Star writer Noh Hee-kyung, of thoughtful human dramas Dear My Friends, It’s Okay It’s Love, Padam Padam and more, has announced that the synopsis is out for her next drama, titled Live (as in the verb, live or die), and a casting offer is out to Jung Yumi (Discovery of Romance) to headline. The new series will be about police officers, though coming from Noh Hee-kyung, I don’t expect the usual cop thriller or procedural.
The drama is about “grass-roots democracy,” portrayed through the lives of police officers who are considered “the people’s walking stick” or “the judge of the streets.” As with most Noh Hee-kyung dramas, it’ll be about people and relationships rather than the typical police genre story, and it’s said to be a celebration of police officers as civil servants who keep the peace. The drama will portray the cops as someone’s father, or sibling, or child, with a particular focus on portraying hardworking fathers.
Jung Yumi has been offered the role of a police officer, and no other details have been revealed yet about her character. All we know for now is that the cast will include middle-aged men and a crop of younger officers. I’m just happy that Jung Yumi might come back to dramaland, because I love her easygoing, natural acting style.
Live will be another collaboration with director Kim Kyu-tae (Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo), with whom Noh Hee-kyung has already made four dramas: It’s Okay It’s Love, That Winter The Wind Blows, Padam Padam, and The World They Live In. I can’t say that I’m excited for the reunion, given that the director’s work is a mixed bag, and he is the reason why Moon Lovers was such a mess. But Noh Hee-kyung and Kim Kyu-tae have a successful track record and a working relationship that’s going on ten years now, and his dramas with this writer do have a very distinct feel to them, not to mention that they are critically well-received.
While the police setting is something of a departure from the writer’s previous works, Live sounds like it could be similar to the multi-generational stories in her award-winning drama Dear My Friends, which was about the intertwining lives of parents and children. Here I expect veteran cops to mentor the rookies, like You’re All Surrounded, but with way less comedy and way more gut-wrenching emotion.
Live doesn’t have a broadcaster or time slot yet, but production is slated to begin late this year for a spring 2018 premiere.