Hi everyone! It’s already time for my September edition of This Month On Patreon! Wow. We are already gearing up for the last quarter of the year! 😱
This is my monthly post on:
1. What’s happening on Patreon in a given month,
2. Exactly when you can expect to see various Patreon-related reviews in the month,
3. What shows I’m considering for coverage on Patreon, to replace shows that have completed their cycles, and
4. What you can expect, as a patron.
I hope you guys find this helpful &/or informative, and I hope you’ll consider supporting me on Patreon! ❤️
Why I’m on Patreon
My work has been on hold for more than a year now, because of the pandemic, and this is my way of trying to create a viable alternative source of income. As it stands right now, it’s murky and uncertain, whether work can resume for me, and if so, when that might happen.
I love this blog and if I had to switch careers, I would most likely have to quit blogging (those of you who’ve blogged before, or are still blogging now, would know what I mean when I say that blogging takes up a LOT of time 😅). Rather than quit the blog, I decided to try blogging full-time, and that’s where Patreon – and everyone who values what I do on this blog – comes in.
I am very grateful for all the support that has already been given (thank you to all my existing patrons, you guys are the best! 😘). At the same time, the amount raised each month isn’t quite enough to cover my living expenses, and is still quite far from being a proper income, which is why I do hope that my Patreon page will be able to continue growing.
If you value the work that I do here on the blog, please consider supporting my work on Patreon. ❤️
Psst! If you’re curious about the nuts and bolts of the work that goes into maintaining this blog, here is a Dear kfangurl post about this very topic, I hope you enjoy!
Shows currently covered on Patreon + their tiers
Adblocker Tier (US$1): Mad For Each Other
Early Access (US$5): +Bossam
Early Access Plus (US$10): +The Devil Judge
VIP (US$15): +My Roommate is a Gumiho
VVIP (US$20): +Hospital Playlist 2
Ultimate (US$25): +The Rational Life [China]
* Just to be clear, the tier benefits are cumulative, so if you sign up for the Ultimate tier, you wouldn’t only receive episode notes for The Rational Life, you’d receive episodes notes for all the other shows as well!
* I publish one set of episode notes each day, so each show’s episode notes will publish once in 5 days, since I currently cover 5 shows on Patreon. For example, My Roommate is a Gumiho E13 will post today (1 September 2021), and My Roommate is a Gumiho E14 will post in another 5 days, on 6 September 2021.
* For an actual example of episode notes, you can go here. 😊 It’s my E1 notes for She Would Never Know, a show which I loved, which I hope more folks would give a try. If you haven’t watched it, and your drama taste is like mine, please consider checking it out!
When Patreon-related reviews will post this month
This month, more than half of the shows I’m covering on Patreon will finish their cycles. Here’s when you can expect to see the reviews:
Mad For Each Other: 7 September 2021
My Roommate is a Gumiho: 16 September 2021
Hospital Playlist 2: 19 September 2021
The Devil Judge: 20 September 2021
Do stay tuned for those! 😃
Replacement shows I’m considering
This isn’t yet cast in stone, because I’d need to check out the shows to make sure I like them enough to cover them on Patreon, but here are the ones that I’m considering:
Mad For Each Other: possibly to be replaced by Breakup Probation, A Week*
My Roommate is a Gumiho: possibly to be replaced by Lovers of the Red Sky
Hospital Playlist 2: possibly to be replaced by Hometown Cha Cha Cha
The Devil Judge: possibly to be replaced by Uncle
* I don’t always have a show assigned for the US$1 Adblocker Tier, but from time to time I like to cover a bonus show on this tier. Mad For Each Other is a bonus show, and I’ll very likely cover Breakup Probation, A Week as a bonus too. I will make a separate announcement on this!
Other back-up shows I have in mind (in case the shortlisted show doesn’t make my cut): The Road, On The Verge Of Insanity, Lost (Human Disqualification), D.P. (Deserter Pursuit).
If you have other great shows to suggest, do let me know in the comments! Please do remember to bear in mind their airing schedules, though!
