The first teasers for the hotly anticipated sci-fi drama from tvN, When the Stars Gossip, has just dropped, giving us a good look at our future space navigators. And boy, is it a good look indeed.
The first teaser opens on an apocalyptic scene: a planet-busting asteroid is headed straight towards earth. It’s the last day before it’s expected to make impact, and humanity sends its last-ditch attempt to avert global extinction: an astronaut equipped with a missile. However, the astronaut discovers that there is a malfunction preventing the launch of the missile. So with a final “tell my wife I love her” he decides to drive his ship directly into the asteroid, intercepting its path and saving humanity at the expense of his life.
While tragic, his sacrifice works, and as the chunks of the asteroid fall in the sky, the people around the world celebrate their safety. It’s dramatic. It’s patriotic. It’s inspiring. And it’s nothing like the lives of our actual characters Lee Min-ho (Pachinko) and Gong Hyo-jin (When the Camellia Blooms), who watch the meteor shower while suited up for space.
While our chaebol space tourist Gong Ryong (Lee Min-ho) marvels at the sky, wondering if they too can accomplish world-saving feats up in space, our seasoned commander Eve Kim (Gong Hyo-jin) brings him back to reality with a record-scratching “that’s unlikely.” When he asks what they’re supposed to do up in space if they’re not doing anything cool, she gives him our drama’s Korean title with an unbothered, “I don’t know. Go ask the stars.” Unlike the high stakes and tension typically found in space-related films and shows, it looks like this drama plans to take on the frontier of space with a friendlier approach.
And then! On the heels of this rather odd and tone-shifting teaser, tvN dropped another look at our leading couple in a follow-up teaser — one that’s way more sparkly. We see our sparkly leads looking beautiful, and then a few flashes of their space story. It’s not much, but I’m feeling this more than the first one.
Written by Seo Sook-hyang (Iron Family) and directed by Park Shin-woo (Lovestruck in the City), tvN’s When the Stars Gossip is set to premiere January 4 on tvN and TVING and will stream internationally in select regions on Netflix.