July 2024
I found the first episode chaotic in terms of setting the story. I had no idea where it was going and didn't feel engaged at all.

I always give a show at least 3eps before I decide whether to continue or not, and overall, am pleased I carried on. The more episodes that play out, the better it gets.

There's a little of everything here; showbizz setting of a successful acting agency, frienemies, work colleagues, friendships, relationships, love and some family stuff too.

The work environment is often hectic and seems most devoted to dealing with negative press and rumours/scandals, before they create too much damage. Lip service is paid to other aspects of the business. There is a fair bit around actors shooting their dramas, plus recruiting rookies in that profession and training new agency staff.

There was a definite message often projected, I felt, that famous people are also human. It gave examples of partially overheard conversations being misinterpreted and spread across social media, causing the inevitable 'scandals'. The Agency is then shown issuing warnings of legal action etc, etc. There's even an unlikely sasaeng type character.

Unfortunately what they don't do, is show those types getting punished.

There are some genuinely funny moments in this, where I had a good laugh; there are also some touching bits too. A lot of really daft stuff as well, which did make me cringe on a few occasions.

The romance is pretty immature at times, but then with little to no romantic relationship experience of the characters, it's not surprising and age isn't then relevant.

I like the cast a lot and thought Kim Young-dae portrayed the often dual personas of his mega star character, well. He's dedicated to his work and fans and professionally mature, but immature in other ways. It's interesting.

Have to drop in that on Gong Tae-sung's photo shoots, he looks ?

I like Lee Sung-kyung, too, and have seen her in a number of dramas. In this, she has a definite RBF (resting b***h face) and her character only just managed to stay on the right side of being too irritating for me, especially in earlier eps.

I rarely mention looks, but I can't not say that whenever she wore short skirts, I could not overlook how skinny she is, in this role. Not slim, but very thin, especially her legs. This really stood out to me and I found myself being distracted by that.

Also, one major aspect of the drama's story that suddenly popped up, was dealt with too lightly for me. For such a serious issue to be dropped in and then concluded so lightly, left me very unimpressed. A subject that has far too big a foot in reality, should have had a larger chunk of the plot's time, instead of repeated silly moments of bickering and running around. I think it would have added to the story and given it some gravity.

Even so, I did enjoy this, even if it lacked that depth to some of the characters. It's not a bad, or difficult, watch and often quite sweet. I wouldn't watch it again, but neither would I say don't bother.