Patreon Highlights
If you’re new to my Patreon page, here are a handful of things you might like to know:
1. ALL tiers receive my episode 1 notes for any show that I’m covering on Patreon.
Therefore, if you’re curious about my notes for The Rational Life, but aren’t sure whether you’d like them enough to want to join the Ultimate tier, joining the US$1 Adblock tier will give you immediate access to The Rational Life E1-2 notes. After this, if you wish to upgrade to the Ultimate tier, Patreon would simply charge you the difference, while immediately unlocking all the posts that your new tier entitles you to. That’s exactly what Michelle did with Vincenzo, and I’m happy to report that it worked out really well! 😃
2. The Ultimate tier also receives E1 notes for all shows that I’m watching (or have checked out), INCLUDING shows that I’m NOT covering on Patreon.
This has included E1 notes for shows like True Beauty, Lovestruck in the City, Sweet Home, Shanai Marriage Honey (Japan), Must You Go?, Love In Between (China), A Thousand Goodnights (Taiwan), Zombie Detective, Here’s My Plan, Hello, Me!, Taxi Driver, At A Distance Spring Is Green, Monthly Magazine Home, Takane and Hana, and You Are My Spring. I call these posts Early Access Extras, and as a patron on the Ultimate tier, on average, you can expect to see about 2 of these posts each month.
In case you’re wondering, whether I eventually review these shows on the blog, really depends on how my experience with the various first episodes works out. I’ve carried on to review a number of the shows listed above, but I’ve also chosen not to continue watching a handful of them as well.
3. You can interact with me and with one another, on Patreon.
There is a comment feature on Patreon, so, much like here on the blog, you’d be able to comment on posts and share your thoughts with me and with other patrons. There is also a private message function, so you’d be able to message me directly on Patreon, if there’s something you’d like to talk with me about, but you feel isn’t relevant to the posts on Patreon themselves.
Aside from a web browser, you can also access my Patreon posts and messages on the Patreon app. You can find the Patreon app on Apple’s app store here, or on Google Play here.
4. You can feel safe to move between tiers at any time.
Because you are charged upfront on the 1st of each month, that tier’s privileges will continue to be open to you, even if you choose to move down a tier sometime during the month.
For example, if you were on the Early Access Plus tier, and on the 15th of the month, you decided that you’d like to move down one tier, to the Early Access Tier, you can make that change right away – but because you’ve already paid for Early Access Plus privileges, those will remain open to you until the end of the month. And then you will be charged your new tier rate, at the beginning of the following month.
If you choose to upgrade your tier, you can also do so at any time, and you will simply be charged the difference, eg, US$5, if you’re moving from the Early Access tier, to the Early Access Plus tier, and the additional privileges will be immediately unlocked for you as well. You will then be charged the new rate on the 1st of the following month.
Please let me know if this explanation isn’t clear! 😅
What about one-time contributions?
If you prefer, you can also support the blog through easy one-time contributions by clicking on this other cute lil icon below.
I’m told that you don’t need to have a Paypal account in order to do so, but if that changes, or is different in your region, a Paypal account is pretty easy to set up; there are no sign-up fees involved, and you don’t have to keep a balance in it, unless you actually want to. You can choose to link a bank account, a debit card, or a credit card, to facilitate your contribution.
Thank you!
..And that’s about it, for this month’s updates! If you have suggestions for other things that you’d like me to include in these monthly update posts, do let me know in the comments, and I’ll see what I can do, to incorporate them into future posts. I aim to publish future update posts on the first of each month.
Thanks for reading, thanks for your support, and thank you for being here! Big hugs to ya! 🥰❤️😘
Once again, you can find my Patreon page by clicking on this cute lil icon below:
@merij – haha! I meant my mind is boggled by how they get so much drama watching in. It would be mind blowing if they had nothing else to do, but they both have so much on their plate besides just watching. I have nothing else to do and can’t keep up with watching and just reading the comments here periodically.
@Trent – I repurchased my books as ebooks too, but I find I miss the physical books. So some books I have electronic and hard copy.
Lemme tell you, I used to have several bookshelves worth of books, a collection lovingly curated from the time I was an early teen; dragged around in multiple cardboard moving boxes through various moves–college, grad school, first job…
When the first edition Kindle first hit the market, and for some time after, I used to swear up and down that I would never get used to reading books in an electronic copy, that I would just never give up a physical copy of a book, which after all was such a beloved artifact, a central part of my growing up identity…long bike rides as an early adolescent to the local library to fill up my back pack with as many books as I could stuff in there; lying on the basement couch reading long into the night…
And then…some time around (I’m guessing) 2010 or thereabouts, I started trying out e-reader apps on my then-newfangled smart phone, and I discovered that reading an ebook on even a relatively small-screened phone wasn’t nearly as bad or difficult as I feared and anticipated. And there were some pretty big upsides in sheer accessibility and convenience. And then at some point in there, my wife (who is an inveterate “re-org-er,” and worships at the church of Marie Kondo (I kid, but only slightly)) started slowly but surely donating my physical collection out from under me, with (I am sad to admit) only minimal protest from me.
