There’s been a whole flurry of news activity surrounding Lee Jong-seok (While You Were Sleeping) and his next project, which is drawing extra attention because it’s likely to be his last before enlisting for army duty. There were reports that he’d been offered the leading role in a K-drama remake of Younger, the American romantic comedy series produced by Darren Star about a 40-year-old woman who pretends to be a 26-year-old in order to get a job. But it turns out that Younger is out of the picture now, and he’s considering a different romance drama for tvN called Romance Is a Supplement.
The new series comes from acclaimed PD Lee Jung-hyo (Life on Mars, The Good Wife, Witch’s Romance, Heartless City), who is re-teaming with writer Jung Hyun-jung (Five Kids, Discovery of Romance, and all three seasons of I Need Romance). The PD-writer pair collaborated on I Need Romance 2012 and Because This Life Is Our First, and were considering helming the remake of Younger together, but in the end they went with an original drama.
All we know about Romance Is a Supplement so far is that it’ll be a relatable romance about thirtysomethings, which sounds exactly like what I’d expect from the writer of the I Need Romance franchise, which was upbeat, sexy, and full of complicated modern relationships. I have to say, I’m a little disappointed that Lee Jong-seok won’t be headlining as a noona-killer just before army duty, but I have a feeling he’ll be getting a dozen more offers before he’s forced to decide on his final project.
Romance Is a Supplement is being considered for tvN’s early 2019 slate. If Lee Jong-seok confirms, the drama will be fully pre-produced so that filming can be completed before he has to report for army duty. Well, live and learn.