Let’s just get it out of the way: Director New sucks at comedies. There’s no nice way to say it. His attempt at rom-com in A Boss and a Babe misses the mark so badly it feels like he’s trying to hit a bullseye while blindfolded, and someone’s moved the target to another country.

This rom-com manages to fail spectacularly at both romance and comedy. It’s almost impressive, in a how-did-we-get-here kind of way. The problem? Director New doesn’t seem to understand that jokes require timing, delivery, and maybe—just maybe—punchlines that don’t feel like a deflated balloon. Most of the jokes don’t translate well into any language, leaving us with non-verbal humor that, well, relies almost entirely on Book making silly faces as if that’s the pinnacle of comedic brilliance. Spoiler: it’s not. And while Book isn’t exactly the world’s greatest comedic actor, I can’t say even the finest comedian would have been able to salvage these scenes. You can’t make filet mignon out of wet cardboard, after all.

And as for the romance? Oh, dear. It stumbles out of the gate in episode one, with the main characters already in love before we’ve even had time to warm up the popcorn. It’s like they pulled a Deus Ex-Machina romance card from the get-go and forgot to build any tension. Worse, they behave like middle schoolers in puppy love, even though they’re supposed to be working adults. Force plays the boss, whose primary qualifications seem to be his hotness, which, let’s be honest, kept me watching longer than I’d care to admit. Unfortunately, he doesn’t take his shirt off nearly enough to distract from the complete lack of plot or character development.

The cold, distant company boss we were promised? The one who’s meant to be intelligent, calculating, and maybe, just maybe, too focused on his work? Yeah, forget that. Instead, he immediately decides to start a relationship with his intern—an intern who would absolutely be fired in real life on day one for having no common sense, no work ethic, and bringing absolutely nothing to the office except coffee. And questionable coffee, at that. By episode 3, you’re left wondering why the "romance" feels less like a love story and more like a platonic hangout session between long-time friends who decided to play "what if."

Plot progression? Ha! What plot? The romance flatlines after episode 2, and the subplots are so neglected you’d think they got lost in transit. This story had enough material for a movie, at best, but stretching it into twelve episodes was like trying to butter toast with an ice cube—pointless and messy. None of the side characters needed to be there; they existed solely to wander around in the background, their stories left unexplored and unfinished like abandoned side quests in a video game.

In short, I don’t recommend A Boss and a Babe. With twelve episodes that feel like an eternity, it’s a wonder anyone made it through. There are far better BL series out there that actually understand how to deliver both romance and comedy. Watch those instead—trust me, your time is better spent elsewhere.