At this point I actually think the only physical volumes I still possess are a copy of GRRM’s The World of Ice & Fire (which I had to smuggle out to my office to save); a copy of Obama’s A Promised Land that my daughter got me for my last birthday; and a super-deluxe single volume copy of The Lord of the Rings that she got me for Christmas a couple years ago. Everything else is on my phone (or stuck in the cloud somewhere, accessible to download when I want to read it).
@SeanK – my mind is boggled. I’ve come to the conclusion that you and Kfangurl are alien spawn. There’s no other explanation.
In reference to which atrocity they’ve supported?
@Beez – I know! They eat multiple dramas simultaneously for snacks. I do not know how they do it.
Ah. That. Yes, alien spawn for sure.
Oh KFG! Hello hope you’re good! I don’t have much to say about the shows but I look forward to your thoughts on My Roommate is a Gumiho. I am enjoying it now – thought it would be so silly (and it kind of is) but it’s cute. I’ll try to juggle my finances to support you more 🙂 Take care!
Aw, thank you @MC!! I appreciate you thinking of me! 🥰❤️ And yes, MRIAG is turning out to be much more enjoyable than I’d originally anticipated; glad to hear that you’re enjoying it too! 😃
Hey KFG! Not sure how far along you are but the first half was super crack; the latter half is a little more problematic. I’m not sure how I’ll feel at the end (ep 13 now) but a little sad that it’s this way. Can’t wait for your review to see if we think alike!
One thing that always separates K Drama for me is how literate it is. And there it is in episode two of Cha Cha Cha, if the male lead is sitting up on his perch reading and contemplating Henry Thoreau’s Walden. Cannot imagine such a thing in a contemporary American or European rom com.
I had a little chuckle at that scene myself 😉
That was great! And also the scene right before that, when we see him in his lair, plucking the book out of a nice, full bookshelf with several shelves full books. My kinda guy! (Back when I still kept physical copies, before I moved all my library to ebooks, basically).
Another kind of interesting bit about the show so far: the second male lead hasn’t even shown up yet. They’re really letting the central couple get established. Not that I’m complaining…
Well, only K Dramaland could a young Walden reading man (Thoreau for all his lively philosophy and sublime love of nature a renown awkward bachelor), however handsome win the affection of Shin Min Ah! A splendid fantasy for outdoorsy intellectuals everywhere.
I was meaning to watch Taxi Driver, and I see that you mention posting your notes on episode 1. Are you still watching it? Or did you drop it?
Anyway, I hear a lot of good things about Mine. Also, about Mouse.
Mine made it pretty far up the “best-rated cable dramas” list, enough for me to provisionally stick it on my (ever expanding) watch list. Ditto with Love (ft. Marriage and Divorce), the second series of which even made it into the top ten, cable ratings wise; looks like the sort of thing I normally wouldn’t be too keen on, but might have to consider seeing it…
Mouse, I have seen people who loved it, and others who thought it was sensationalistic trash. I figure I’m still digesting a couple of very very good serial killer dramas (Flower of Evil and Beyond Evil, oh and also Signal, more or less), so I’m probably good on that front for at least a little longer…
@Natalia I thought E1 of Taxi Driver was solid, but on a personal note, I found it hard to stomach the bad stuff that the baddies were doing to innocent people. The knowledge that this was all based on true events made it even harder to watch. A few of those who’ve finished the show told me that it actually stays this way, and even sometimes gets worse, so if I had trouble with E1, I would likely have trouble with the rest of the show. Which is why I’ve decided (for now) that Taxi Driver might be solid, but it probably isn’t for me. 😅
Fangurl – I am A-Ok with whatever you decide.
I’ve upped my tier level! I can only read so many posts per week, but I want to support you as best I can afford.
