Anyone in the mood for a high-stakes, romantic melo? Newlywed Joo Sang-wook is up for a starring role in cable channel TV Chosun’s upcoming sageuk melodrama, Grand Prince, which would make this his first drama project since last year’s Fantastic. The show also has an offer out to Jin Se-yeon (Flower in Prison), who is still positively considering the lead female role. The characters they’ve been offered are two legs of what sounds like an epic and bloody love triangle in a Joseon-era court, and it’ll be interesting to see who the producers extend an offer to next.
If he accepts, Joo Sang-wook will play the titular Grand Prince, who ambitiously seeks to become the second Lee Bang-won (the ruthless, dictatorial King Taejong). Second in line to the throne from the second he was born, he has always had his way, and he wants to be a king that no one dares to even look at, like the sun. This thirst for total control also seems to extend to his love life, and even if the price is his brother’s life, he’s determined to win his lover. The women of the royal court will also have their own political chess game that I’m sure Jin Se-yeon’s character will get swept up in, as they all vie to become the Queen of Joseon.
Hmm, I’m trying to keep an open mind about the vaguely caveman-like, women-are-objects-to-possess plot point, because I feel like Seven Day Queen had a rather similar setup on paper. I mean, the character description for the grand prince could very well be for pre-insane Yeonsangun. But the execution felt very different in Seven Day Queen, especially in its depiction of the female lead caught between two royal brothers, and I can only hope that Jin Se-yeon’s character has half the backbone that Park Min-young’s character did.
I’m not too familiar with Joo Sang-wook’s work, and I think the last drama I finished of his was 2013’s Good Doctor. I’ve heard he’s pretty great at comedy, but I also thought he was decent as the serious surgeon, so I’m optimistic he’ll be able to pull off what sounds like a very charismatic, if morally ambiguous, role. It sounds like he’d be in pretty good hands if he does sign on as well, with writer Jo Hyun-jung of Maids working on the scripts, and PD Kim Jung-min (The Princess’s Man, Joseon Gunman) up to direct.
Grand Prince is expected to air on TV Chosun this coming January.