We’ve got a fresh onslaught of cable dramas on the way, two of them with a touch of fantasy. I wasn’t really expecting three new shows this week, but they always seem to sneak up on me.
About Time
Time slot: Monday & Tuesday
Broadcaster: tvN
Genre: Fantasy romance
Episode count: 16
Reasons to watch: This is the new fantasy romance from PD Kim Hyung-shik of the adorable, feel-good rom-com Twenty Again, so this is the premiere I’m most looking forward to. Lee Sung-kyung stars as a young woman who has the ability to see people’s “life clocks,” showing the remainder of their lifespan like a digital timer. One day she glimpses her own remaining time like a death sentence, but the moment she meets Lee Sang-yoon, her time starts flowing differently and she knows she needs to be around him in order to live. It’s as good a reason to force two people together as any, and they seem adorable together already just from the teasers alone, so I have good hopes for an easygoing romance full of heart.
Miss Hammurabi
Time slot: Monday & Tuesday
Broadcaster: JTBC
Genre: Legal drama
Episode count: 16
Reasons to watch: Miss Hammurabi is a novel adaptation that’s being penned for the small screen by the original author, and it’s also a bit of a departure for PD Kwak Jung-hwan, who’s famous for his action-heavy thrillers like The K2, Chuno, and Runaway Plan B. It seems like your standard underdog legal drama about doing the right thing and using the law to help those in need, but taken from the perspective of courtroom judges this time. I guess that makes it close to Nothing to Lose, though I think this one will veer less comical and more earnest. Go Ara and L headline as the two young judges, mentored by veteran Sung Dong-il. I can’t say I have high expectations for this cast (mostly I’m still really worried about L carrying a lead), but I will be on the lookout for clips of Sung Dong-il and Go Ara’s Answer Me father-daughter reunion. One inside joke and I’ll be happy.
Sketch
Time slot: Friday & Saturday
Broadcaster: JTBC
Genre: Action thriller
Episode count: 16
Reasons to watch: I don’t know if you can call this thriller a fantasy, but Sketch does have a supernatural element in its premise. It’s about a detective who can draw a crime scene before it happens, and the investigation team that uses her prophetic sketches in order to stop the crimes from happening. Lee Sun-bin is the seer/sketcher, Rain and Lee Dong-gun are rival investigators out in the field, and at the helm is PD Im Tae-woo of the quirky ensemble comedy Yoo-na’s Street. I think this drama won’t just be a procedural, which is promising—it’ll focus on the butterfly effect of stopping these crimes before they’re meant to happen, which we all know from watching Signal can lead to even worse consequences. Other reasons to watch: Rain running around being a badass. Should I have led with that?