Thanks for providing such a wonderful resource to those of us trying to decide what to watch next, which viewing lens to apply to appreciate each show for what it is . . . and for giving us this space to share our thoughts and feelings.
KFG rocks!
Thank you so much, @merij1!! I sincerely appreciate your love and support!! 🥰❤️
So never heard about Uncle despite it apparently being based on a British sitcom and the same with Break up probation. I have looked up both now but not really feeling that interested in both. With Red Sky I saw the trailer but the main cast seemed to lack depth particularly the FL. So hanging fire with that one.
Hometown Ch Cha is fun and those dimples😍. I am also watching The Bond C drama. It so good! I have huge soft spot for Bai Yu after watching Suddenly this summer and he is brilliant in this. I am only 11 episodes down and there are 36. So only time will tell if it holds out.
You might consider Law School, I was reality hooked by it and almost never fast forwarded, which is very rare for me. The cast is great and the plot is quite good, although not perfect.
I was meaning to watch this at some point. Is it a remake of How to get away with murder?
I haven’t seen How to get away with murder, but I read that the shows are different (maybe just a few similarities in the beginning).
It is and it isn’t, Natalia. Some of the opening episode is similar, as Alexandra mentions. I found How To Get Away With Murder quite disappointing, whereas Law School was good viewing for most of the show.
I loved Law School pretty much from beginning to end. I’ve pushed it a couple times in different threads here before, but doesn’t seem to be most folks’ cup of tea. Which is fine! But I did enjoy it a lot.
One warning, it does have a relatively intense (for kdrama, at least) intimate partner violence sub-plot in the middle episodes.
Well, it seems kdramaland is back with a vengeance this month 😊 Trent gives a nice appreciation below. My further thoughts are:
Hometown Cha Cha Cha, with the “dimple couple” is an absolute delight. Our OTP are playing a deft hand. I’m not sure if other actors would do so well in the roles. Shin Min Ah has at least three further dramas coming up, so this is like a revisit to her rom com best before heading back into more serious territory.
Lovers of the Red Sky. Ep 1 was a sumptuous feast for the eyes. However, I found ep 2, although good(ish), it was not great. I was a little disappointed, but it is slick storytelling with good interaction between the leads (both when young and old) and, with what I think is a fabulous OST.
Uncle is on my watch list, but despite who is in Breakup Probation, A Week, I am not watching that one, but happy to read the notes, if that happens, of course.
I am watching DP, and it is a very brave show.
Lost looks interesting. Might need some quality quiet time to absorb this one.
I am 50/50 re The Road. It has a great cast. Still, I guess I will look at a couple of episodes.
So, the show that reignited my interest re kdramas of late is Revolutionary Sisters. It’s not one for the list here as it is 50 episodes, but it is an utter delight despite the awful sisters. Also, I am caught up in Second Husband, the best daily show for some time. A monster watch at 120 episodes. I am digesting Sandglass (thank you BE and Beez) and ever so slowly progressing through Hospital Playlist and Empress Ki. As an aside, I am watching a Cantonese drama: Battle of the Seven Sisters, it’s delightfully hysterical.
For me, The Road, great cast, but the unending voice over doing a lot of telling that would be more interesting if shown and unrelenting ominous ost, suggesting some new harrowing thing about to happen every thirty seconds has been a bit much.
BE, your description of The Road portrays a very vivid image. Also, the voice over is very popular in a lot of shows at the moment. Very few shows, I feel, do it well. For me, the best ever use of the voiceover was The Wonder Years. On the New York front, I also like the voiceover narration in Only Murders in the Building, but some critics do not 😎
DP is so good! No sugar coating of the army experience just tells the story as it is without preaching and yet hilarious in parts. And I am really enjoying both leads.
I thoroughly enjoy the DP genre. I thnk because it goes to the heart and sould of who people are 😊
Cheers, Sean. Glad we’re both enjoying the cheery wholesomeness of Hometown Cha Cha Cha. I think you’re right that the central couple casting is really elevating it. Really fun to contrast both of them with other recent roles I’ve seen them in–Shin Min-ah as sophisticated professional career woman here vs. our sweet cheery gumiho, and Kim Seon-ho as beloved jack-of-all trades here vs. hard-edged VC investor (from Start-up).
