Lee Joon, Jung So-min up to star in new family drama Father Is Strange

by tineybeanie

Lee Joon, Jung So-min

With most of the current weekend family dramas having passed the midway point, broadcasters are already planning the next ones to air. KBS’s upcoming Father Is Strange has gone on a casting blitz, offering roles to key mainstay actors on the family drama scene including Kim Young-chul (All’s Well With a Happy Home) and Kim Hae-sook (Yes, That’s How It Is).

Father Is Strange is about a family that lives on the outskirts of Seoul, held together by its hardworking patriarch and his wife, presumably to be played by Kim Young-chul and Kim Hae-sook. However, this father has been hiding his real identity for thirty-five years, and now all of his children are grown and about to be married. His wife is a dedicated, responsible mother to his three daughters and one son, but with him, she’s full of aegyo. Suddenly one day, a young man shows up at the household, and declares that he is the son of the family. Despite knowing that he is not the birth father to this young man, the patriarch takes him in and insists that he is his true son.

Lee Joon (Woman With a Suitcase) has confirmed that he will be playing the male lead for Father Is Strange. This will be his first time acting in a family drama. The role was originally offered to his Woman With a Suitcase co-star Joo Jin-mo, but he declined due to scheduling issues. In the original character bio, Joo Jin-mo was supposed to play a cold, proud, and sensitive celebrity who grew up in America and became a successful actor in Korea. Whether Lee Joon’s character will be adapted from the previous description or whether it’ll be scrapped for something entirely new is still up in the air.

Kang Suk-woo, Kim Hae-sook, Kim Young-chul

Jung So-min (The Sound of Your Heart, D-Day) is in talks to star as the female lead. If she does decide to join the cast, it will be a reunion between her and Kang Suk-woo (Glorious Day) who played her father-in-law in Can We Get Married? Kang Suk-woo has already confirmed his role as a successful department head at a major news outlet, who proposes a “marriage graduation” to his wife (meaning that they still remain married legally and socially, but are free to live unhindered by each other’s interference).

Award-winning writer Lee Jung-sun will be writing the scripts for Father Is Strange. She was the main creative force behind Ojakkyo Brothers, which I enjoyed immensely. What’s got me worried is the PD, Lee Jae-sang. He’s directed some of my favorite family dramas like Sons of Sol Pharmacy, but his most recent projects Bel Ami and Trot Lovers were just awful. Like poke-out-my-eyes-please awful. Well, hopefully, he’ll make a turnaround with this upcoming series.

Weekend family drama Father Is Strange will air in February next year after Laurel Tree Tailors finishes its run.

Via DongA Sports, News1, IS Plus, EToday 1, EToday 2

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