I never thought I’d say this amidst all the new dramas we’ve had the last few weeks, but I’m ready for some new ones! It feels like I’ve been waiting a long time for that drama that hits me with frying pan level infatuation — maybe it’ll be here this week? Headed our way is another summery romance, a psychological chaebol mystery drama, and an ensemble comedy that remakes yet another BBC drama.
Our Beloved Summer
Time slot: Monday & Tuesday
Broadcaster: SBS
Genre: Rom-com, drama
Episode count: 16
Reasons to watch: Choi Woo-shik is back in dramaland — and back starring with Kim Da-mi. In Our Beloved Summer, they play feuding high school classmates that develop a love-hate relationship. It sounds like they hate-date as teens, break up, and then find themselves crossing paths again as adults. Will history repeat itself? Methinks it shall. Dramas with two storylines are often fun, and I expect we’ll get to see a lot of antics from these two. It sounds cute enough, but will there be enough substance to hold the story together? I’m hoping so, because feuding only gets us so far.
Artificial City
Time slot: Wednesday & Thursday
Broadcaster: JTBC
Genre: Mystery, psychological thriller
Episode count: 20
Reasons to watch: Another return to dramaland — this time Su-ae is back! I will admittedly watch anything she’s in, but my favorite from her filmography is Mask. So, the fact that she’s again playing in an intense and psychological chaebol story piques my interest. She leaves the love of her life to marry Kim Kang-woo and join his mega chaebol family as their second daughter-in-law, so there’s no shortage of drama from the start. The story will explore nifty things like greed, corruption, power, and ruthless ambition: the things that chaebol dramas are made of. Let’s hope this one is a sleeper hit, and not just a sleeper.
Uncle
Time slot: Saturday & Sunday
Broadcaster: TV Chosun
Genre: Family, comedy, coming-of-age
Episode count: 16
Reasons to watch: Mixed feelings on all the remakes we are seeing in dramaland lately, but I guess if it means a platform for Oh Jung-se, who can complain! In Uncle he plays the eponymous character — a lowlife musician who’s broken off contact with his family. When he takes in his young nephew, though, his life starts to change. It sounds heartwarming from here, but I’m also seeing a lot of sit-com references — at any rate, I expect this to take on a particularly nice K-drama tone. Maybe a nice drama for the holiday season?