Re: D.P., yes I think brave is a fair assessment. It also made it crystal clear how utterly toxic that particular paradigm of discipline and leadership is, and how the model perpetuates itself. I contrast that to my experience in an officer training program, more than thirty years ago now. I know that that sort of vicious hazing did once exist in U.S. military officer training programs, but by the time I came along, although there was still plenty of yelling and stress, overt physical bullying and over the top psychological torture had been banned, thank god. Crazy that that’s ever been considered a viable way to make tougher, more effective soldiers or leaders. (I’m not actually sure that is the goal, in fact).
Thanks, Trent. When I look at my viewing history, I have watched most shows by both leads. And, you know, with Hometown Cha Cha Cha, it is cheery wholesomeness on display and I think that is wonderful.
For SK to make such a drama re DP, it tends to suggest that such practices are alive and well. That is interesting re your own experiences and the changes made re the US Military. It has been the same here, but there have been some very public inquiries into a number of incidents re our military in recent years.
Certainly in the states the treatment of women in the armed forces has been an ongoing and well documented problem.
Very true, and I should qualify my comment above to make it clear that I’m not saying U.S. military training and treatment of personnel hasn’t had and doesn’t still have issues. I wasn’t even in standard enlisted bootcamp or anything, I was at a service academy for a couple years, which is a different kettle of fish (but which did have issues with treatment of women, then and from what I’ve heard, continuing on for some time. When I was there, women had only even been admitted to attend for a little over a decade).
Quick followup, I actually quite enjoyed the second episode of Red Sky. Kim Yoo-jung is almost always a delight to watch, and I have yet to see Ahn Hyo-seop in anything where he wasn’t good (plus, dude is cut. Rawr. How many hours a day do these dudes spend working out when they’re filming?!)
One possible side effect of the subs being ready and up so quickly: they haven’t gotten around to blurring out the ads at the end credits/next ep preview yet, so I was treated to the ad of Kim Yoo-jung shilling for Alcon (some version of eye care product), which, given the whole blindness/eye motif in this show, made me inadvertently burst out laughing.
I think the second episode of Red Sky made me a tad wary – I have watched too many shows with the grandiose beginning that then disappear into a forced narrative of self destruction. Lol re the workout routines. In all honesty, I don’t know how they fit it all in.
That ad re Kim Yoo Jung and Alcon is funny and clever at the same time. I see she became their brand ambassador back in early March this year. I always laugh re historical cdramas when you see the ancient shop, restaurant or cafe named after an actual modern day product or company.
I know, right? That sort of physique doesn’t just fall off trees, it takes time and attention…sure is purty to look at, though.
It’s pretty amusing to contemplate how the sageuks (and their C-drama counterparts) deal with getting their PPL quota, if they even have one. They can’t very well stick a Subway shop in the middle of a Joseon marketplace, now can they? Although I’m sure there’s been more than one heated behind-the-scenes meeting where they tried to strong-arm the PD into doing it anyway.
(This brings to mind Han Ji-eun’s character from Be Melodramatic, whose whole job was to make sure the PPL in various dramas got included per contract. I was dying at that extended scene where the PD tells her she needs to be nicer, maybe use a little aegyo to get what she wants, and she responds by going utterly over-the-top aegyo, right through “cringe” and out the other side….)
With regards to China, the government banned mid program advertising ten years ago, so production companies do need to find different ways to advertise. With The Longest Day in Chang’an, they developed a subplot where halfway through the show, the stars dressed in full costume would be riding around on scooters. Not that we saw that in the episodes I watched. However, what I have seen is the pop ups by advertisers that comment on a scene e.g. we have more experience in this area than the character currently talking!
The other thing I have just read is the Chinese government has issued a directive that cdramas must now have fewer episodes i.e no more than 40, but 30 is prefereable. I have certainly noticed the change in the last few months. The justification is to ensure the quality of the show is maintained and that actors are not getting paid massive appearance fees, and thus keeping production costs reasonable.
I couldn’t get into Be Melodramatic, but the aegyo scene sounds delightful!
Sean, I’m surprised you didn’t like Be Melodramatic. That one made our top A+ list.
Quirky characters are not for everyone, obviously, and the show-within-a-show theme occasionally went too far into parody, but overall I thought this was brilliant.
Showing the pressures of getting actors on board to debase themselves with blatant PPL to finance production costs was certainly illuminating and yet done with great humor.
