Behind Every Star

I am a huge fan of the French version, "Call My Agent". No one can do sexy and free and crazy chaos, like the French. I watched about half of the British version, 10 Percent, which was just shockingly boring and canceled after the one season. It did not capture the essence of the French version. Now I am almost done with the Korean version. The problem with the Korean version, it feels a bit buttoned up and formal. The daughter, who wants to be an agent, is so timid and subservient. There is no way she would become an agent. She causes so much trouble by her sheer naivety and some truly bad choices. I found her hard to root for. Which was the opposite in the French version. Director/President Ma was okay for casting and the only other character I feel has the fire like the original is the young female agent. In the French version, she was a lesbian, and in this version they make her a bit of a man eater to start out, but she evolves. This pretty much is remake for the most part of the original. It is strange to watch a show you already watched from a different country be made with the almost exactly the same scripts in other countries. There were some things they changed up, but nothing too major. I am enjoying it and finding it interesting to watch with the cultural differences. It feels like it hits it's stride more after episode 6. It loosens up a bit. There is some actual kissing, which I have not seen in many Korean shows I watch. If you enjoy the plot, I highly recommend you watch "Call My Agent" on a streaming service. It has 4 great seasons. I am not sure if Netflix offers it with Korean subtitles. Hopefully they do. This Korean version has been renewed for a 2nd season. I will be watching it.

The story revolves around the difficulties of the agents at a large company called method entertainment in balancing their private life's with the demands of their role. It has some interesting characters and storylines but I think on occasions in making the problems they face realistic it loses momentum. It has many cameo performances from famous actors who are supposedly on the books of method. My favourite character is Kwak Sun-Young who is a loose cannon and her commitment to work means her private life accordingly. It is worth a watch as you do become interested in the development of the storylines.

This K-Drama was only 12 episodes long, and I watched it all, but I was glad when it was over. The only 2 characters I really cared to watch was the male lead Director Ma played by Seo-jin Lee who fit the profile perfectly and made me have empathy for him since his "mistake" was too many years ago. I felt his wife was a little harsh on him and also loved the way that he finally started taking responsibility for his daughter. The other character I liked was the side story accountant - a different kind of guy in the scheme of things and not even connected to the agency but loved his character. Although the description of the show mentions comedy, I didn't see any comedic scenes to speak of - it is more 100% drama IMO. The one thing I didn't like about the show is that it seemed like it was an advertisement for Netflix's Squid Games as some of the actors starred in that show and they were quite a few references to it in the script - as well as an actual scene of a game show that was reminiscent of Squid Games featured at the agency and in preparation of doing the show virtual reality headsets were used to overcome fear of heights and falling. Wondering if Netflix is getting ready to put out the sequence to Squid Games as have heard there is filming perhaps in Chicago and maybe other cities, thus the promos.

This is a gentle drama with some humorous moments, if not laugh out loud funny. Each episode features a well-known Korean actor playing themselves with corresponding storylines covering a range of issues. It explores the problematic world of casting agents and the sometimes, uneasy relationships they have with their clients, exposing hypocrisies and ethically questionable practices.

There are solid performances by the main cast with Kwak Sun-jeong as Chun Jane probably the strongest. Her scenes with Lee Sang-wook (Noh Sang-hyun) have lots of sexual tension and they look really comfortable with each other. The supporting cast act as an effective foil for the main players and one to watch for the future is Choi Yeon-kyu as Choi Won-jae. He didn't have many lines but played his supporting role with great attention to detail and has good screen presence.

Usually, costume design doesn't get much of mention in contemporary dramas but here it worked so well. The costume changes of flamboyant Choi Jin-hyuk (Kim Tae-oh) look amazing, and Chun Jane looked fabulous throughout.

This is definitely light entertainment, but it suits those looking for a relaxed and pleasant experience.

What has happened to Studio Dragon?

There was a time when you could be confident of watching a filth free interesting story - devoid of tokenism and virtue signalling.

No more.

Within a few minutes we are treated to an effeminate male who couldn't act to save his life. The coincidence of one woman leaving at the exact moment the FL is waiting in reception and is offered a job out of the blue is beyond stupid - as is the scene with the actress on a horse - the camera work was so poor it was no surprise to find that it was a fake one.

Most Korean dramas featuring horsemanship are totally noticeably fake but this one was on it's own.

If there is a story I haven't detected it yet - and I don't think I will bother.

From what I can see the acting all around is pretty awful - and the cast is not particularly attractive.

Studio Dragon has lost its fire and it's all down to awful writers.