System's Studio S to write a 20-episode television series which could not be broadcast on any other channel. Studio S provided them with a workplace, but the production was eventually cancelled due to the difficulties with finding directors and actors. In December 2018, the duo were put in charge of writing the remaining 16 episodes of Fates & Furies when the previous screenwriter left after 4 episodes. However, Studio S did not pay the ₩60 million writing fees due within 15 days after the conclusion of the series. The duo terminated their contract with Studio S afterward and turned to JTBC for the broadcast of Sisyphus: The Myth. Studio S filed a lawsuit which they lost in November 2020.

Casting

In late September 2019, JTBC confirmed that Cho Seung-woo and Park Shin-hye would star in Sisyphus: The Myth with Jin Hyuk directing.

Filming

Principal photography began in May 2020, with Cho Seung-woo joining after completing his role in the second season of Stranger. Filming was completed in early December. Production was temporarily halted in late November 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Original soundtrack

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
'''Part 5'''

Reception

The show scored 7.2 on IMDB. Pierce Conran, writing in the South China Morning Post, criticized the plot for being internally inconsistent, with different rules about time travel added only to be broken later, undermining other elements of the show.