Here’s my extended comment on KFG’s review:
https://thefangirlverdict.com/2019/11/23/review-be-melodramatic-melo-suits-me/#comment-90006
Thank you for sharing your comments, Merij. You certainly make a fine case for my reconsideration. Let’s see what happens 😊
Interesting that the government is actually looking to mandate fewer episodes in dramas!
Be Melodramatic is, as merij1 says, not for everyone; it’s a bit off the beaten path, the characters (not just the leads) are kind of quirky, and in a lot of ways given its structure and story lines, it’s kind of a meta-commentary on the production and function of the dramas we all consume. But I did really treasure the central threesome and their relationship with each other.
Unfortunately, I can’t find an English-subbed clip of that aegyo scene on youtube, but here’s the original:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxFGcRCRiSQ
…and if anyone cares to go to the trouble, it’s ep. 6 starting around the 53:15 mark (on the Viki.com version).
Not obvious from that clip, but it works! The PD suggests she uses aegyo to persuade the men, which leaves her feeling depressed and defeated. But her housemate Eun Jung comes up with a solution, which is so annoy the actor, director and others with relentlessly sarcastic aegyo, they are forced to give in and do the PPL as she requests. lol
Yeah, it’s baseline understandable from context, and funny even without translation (although the incessant repetition of “oppa” is perfectly understandable), but it’s even funnier with the subs because some of the comments (hers and others) are pretty funny, too.
I find aegyo is almost always annoying (exception: Park Bo-young), unless it is sarcastic, ironic, and over-the-top (like here), when it’s funny.
I enjoyed this snippet, Trent 😂 Thank you for sharing.
Here is a place of difference Sean. While I found Bossam, rather pedestrian and chock full of sageuk tropes done better elsewhere, what intrigues me about Lovers of the Red Sky is that I have not seen some of this in any sageuk before. It makes me wonder if it is based on folk tales, shamanic lore, and so on. Of course fantasy always runs the risk of being cheesy, and if not done satisfyingly disappointing. It is true FL character presents a bit of a trope, the boyish young woman, and the evil prince as well, but the foundation of the story is new to me. We will see how it develops.
FYI: The Dalai Lama explains “om mani padme hum”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QQKDP8SQZg
Thank you for sharing the link to the Dalai Lama, BE. His explanation is very thought provoking. I first came across “om mani padme hum” in about 1975 re the Doctor Who series: Planet of the Spiders. The Dalai Lama and his monks were using the mantra to keep the back hugging, giant mind controlling, spiders at bay 😱
Your wondering and musings re mythic representation in a kdrama got me thinking. With the shamans in Lovers of the Red Sky, they have certainly taken dramatic folk tale and shamanic lore licence. Shamans were considered the lowest of the low. They were mainly woman and based in rural areas. Interestingly, being a shaman was one of the few places where a woman could hold a position of power.In short, you would not find them at the palace etc.
There are many kdramas that portray shamanism as it was, and as it is. The key focus for the King was what the heavens had to say, so the astronomers were the prophets and performed the rituals, a la our hero. However, in modern SK, shamans are now considered successful, have high profiles and are considered important. Some are even protected by law because they are maintaining Korean heritage and culture.
Northern shamans become shamans through the gods inhabiting their bodies. Southern shamanism on the otherhand, is hereditary. Only certain shamans can be inhabited by the gods. These gods are known to be very temperamental. So in Red Sky, the god of death would seek out a shaman to inhabit. However, I think the fantasy elements are very good so far, despite the shamanic licence, as opposed to what I have seen in many other kdramas, both saeguk and contemporary.
Thanks Sean. I also sense a relationship with Chinese Taoism shamanism in this.
When I see the prominence of contemporary shamanism it does strike me as curious, a kind of national pre Christian embed, like reincarnation, which appear anachronistic to a contemporary American & it also leads me to wonder the national gestalt that seems to have such an outsized love-hate relationship with zombies.
While I am not entirely a rationalist, I was raised to be one.
@BE – These aspects of Korean society are always fascinating which is why, in a sense, I found Zombie Detective refreshing!
First of all, I hope all your followers are checking out all these specials you are reviewing for everyone. No one else I know of is doing that, and I have watched about six or seven over the past few months, and dug them so much. Really, these are shows I, and I would wager most of your followers would have no idea about, and some are just flat out wonderful. Thanks for that. KFG, the best in the business. Hurrah.
