Su Yu (Chinese Drama, Viki)
As the mysterious girl who is always right next to our hero everywhere he goes, the whole world (especially the women) believes our heroine must be thanking her lucky star daily for being able to capture the heart of the young master of Qianyun manor, the man who is seemingly perfect in every way. What the world doesn’t know is that our heroine is sick of working nonstop for her narcissistic boss who only has eyes for himself. If K-drama’s What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim is set in fantasy ancient China…
The show is pretty entertaining, however, the comedy and some of the story set up in Su Yu are a bit over the top for me. I was quite speechless when the characters in the show suddenly raised their bare wrist to listen to a transmission of a group message. I consider myself to be the obedient audience type when it comes to suspending belief when I am watching dramas but this was even beyond me. I probably would’ve been perfectly fine if the show gave us a mirror or a bracelet as the transmission device but bare wrist? Really show? Anyhow, if you are in the mood for something a bit silly then this one might be worth checking out.
Love Story of Court Enemies (Chinese Drama, Youtube Eng Sub)
Determined to find out the truth behind what killed her parents, our heroine ended up entering into the palace as a palace maid. Thanks to her optimistic personality and willingness to help those in need, our heroine will blaze a path through the palace intrigue to obtain her own happily ever after with our hero who is a general.
The synopsis sounds a bit heavy and depressing but this one is actually more of a Chinese comedic take on the K-drama classic Jewel in the Palace. I liked the set up of the story and the fun chemistry between the two leads right from the start but this show’s production quality is quite cringe-worthy. The story seemed fun enough that I would probably brave a few more episodes to see if I can somehow get myself to ignore the poor and uneven production quality.
Nothing but Thirty (Chinese Drama, Viki)
The drama follows three thirty-year-old women with very different outlooks on marriage. One is a perfect housewife who has single-handedly made her husband into a successful CEO but can she still keep her perfect cool when another woman appears next to her husband’s side? The other one is a smart and beautiful woman who believes she can achieve everything she wants by herself even if the path to success in the cut-throat business world is extremely difficult. The last one is a woman whose life and marriage is the textbook of being unremarkable until her marriage is turned upsidedown when her side hobby of writing novels suddenly brought in unexpected wealth.
I am usually not too interested in these sort of stories but I found myself watching one episode after another and wondering what choices each of the three women will make. This one will most likely still not make it onto my watch list but I will check back on it from time to time.
In a Class of Her Own (Chinese Drama, iQIY app)
This one is a remake of 2010 K-drama Sungkyungkwan Scandal (starring Park Min Young and Park Yoochun) where our heroine ended up entering into the empire’s best academy disguised as a boy.
The story strikes the perfect balance with one smart beautiful heroine and THREE handsome male leads (an upright straight-laced nobleman’s son-he is the hero, a suave mischievous business genius, and a moody fighter with a perfect physique).
In a Class of Her Own has done an impressive job of choosing a beautiful cast that should not disappoint even fans of the original. The only character I felt the original still had the upper hand on was Song Joong Ki’s character of the suave mischievous business genius…after all, Song Joong Ki’s sparkling twinkling eyes are quite difficult to match.
Chip-In (Korean Drama, Viki)
A weekend of a family gathering at her estranged father’s house is the last place our heroine wants to be. As her father’s only child who stands to inherit a big portion of his massive fortune once he dies from cancer, our heroine can feel the greedy and even malicious intent her own family has towards her. When the weekend abruptly ends with our father’s death, will our heroine be able to catch the culprit before she herself becomes the next victim?
This one is a black comedy so despite the murder thriller sounding synopsis the show has more of a “the butler did it” vibe.
Consummation (Chinese Drama, Viki)
Their heart aching for their friend who has buried himself in self isolation for the last ten years, a group of friends gather together to send our hero on a journey back to his high school days via a brand new VR technology. The psychological trauma of our heroine’s accident 10 years ago was so severe on our hero that he has completely forgotten her until his trip to the past slowly reveals the hidden mysteries that might help him reclaim the friendships he lost.
The first episode was a bit confusing at first but once our hero put on the VR machine the story was much easier to follow. I liked the first two episodes and I am dying to find out all the mysteries….but I am too scared. It is hard to tell from the show’s synopsis and the first couple episodes of the show the nature of our heroine’s accident or if she is even still alive. My theory is that she is still alive and perhaps this VR technology might even possibly allow our hero to change the past somehow…but this might very well be a show about learning to let go so I am not getting on the boat until this show wraps up and I find out the ending.
Flower of Evil (Korean Drama, Viki)
Lee Joon Ki’s new crime thriller where he plays a man whose wife is a detective (Moon Chae Won). On the surface, our hero seems to be a perfect husband and father but in reality, he has assumed the identity of another person and has been deceiving his wife the whole time.
This one is intense! Lee Joon Ki is of course always perfect for these kinds of roles where he is intense, scary yet so vulnerable that you still want to hug the man. The pacing is also quite fast right from the beginning so this one seems solid all around.
Count Your Lucky Stars (Chinese Drama, Viki and Youtube Eng Sub)
Jerry Yan’s new C-romance where he plays a fashion magazine editor famous for his keen eyes for trends and unforgiving sharp tongue. Our heroine is an aspiring designer who has the worst luck in the world until an accidental kiss with her boss miraculously transfers our hero’s good luck all to her…and her bad luck to him.
If the premise of this show sounds familiar to you that’s because 2006 American movie Just My Luck with Lindsay Lohan and Chris Pine had a similar premise.
Jerry Yan is 43 in real life…which makes him 20 years older than the actress playing our heroine. The big age difference seems to be a concern to some viewers and I have to admit I too also wondered if the age difference would influence our two leads’ onscreen chemistry. Fortunately, after checking out the first few episodes and …um…*cough*…a certain bath scene from our hero promptly convinced me that I worried needlessly.
The show’s story is fairly predictable but I am liking the two leads’ chemistry and the swoon-worthy moments.
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I’m watching both Nothing But Thirty and A Class of Her Own and am liking both.
A Class of Her Own has an easy storyline minus the heavy evil political intrigue of some historical dramas I’ve been watching so my viewing is not laden with dread. It’s light and has ‘eye candy’ actors and actresses -which is always a plus. Nothing but Thirty is also easy to view. I especially loved the village and rural settings. Anyway thanks – once again I have used your Drama Round Up to find great viewing.