We are at the end of our My Mister and Someday Or One Day group watches, you guys – time does fly by, when you’re enjoying your dramas, eh? 😁
I hope you guys have been having fun with the group watches! I especially appreciate those of you who managed to join both group watches &/or have been active on the Open Threads. Sharing your reactions and your thoughts really makes the experience richer for everyone. Thank you for playing! ❤️
It’s time to brainstorm on what we should watch next, as a community. Here are some initial ideas, feel free to let me know what you think, in the comments! If you feel like we should all just take a break from these group watches, totally let me know in the comments too!
Some things to consider
1. Group watch benefits
I realized that one of the cool things about having the group watches, is that even though we are watching shows that have long completed their runs, we still get to have that “live watch” experience, by sharing the experience as a community. I think that’s pretty cool. So let’s pick dramas that have already completed their runs?
2. Availability
In picking a show, we do need to take into account availability, so that anyone who wants to join in, can join in.
We need to pick a show that people can access on legal platforms like Viki, Kocowa, OnDemandKorea, Viu or iQIYI, preferably without needing to pay additional membership fees.
3. Geo-restrictions
If you’re geo-restricted, a VPN service would help you get around that. Not only does it provide online safety, it also gives you access to lots of great geo-restricted content.
I personally use NordVPN. You can find my review of NordVPN here.
You can use my affiliate link (here!) to enjoy up to 60% * off, with prices starting as low as US$3.29 per month.
* This used to say 73%, but because NordVPN’s changed the way it calculates the discount, it now says 60%. BUT, it’s the same great price, starting from US$3.29 a month!
An article on why it’s not illegal to use a VPN to access legal streaming content can be found here.
4. How are we going to choose?
I will gather some of the most popular options from the comments in this post, and put them into a poll next Wednesday, which I’ll announce in a new post. After a week of voting, I’ll announce the winning show, and our first Open Thread can kick off a week after that.
So, in summary:
Brainstorming: today until Tuesday, 1 February 2022.
Poll: Wednesday, 2 February, until Tuesday, 8 February 2022.
Announcement: Wednesday, 9 February 2022.
First Open Thread for People’s Choice group watch: Wednesday, 16 February 2022.
First Open Thread for Editor’s Choice group watch: Saturday, 19 February 2022.
Some contenders
You can totally add more suggestions in the comments, but to kick things off, off the top of my head, here are a few dramas that I thought we might want to consider, in alphabetical order.
I tried to include a nice mix of everything in this initial list, taking into account suggestions & requests that have been made since the last brainstorm, and also, including a few lighter options as well, since most of our recent group watches have leaned serious.
Bridal Mask / Gaksital
This one is a request by Snow Flower, because it’s finally become available on Viki. I remember this one as pretty epic and stirring, despite its melodramatic lashings, and a female lead that I was rather underwhelmed by. Joo Won pretty much carried this show, and his performance in this, is outstanding.
There is some romance in this one, but I’d consider it more of a supporting arc than anything else. It’s more a story of one man’s journey, towards something bigger than himself.
28 episodes. Available on Viki with Viki Pass, and for free on Kocowa.
Confession
If you’ve been around the blog lately, you’d probably have picked up on the fact that I am very (very!) smitten with Lee Junho right now (my k-love post is here, and my post on his fan meeting is here). So of course I went looking up his filmography, to see whether there was anything I’d missed, that I wanted to watch.
I found Confession, which totally flew under the radar for me, when it aired. I don’t even remember people talking about this one, honestly. But, the people who did watch it, had solidly positive things to say about it, on MyDramaList, so I thought I’d float it as a possibility.
It’s a law and mystery drama, that dips into corruption of the court, government and military, and the impact that that has, on families. It purportedly features excellent deliveries by the cast, Lee Junho and Yoo Jae Myung in particular. There is no romance in this one.
16 episodes. Available for free on Viu.
Dr. Romantic 2
I thought you guys might be interested to revisit the Doldam crew, after finishing Season 1 together. I’ve heard that Season 2 is just as enjoyable as Season 1 – if not more so.