Though it does not look like it will come up for review here, albeit I see you have it down as a back up, and having watched it all, I would just one more time recommend On the Verge of Insanity (h/t @seanfletcher), which has to be one of the three or four best series I have seen all year.
The ensemble is great; show delivers just enough pathos in the comedy, just enough comedy in the pathos, and most amazingly and gratifyingly, show managed to stick the happy ending landing even while including the number one creep in show in the final bonhomie.
The ML and FL, Jung Jae Young and Moon So Ri, just wonderful, so wonderfully perplexed and on the verge of insanity as each so sanely, long sufferingly, knuckles down obstacle course after obstacle course making their way through the minefields of their corporate environment. And a shout out to support actors Kim Nam Hee (one of the two villains in Mr. Sunshine, just so charmingly eccentric in this) and the divine Cha Chung Hwa (Queen’s Maid in Waiting, Mr. Queen) of whom, I just want to keep watching–when she is on screen, just fun, a smile on my face. Just so good, such K Drama land comfort food, with so many sympathetic characters large and small to root for and a story that coheres and gets better as it goes along. Excellent to watch in two episode doses as Lee Sang Yeob’s Han Se Kwan manages to p**s you off more each time, making rooting for our leads that much more fun. Whipped cream, chopped nuts, and cherry on top finale. As sean noted in the last Patreon post, as soon as it was over, we “missed it already.”
How awesome was Lee Sang Yeob as Han Se Kwan, BE? I just loved each time he was brought undone. He was totally loathsome, shifty, petty, down right jealous and elitist and I didn’t feel sorry for him one bit 🤣
@Sean @BE – I just finished this and it was very good. As far as Han Se Kwan’s character, I was hoping for more kimchi slaps than what he got. What a piece of work! Oy! You gentlemen summed it up quite nicely.
Yay, monthly Patreon post! One of my favorite recurring features (clues me in to upcoming stuff I might not have been aware of, for one thing).
Like…Breakup Probation: A Week. Never heard of it before this! There’s too much drama available out there…waaahh! Anyway, intriguing premise, and it features Kwon Yuri as FL, who we are all really enjoying in Bossom, right? And it’s relatively short. Might have to jump into this one, at least give it a look.
Lovers of the Red Sky. Just started the first episode today. (As an aside, the Viki subs crew on this one seems to be really super efficient. Are some shows released earlier to the sub-crew? Some shows, subs take a day or more, others–like this one–seem to get subbed in a couple hours). This is looking to be way more fantasy-tinged than I was expecting, and also, lot longer preamble in the first episode. Give us our Kim Yoo-jung and Ahn Hyo-seop, stat! But yeah, on board for this, at least unless/until it doesn’t pan out.
Hometown Cha Cha Cha. I really really enjoyed the first two episodes, so I am totally in the tank already for this one. The dimple couple is already great, and I’m sure they’re only going to get better. Just a very entertaining, fun vibe here. If more eps had been available, I would have binged them already…
D.P. Really short (only six episodes, 40-45 minutes each), so I made it through in just a couple days. Warning, it’s pretty dark. It really shines a light on bullying and hazing in the conscript military. Jung Hae-in is great, so is Kim Sung-kyun; also interesting to see Son Seok-koo, who I just saw and took note of in Be Melodramatic. Just picture Jung Hae-in’s flashback scenes in Prison Playbook and then expand those out for a few episodes for a similar feel. To be clear, I found it very interesting and worth watching, but it ain’t fluffy bunnies and kittens.
What about:
Yumi’s Cells. Not sure about this one…I adore Kim Go-eun, so that’s a big draw; not sure about the live action/animation mash-up, or the overall premise.
Dali and the Cocky Prince. Also not sure about this one, but I like both the leads (Kim Min-jae (Nurse Park from Dr. Romantic 1 & 2) and Park Gyu-young), the premise sounds possibly-interesting?
We’ve definitely got some good, interesting dramas waiting for us in the final quarter, it looks like…
Regarding Yumi’s Cells, I’ve read the webtoon and enjoyed it. There are no absurd meet-cutes, no chaebols, and
I think a lot will depend on the writing and execution (duh, obviously, right?). If it’s clever and well-integrated with the live-action, could be fun, or it could turn out to be a hot mess. Hard to say! We’ll have to hope for the first…