I’d say duck and run for cover, but does anyone here mind getting hit in the face by five — yes five! — new dramas this week? We have quite an array before us this week, and it’s back to the drama smorgasbord. First, pick your sageuk (serious or silly with a side of mayhem). Next, choose your romance (set on a school campus, in an entertainment agency, or in the fashion industry). Then, throw a dart into the air while blindfolded, and let yourself pick the drama your heart really wants to watch. (For me, it’s the idol drama.)
Idol: The Coup
Time slot: Monday & Tuesday
Broadcaster: JTBC
Genre: Drama
Episode count: 16
Reasons to watch: After Imitation stole my heart and brain, I’m more than ready for my next idol drama. In JTBC’s latest, we follow a failing girl group known as Cotton Candy. They’re desperate for a hit song, otherwise they face disbandment — and thus we have the primary conflict of the story. EXID’s Hani takes the lead, with the rest of the group (or most of it) played by real-life idols who’ve been dipping their toes into acting as well. Much like Imitation, there’s a (successful) boy group to balance things out, and they’re a part of the same agency as the girls. Said agency is run by CEO Kwak Shi-yang. Yes, this is the drama’s entire setup. No, I do not require another reason to watch.
Secret Royal Inspector and Joy
Time slot: Monday & Tuesday
Broadcaster: tvN
Genre: Saguek, rom-com
Episode count: 16
Reasons to watch: I’m sure I’m not the only one anxiously awaiting the return of Kim Hye-yoon and Taecyeon to dramaland… but in the same drama?! In their upcoming comedy sageuk, Taec plays an unwilling inspector, and Kim Hye-hoon a feisty divorcée. The two start “working” together, but really, the lure of this drama will surely be the hijinks and comedy. Derpy Taec is the best thing ever, and I’ve been watching Kim Hye-yoon’s career with much interest. I think they have the potential to be a great, zany match onscreen, and here’s hoping the drama is a success for them both.
Melancholia
Time slot: Wednesday & Thursday
Broadcaster: tvN
Genre: Melo, school, revenge, drama
Episode count: 16
Reasons to watch: Initial uproar over the premise aside, subsequent promos for the show have given off sun-drenched school campus vibes that lean more towards sweet romance than subversive affair. That being said, who knows what we are going to get at this point. Noona extraordinaire Im Soo-jung plays the mathematics teacher at a private high school (that’s of course super corrupt behind the scenes). Lee Do-hyun plays one of the students at said school, who’s super smart but underperforming. Methinks Im So-jung will inspire him to study math more diligently. As to the rest, time will tell!
The Red Sleeve Cuff
Time slot: Friday & Saturday
Broadcaster: MBC
Genre: Sageuk, romance
Episode count: 16
Reasons to watch: Long time no Junho! Yes, his costar Lee Se-young is amazing, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say that at least for me, the return of Junho is the main appeal here. There are so many sageuks this season, that comparisons and critiques are inevitable. Are each of them positioned uniquely enough to stand alone in a sea of Joseon-era stories? The Red Sleeve Cuff sounds like it has potential to be the most serious and sweeping of the sageuk set, though — Junho plays the king, and Lee Se-young the woman he loves. Despite his desire to make her his royal concubine, she refuses, choosing to live freely instead of a part of the palace prison, if you will. I love her already, and I can just see a pining Junho in my head…
Now, We Are Breaking Up
Time slot: Friday & Saturday
Broadcaster: SBS
Genre: Romance
Episode count: 16
Reasons to watch: And now for the giant question mark of our drama premieres. Now, We Are Breaking Up promises to be about love and breakups, and is set in the world of fashion. Maybe it’s just PTSD from Sweet and Sour and Record of Youth alike, but I’m grappling to figure out how this drama will work, and if it will be at all satisfying. One thing’s for sure: it will be pretty. The painfully gorgeous Song Hye-gyo plays our leading lady, team leader at a fashion company, and Jang Ki-yong is the photographer she falls in love with. I suppose at the end of the day the drama really rides on the strength of their chemistry — which might be the only thing that will bring the drama to life — so I’ll send out a wish for the sexy crackle that was missing from Boyfriend. May it be doubled here.