Cha Tae-hyun, Bae Doo-na, Lee El, Sohn Suk-goo
Man, that is a great lineup. KBS has a new romantic comedy planned for later this fall, and the show has signed on Cha Tae-hyun (The Best Hit), Bae Doo-na (Forest of Secrets), Sohn Suk-goo (Mother), and Lee El (Hwayugi) as its leads. Somewhat ironically titled The Best Divorce, the show promises to explore how differently men and women view love, marriage, and family in an honest and comical manner.
In The Best Divorce, our four leads are set up to be two married couples: Cha Tae-hyun will play husband to Bae Doo-na, and Sohn Suk-goo will be Lee El’s spouse. I was a little surprised to hear about the Cha Tae-hyun/Bae Doo-na pairing, if only because I feel like they have very different repertoires; she’s more action and drama while he’s a primarily comedic actor. But they’re both great actors, so I’m excited to see them working together.
Cha Tae-hyun sounds like he’s playing against type here anyway, playing a stubborn, no-nonsense, generally unpleasant and prickly husband. After years of seeing his good-natured variety persona, it might be a shock to my system to see him play this role. Hopefully his wife can act as a good balance to his grouchiness: She’s described as pretty much the opposite of her husband, with a laid-back attitude that allows her to take everything in stride. Every so often, she gets a little flustered, but she approaches everything with a positive and lovable attitude.
I’m looking forward to this next pairing as well, since Sohn Suk-goo and Lee El have both played very memorable side characters, and I’m eager to see them taking on relatively bigger roles in a primetime drama. Lee El’s character is Cha Tae-hyun’s first love (natch) and is described as reserved and someone who evokes a desire to protect her from the people around her. That doesn’t mean, however, that she’s a weak person, and she has a strength that allows her to protect the life she’s built for herself. I’m sure that includes her husband, Sohn Suk-goo, who is unreadable and whose inscrutability constantly attracts the attention of women. Not exactly a trait I’d want in my husband, but who knows, maybe they make it work.
I was intrigued to learn that this show is another adaptation of Sakamoto Yuji’s work, since the last adaptation of his was tvN’s Mother, which was very different in tone and much heavier on the drama. I have only heard good things about Mother, so I hope The Best Divorce is just as successful. In the director’s chair is PD Yoo Hyun-ki, whose credits include Brain, My Daughter Seo-young, and Unkind Women.
The Best Divorce is slated to premiere sometime in October of this year.