This week we have two more dramas to look forward to: an underdog story and a much-awaited blockbuster.
Stove League
Time slot: Friday & Saturday
Broadcaster: SBS
Genre: Sports
Episode count: 16
Reasons to watch: Fresh off his success with Doctor Prisoner, Namgoong Min’s jumped back into the thick of things in this baseball drama Stove League. The premise of the show revolves around a baseball team that’s been languishing at the bottom of the league for years. In an attempt to turn things around, Namgoong Min is brought on board to manage the team. He’s the hotshot new boss, and though he wants the best for the team, his interpersonal skills (or lack thereof) make work a bit awkward for his colleagues and subordinates, Park Eun-bin and Jo Byung-kyu. It seems that everyone’s working towards the same goal of pulling the team up higher in the rankings, but Oh Jung-se, the grandson of the team’s original manager, has a different agenda in mind. Will a new manager be enough to save the team? It looks as though this will be a classic underdog story with a baseball twist, so even non-sporty people will be able to follow and enjoy the scheming and striving of all the players.
Crash Landing on You
Time slot: Saturday & Sunday
Broadcaster: tvN
Genre: Romance
Episode count: 16 episodes
Reasons to watch: A grand, sweeping romance starring two of dramaland’s biggest stars? Count me in! Sohn Ye-jin and Hyun Bin headline as two people from different worlds. Sohn Ye-jin is a famous South Korean heiress, whereas Hyun Bin is a high-ranking North Korean military officer. A gust of fate brings them together, as Sohn accidentally lands in North Korea while paragliding. Hyun Bin discovers her and protects her rather than turning her over to the authorities. Love blooms between them but there are countless obstacles ahead. Of course there the political aspects, but there’s also the fact of Hyun Bin impending arranged marriage to Seo Ji-hye. Further complicating things is Sohn Ye-jin’s former paramour, Kim Jung-hyun. A foreign-born socialite and “businessman,” Kim Jung-hyun lands on the wanted list after getting caught embezzling huge funds. He decides to run away to the one place the South Korean police can’t follow: North Korea. While there, he meets and falls for Seo Ji-hye, which makes for one complicated love square.