Ah, the lineup is finally confirmed for KBS’s upcoming drama Are You Human Too, with Seo Kang-joon (Entourage) and Gong Seung-yeon (Circle) finalized as the main leads. This drama caught my interest early on with its unusual premise surrounding a romance involving an android and a human, and that’s enough to get me to tune in because I’m so wildly curious about how this relationship could possibly resolve satisfactorily.
The drama, which attached Seo Kang-joon first, unfolds when a third-generation chaebol is in an accident and falls into a coma, whereupon his mother puts in his place an android made to look exactly like her son. It sounds like this “human impersonation con story” is necessitated by a brewing power struggle amongst the chaebols, and I’m thinking Mom must be trying to protect her son’s place. Seo Kang-joon will play that chaebol, Nam Shin, as well as his robot impersonator, Nam Shin-III.
Gong Seung-yeon will play Kang So-bong, a bodyguard with a tough and cool outer image. She’ll come to protect Nam Shin-III, and although she grumbles all the while, she’s described as a warm and lovable person. I’m glad to see her scoring another lead role after earning notice in a steady stream of supporting roles (Introverted Boss, Six Flying Dragons, Heard It Through the Grapevine), and doing quite nicely at the moment in Circle. Go Ara onboard had been initially courted for this role, but I’m just as happy to have Gong Seung-yeon.
Kim Sung-ryung (Mrs. Cop 2) has signed on to play Nam Shin’s mother, an expert in the field of artificial intelligence. Described as intelligent and intensely focused, she’s also the lead researcher working on developing the android with a secret team of top international scientists. Long estranged from her son, her longing for him is what initially prompts her to make the robot that looks like her son.
Yoo Oh-sung (Uncontrollably Fond), meanwhile, is considering a role as Seo Kang-joon’s opponent, which should be right up his alley since Yoo is quite the old hand at playing fierce rivals and villains. Yoo’s character is a high-level director of the chaebol group who believes that if he can just get Nam Shin out of the way, he could become head of the company.
Are You Human Too is written by Jo Jung-joo of The Princess’s Man, and directed by PD Cha Young-hoon of Uncontrollably Fond and Baek-hee Has Returned. The production aims to begin filming at the end of the month with the aim of airing on KBS in the fall, although it has not been given an official slot on the schedule yet.
Kim Sung-ryung, Yoo Oh-sung