The Chuseok holiday means it’s pretty quiet here in dramaland for the next few days, but we’ve got plenty of new shows on the way to make up for it and then some. Hope you’ve got some sick days saved up, because between this week and next, you’ll probably run out of hours just trying to sample a little bit of everything.
My Secret Terrius
Time slot: Wednesday & Thursday
Broadcaster: MBC
Genre: Spy comedy
Episode count: 32 (half-hour episodes, 16 hours total)
Reasons to watch: So Ji-sub stars in this spy comedy as a black-ops NIS agent who’s trained for saving countries, but somehow winds up babysitting a neighbor ajumma who gets herself embroiled in an international spy war. Listen, nobody said it was going for realism! She and her kids have no idea what their ajusshi neighbor is capable of, and So Ji-sub very reluctantly brings himself out of hiding in order to become her protector. The title is a reference to the manga character Candy Candy and her Daddy Long Legs suitor Terrius, because the covert operation in the drama will be known as Operation: Candy. I expect mountains of adorable fluff, and will settle for nothing less.
Heart Surgeons
Time slot: Wednesday & Thursday
Broadcaster: SBS
Genre: Medical
Episode count: 40 (half-hour episodes, 20 hours total)
Reasons to watch: A drama called Heart Surgeons is pretty self-explanatory, but coming from the PD-writer team of last year’s hit thriller Defendant, I expect a fast-paced drama with a tight story, loads of plot twists, and likely some award-winning performances from the cast. Go Soo, Eom Ki-joon, and Seo Ji-hye are headlining as — what else — heart surgeons, who face ethical life-and-death dilemmas on the operating table every day. You’re definitely signing on for high drama with this one, but it should (hopefully) be more intense and entertaining than your average medical drama.
The Third Charm
Time slot: Friday & Saturday
Broadcaster: JTBC
Genre: Romance
Episode count: 16
Reasons to watch: This drama will ride or die on the chemistry between Esom and Seo Kang-joon, because it’s nothing but one relationship told a zillion different ways. It calls itself a poetic drama and it’ll tell the story of a couple in various stages of courtship, at various stages of life, through the lens of changing seasons. I love the concept, and I’m really looking forward to seeing what PD Pyo Min-soo (The Producers, You’ve Fallen For Me, Coffee House, Worlds Within) will do with it. Autumn seems just right for a contemplative romance, doesn’t it? Bring on the swoony angst!
Player
Time slot: Saturday & Sunday
Broadcaster: OCN
Genre: Heist action
Episode count: 16
Reasons to watch: OCN seems to have cornered the market on heist capers featuring ragtag crews that steal from the filthy rich (and morally depraved, of course), in an effort to enact some vigilante justice, or redistribute the wealth, or both. I liked it when Police Unit 38 took the unusual tax evasion angle to do the same plot, so we’ll have to see what Player brings to the table to keep things fresh. Song Seung-heon leads his crew of master thieves, and based on the teasers, he seems more like a cheeky bombast than a mastermind thief, which is definitely one for the plus column as far as I’m concerned. Serious Song Seung-heon makes me run for the hills, but comedic Song Seung-heon is pretty damn endearing.