I’ve been told that Ahn Hyo Seop is really good in this, and that Lee Sung Kyung is very solid too. I do believe there’s a loveline between their characters, so there ought to be some romance in this one.
16 episodes. Available for free on iQIYI and on Kocowa, and on Viki with Viki Pass, as well as on Netflix.
Good Manager / Chief Kim
A number of you mentioned I should watch this one, after my Junho k-love post, and I’m happy to include it as a possibility.
I’ve heard that this one is funny, and ironically enough, that was one of the reasons I’d given it a pass, previously. I just wasn’t sure I’d be on board with the humor, since k-humor and I don’t typically get along. But, now that I’ve come to appreciate both Nam Goong Min and Lee Junho, I think I’m finally ready to give it go.
From what I understand, there is no romance in this one, but there is a reluctant connection between Nam Goong Min’s and Lee Junho’s characters that is solidly compelling.
20 episodes. Available on Netflix, on Viki with Viki Pass, and for free on Kocowa.
Healer
BE previously suggested this one as a possibility, and I’m happy to include it because it’s one of my all-time favorites. This one’s got romance, action, melodrama; a bit of something for everyone. Plus, y’all know I just can’t help swooning, every time Healer casually parkours off a building. 🤩
20 episodes. Available for free on iQIYI and on Viu. Also available on Viki with Viki Pass, or for free on Kocowa.
Heard It Through The Grapevine
This one’s a request by Eda and Beez, who both love the show, and feel it would make for a great group watch discussion.
As I understand it, it’s a bit of a social satire / black comedy sort of thing, and is an underrated gem brought to us by PD Ahn Pan Seok, who also gave us the amazing Secret Love Affair. I’m actually pretty curious to see this one; it’s been on my list for years. Plus, Lee Joon and Go Ah Sung are both excellent actors, so that’s a definite plus.
30 episodes. Available on Viki with Viki Pass, and for free on Kocowa.
On The Verge Of Insanity
So many of you had good things to say about this in our year-end wrap-up series, that I thought I should include this as an option.
I think it’s rather underrated, in the sense that I didn’t hear a lot of people talking about it, when it aired. But those of you who’ve seen it, say it’s highly entertaining and amusing. I have to confess to being somewhat curious about this one. There is no romance in this one.
16 episodes. Available on Viki with Viki Pass, and for free on Kocowa.
Romance is a Bonus Book
This one’s a request by Shahz and JJ, who both loved this show, and therefore hope that we could all enjoy it together as a community.
I remember enjoying this one a great deal, when I watched it. Somehow, Show manages to be earthy yet whimsical at the same time, and Lee Na Young never looked so incandescent to my eyes. Romance is the main point, in this one.
16 episodes. Available on Netflix.
Thank You
In the spirit of including some older shows in the mix, I thought Thank You would be a good option to have, because it’s now available on Viki.
It’s been years since I watched this one, but I remember it being a warm, gentle sort of melodrama. Plus, it’s Jang Hyuk, acting as a badass doctor with a hidden marshmallow heart. 😍 And yes, this one has romance in it, though my impression is that it’s handled with a more muted sort of touch.
16 episodes. Available on Viki with Viki Pass, and for free on Kocowa.
You’re Beautiful
Such a fun, nonsensical, retro classic. I thought I’d include it because a number of you mentioned this show in your recent guest posts.
Also, Jang Geun Suk recently hilariously joked on Instagram, on the occasion of Park Shin Hye’s marriage, that her character from this show, Go Mi Nam, has abandoned his character Hwang Tae Kyung (article here), and that made me think that perhaps it might be fun to do a group watch of this. 😁 Romance is the main point, in this one.
16 episodes. Available on Netflix, on Viki with Viki Pass, and for free on Kocowa, on iQIYI and on Viu.
In Closing
Like I said, these are just some initial suggestions!
Please feel free indicate your interest, &/or add your ideas in the comments below, and we can figure out together, what we should watch next, as a community. ❤️