The Years You Were Late (Chinese Drama, New)
Huang Xiaoming’s new drama where he plays a soldier who becomes a businessman during the Chinese economic reform of 1980s. The story will follow a few other characters who were soldiers with our hero and their own transitions into civilian life. The romance part looks a bit messy though since both of our leads will end up with different partners…and if the show’s synopsis is to be trusted, it doesn’t seem like our two leads will eventually find a happy ending with each other either.
Where Stars Land (Korean Drama, New)
Known as the human-time-bomb by those who work with her, our heroine desperately wants to excel at her job as a passenger service agent at Incheon International Airport but trouble seems to follow her everywhere she goes. At first pleasantly surprised when she discovers her department’s newest member is the mysterious man who had saved her life months before, our heroine is soon seething in frustration when our hero turns out to be an aloof and rude perfectionist who always manages to save her from yet another trouble she finds herself in.
I was hesitant about checking this one out since good airport drama is hard to come by and bumbling heroine type is not usually my cup of tea. As I feared, the heroine’s character was quite frustrating for the first couple episodes but I was also pleasantly surprised by some of the unexpected twists in the story (such as the hero’s mysterious super strength) which gives me hope that this show might turn out to be a gem after all. Too soon to call on this one yet but at least the first week’s episode was promising enough to keep me watching.
The Smile Has Left Your Eyes (Korean Drama, New)
A K-remake of the well known J-drama One Million Stars Falling From The Sky with Takuya Kimura. The J-version was pretty messy with our hero being a killer and our two leads falling in love with each other not knowing that they are actually biological siblings. I of course stayed FAR away from the original drama despite being a Kimura fan. So, sadly, as much as I think Seo In Guk will do a great job as our hero in this K-remake…I am not going anywhere near this one even if I am certain the story and the acting will be superb.
The Player (Korean Drama, New)
Song Seung Heron in the role as a suave and naughty conman? Sold! As far as the story is concerned…as if we actually watch the show for the plot, Song Seung Heron plays the leader of a four member team that especially targets high profile criminals who have been able to evade the law because of their power and money. Krystal plays the lone girl in the team who is extremely skilled at driving.
The beautiful looking cast aside, the show does seem solid even if the story itself feels rather familiar to all the other show in the heist genre but that’s also why we love this particular genre so much.
Beauty Inside (Korean Drama, New)
I was super excited for this one and I am glad to report the show didn’t disappoint. Seo Hyun Jin plays a top actress who is surrounded by many many rumors but none comes close to guess the truth. Magically transformed into someone else entirely one week out of each month, our heroine lives in constant fear that someone would discover her secret but also harbors a desire deep in her heart for someone to recognize her despite her changed appearance. Lee Min Ki plays our super elite hero who notwithstanding his perfect outward appearance hides a secret condition of an inability to recognize faces.
I had gone into this one hoping for lots of fun and sweet romance which was exactly what I got!
The Third Charm (Korean Drama, New)
There are two types of women to our hero: 1. The women you have to meet. 2. The women you don’t necessarily have to meet. But then our hero meets a third type: The woman he should’ve never met again…his first love in his college days, a woman that is the complete opposite of him.
This one looks quite promising. The first two episodes were spent on showing us how our two leads’ met back in our hero’s college days. As one who is always impatient with backstory set up, I actually loved the first two episodes and for once, found the innocent first love between our two leads super cute but also reminded me all of the insecurities that came with youth. Judging by the first two episodes, I think The Third Charm should have plenty of light comedy mixed with poignant emotional depth on what it takes to fall in love…and stay in love.
Bad Papa (Korean Drama, New)
Seemingly destined to be a loser in life after his career as a professional boxer was cut short, Jang Hyuk plays a police detective who resorts to entering into the illegal boxing ring in order to support his family.
I liked the first couple episodes of Bad Papa. The vibe is a bit on the heavy side since our hero’s life is fairly depressing and this is no romantic comedy, but Jang Hyuk has always been great at playing this sort of emotional ridden roles.
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The only one I’m really liking is The Smile Has Left Your Eyes. The writing, directing and acting are superb. However, after reading your comments you’ve possibly spoiled it for me. Not happy.
I’m trying to like Beauty Inside because of Lee Min ki but so far not too impressed.
Ahh…Sorry!!! I don’t usually think about posting spoiler warnings when shows are remakes of popular shows in the past or when the show’s synopsis comes right out and tells you the ending (which most Chinese shows seem to like to do…and I personally appreciate). I guess I need to start thinking about posting warnings from now on. There is no doubt that the story is great which is why the original was such a classic so perhaps consider sticking with it even though I might’ve spoiled for you…so you can come back and tell me all about it since I am too chicken to watch it myself.