I can’t seem to catch my breath with all these December premieres! This week we have a modern city romance and a historical caper at the ready. Ji Chang-wook makes a quick return to dramaland, and hopefully he’ll make us swoon. But, if you don’t feel like swooning, there’s always the possibility of a mystery, thriller, comedy mashup with our latest sageuk.
Secret Royal Investigator
Time slot: Monday & Tuesday
Broadcaster: KBS
Genre: Sageuk, comedy, mystery
Episode count: 16
Reasons to watch: The flood of sageuks is upon us, and Secret Royal Investigator is next to drop! The drama stars L, Kwon Nara, and Lee Yi-kyung as a sort of ragtag crew that’s tapped with making sure everyone stays lawful and legal while in public service. Well, L is actually given this role as a punishment, it seems, but I’m guessing it will turn out to be a blessing in disguise for him. This strikes me as the sort of drama whose success will depend a lot on the cast that carries it, and I’m hopeful these three will be able to bring it home. The drama seems ripe for comedy and cuteness alike, and that’s a combo no one can argue with.
Lovestruck in the City
Time slot: Tuesday & Friday
Broadcaster: KakaoTV & Netflix
Genre: Romance
Episode count: 12 (30 min. episodes)
Reasons to watch: Wookie is baaaack! Is this good? Is this bad? After personally contending with his two prior drama duds, I’m really hoping this drama is a winner. Ji Chang-wook plays our hero, who meets the free-spirited Kim Ji-won while on vacation. The two have a little flingaroo, and then, as per our title, meet again in the city. The drama is poised to be fresh and new, and has its new format to thank for a lot of that. Lovestruck is one of Kakao’s recent forays into dramaland, and while I have the sense they are still experimenting with the territory between web drama and TV broadcasting, who’s to say this can’t be a raving success?