Premiere Watch: Let Me Hear Your Song, Welcome 2 Life, Be Melodramatic

by stroopwafel

The July drama rush is over, and we’re starting off August with just three new dramas. With the pace of premieres slowing down, it gives us a chance to take a breather between each new show. Two of this week’s new premieres are an interesting mashup of several dramas (thriller-rom-com, fantasy-legal-rom-com) while our last premiere of the week is a take on adulthood very much rooted in reality.

Let Me Hear Your Song

Time slot: Monday & Tuesday
Broadcaster: KBS
Genre: Mystery, rom-com
Episode count: 32 episodes (35 minute episodes)

Reasons to watch: The plot centers around Kim Se-jung, a timpanist and insomniac. Ever since she witnessed a murder years back, she’s lost her ability to get a good’s night sleep–and all memories relating to the crime. When she meets a fellow orchestra member, Yeon Woo-jin, they somehow realize his off-key singing can lull her to sleep, and so begins a strange partnership of sorts: he sings her to sleep at night. Though Kim’s unsure of how much trust she can put into him, the two decide to try to solve the mystery of what happened the night of the terrible murder. Song Jae-rim and Park Ji-yeon have supporting roles as colleagues of Kim and Yeon. Song Jae-rim will be the conductor of the orchestra with Park Ji-yeon playing a talented and confident violinist. It’s been difficult to pin down what sort of drama this will be because the tone of the teasers and promo materials have been all over the map, but if the drama can strike the right balance between heavy and light material, I expect hijinks, healing, and romance.

Welcome 2 Life

Time slot: Monday & Tuesday
Broadcaster: MBC
Genre: Fantasy, legal, rom-com, investigative
Episode count: 32 episodes

Reasons to watch: Rain stars as a man who falls into a parallel universe and must adjust to living in this alternate world while trying to figure out how to get back to the “real” world. In his original world, he was a powerful private attorney who really just cared about himself. In his new life, he finds that he’s a prosecutor and married father of one. The kicker? His wife, Im Ji-yeon, was his ex-girlfriend in the other universe. She is a police detective in both universes, though her life with Prosecutor Rain seems to have made her a more cheerful person than in the other universe where she dated Conceited Attorney Rain. Kwak Shi-yang plays her detective sunbae and partner, and interesting, unlike Rain, he seems to be able to actually travel between the alternate realities. While this makes me want to jump to conclusions (he’s a baddie!), it also makes for a whole range of interesting possibilities should Rain team up with Kwak. The drama is set to pose some questions about the paths people choose in life and what ultimately matters the most in leading a fulfilling life.

Be Melodramatic

Time slot: Friday & Saturday
Broadcaster: JTBC
Genre: Workplace, romance
Episode count: 16 episodes

Reasons to watch: Chun Woo-hee, Jeon Yeo-bin, and Han Ji-eun star as friends in their thirties whose life circumstances suddenly force them to move in together. Though the three women are in their thirties (thus technically adults), they’re still finding their footing in life and the show will follow them as they juggle their careers, families, and love lives. On the romance front, Ahn Jae-hong will be playing a star PD who at turns infuriates and intrigues Chun Woo-hee. He’s incredibly arrogant, but when you get to know him, you realize he’s just a giant dork. Gong Myung’s loveline will be with Han Ji-eun. He’s the newest hire at her drama production company and though he’s a sweet, mildmannered man, their potiential relationship is complicated by the fact that Han’s a single mother and his boss. Added bonus, film director Lee Byung-heon (Extreme Job) makes his drama directing debut with Be Melodramatic. I’ve seen his film, Twenty which was a coming of age story about three young men who were best friends, so I trust that he’ll be able to tell a story about strong friendships but with three women this time.

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