News bites: November 22, 2014

by awcoconuts

Noh Min-woo, Yang Jin-sung

• Non Min-woo (Greatest Marriage) and Yang Jin-sung (Bride of the Century) are positively considering offers to lead a new MBC cable drama called My Unfortunate Boyfriend. About a woman who has no qualms about lying to get what she wants and her boyfriend, a man who is honest to a fault, the drama will demonstrate how their unlikely romance turns out to be true love. If they take the roles, Noh Min-woo will play the man who believes in living truthfully, and Yang Jin-sung will play someone just starting out at a corporate job, determined to succeed at any cost. She’ll potentially face competition from Kwak Ji-min (Shining Romance), who’s been offered the role of a femme fatale intern. My Unfortunate Boyfriend airs beginning January on MBC Drama Net. [Osen]
• This premise sounds fun: In Family Is Coming, SBS’s upcoming weekend drama, a grandmother is welcomed home after a 50-year absence. When it’s discovered she’s amassed a fortune in the amount of 18 million USD, all sorts of hijinks ensue as her family members fight for a cut of the inheritance. Their actions can’t all be about greed and betrayal, however, as the show is being billed as a warm story about reconciliation and familial growth. Oh Sang-jin (You From Another Star) plays an adoptee who grew up under grandmother’s wing, and while he’s known as a businessman, in reality he’s a lazy, unemployed bum. He acts like a child and is a major slacker, but he’s the guy who’s charming and impossible to hate. Family Is Coming will air after Modern Farmer at the beginning of January. [My Daily]


Kim Jung-eun, Kim Su-ro

• Given that the plot seems to have shifted focus a number of times already, it comes as no surprise that Kim Jung-eun (Oohlala Spouses) and Kim Su-ro (A Gentleman’s Dignity) have dropped My Heart Twinkle Twinkle (formerly known as Goddess of Sales). The latter stepped down due to a knee injury he suffered while shooting the variety program Real Men, but Kim Jung-eun’s reps remained mum on the reason for the actress’ resignation. While early reports suggested the drama’s emphasis would be placed on the eldest sister (who was to be portrayed by Kim), recent reports seemed to highlight Nam Bora’s character, the youngest of three sisters, as the protagonist. Jang Shin-young (My Spring Days) is said to be in talks to step in as the firstborn daughter. My Heart Twinkle Twinkle airs after Birth of a Beauty in January. [Korea Economy, Joongang]
• KBS is developing a new reality show tentatively titled Don’t Miss It, about the TV-watching habits of real people… Yawn. Viewers will be divided by regions, social classes, and age groups, and their actions and words will be filmed as they watch TV. Um, unless they can call Na PD in to work some editing magic (the man can make falling rain appear artistic and interesting on Three Meals a Day) I don’t have high hopes for the show — perhaps the slated celebrity appearances can save the day. Don’t Miss It will begin airing in mid-January with a 6-episode pilot run. [Osen]
• After suffering from a decline in ratings, MBC’s once-popular variety program Dad! Where Are You Going? will come back for a third season with changes to the format and a new cast. Members of season two will film until the end of the year, and it is anticipated that most or all of the cast will be replaced in the new year. Producers want to shift the focus in the upcoming season to depict celebrities raising young children in their homes, and they are actively seeking out households with children under the age of 6. In addition to the format changes, the show will likely move from Sunday nights to a different day of the week. [Dong A]


Bad Guys

• The cast of Bad Guys — Kim Sang-joong, Park Hae-jin, Ma Dong-seok and Jo Dong-hyuk — is planning to show up en masse at a fan flash meeting event. At first, Kim Sang-joong’s presence was uncertain due to a throat injury, but he’s said he will likely be there, if only for a short while. Kang Ye-won, who is currently in the U.S., has said she will try to fly back to attend. The Bad Guys fan appreciation event will be held at CGV’s Cheongdam Cine City on November 23. [TV Report]
• The pilot for the U.S. remake of You From Another Star may be filmed as soon as next January. Saemi Kim, an executive director at ABC, the network that optioned the rights for both SBS’s You From Another Star and tvN’s Nine, provided some insight into the programming process a few days ago at DICON 2014, an annual Korean content conference. Kim said ABC receives approximately 1,000 projects to review each season, half of which are comedies and half of which are dramatic shows. Of those, 100 to 120 are picked up, and then only around 20 are chosen to have pilots made. Eventually, 9 to 10 of those projects will be broadcast. Although Nine was the first Korean show to be picked up, its development pace has slowed. You From Another Star has progressed faster, but it will be January before the pilot-scheduling details are confirmed, and then the remake’s pilot will have to impress test audiences and network executives before production can move forward with a full season. [Yonhap]
• The web drama Love Cells has taken the Internet by storm with over 4 million views in the three weeks since its launch. Available via Naver tvcast and based on the eponymous webtoon, the fantasy rom-com is winning viewers over with its story and star-studded cast: Jang Hyuk, Kim Woo-bin, Kim Yoo-jung, Park Sun-ho, Nam Ji-hyun, Baek Sung-hyun, and Oh Kwang-rok. [Osen]

Love Cells

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