Descended From the Sun’s production company announces new drama lineup with JTBC
by tipsymocha
Ooh, I’m really excited by this news, for a whole bunch of reasons. Studio&New, the drama production arm of NEW (Next Entertainment World), has announced their upcoming drama lineup. NEW is traditionally associated with its movie business — they’ve produced hits like The Attorney, Miracle in Cell No. 7, and Train to Busan — but with the ginormous success of Descended From the Sun, their first foray into dramaland, they’ve added a host of dramas to their pipeline.
Along with the previously announced season 2 of Neighborhood Lawyer Jo Deul-ho, Studio&New is currently in pre-production stages for drama adaptations of webtoons Gi Gi Gwe Gwe and Moving, novel Ms. Hammurabi, and film Beauty Inside. I always have mixed feelings about adaptations, but I’m being cautiously optimistic because this lineup announcement accompanied the news that NEW has signed an agreement with JTBC for four of the dramas (minus Jo Deul-ho). JTBC has a pretty decent track record with adaptations (like Awl, Last, Solomon’s Perjury, to name a few) and I’m hoping their influence will help make these dramas successful, both critically and commercially.
Ms. Hammurabi, Moving
I’m not too familiar with the webtoon Moving and the novel Ms. Hammurabi, but they seem interesting in different ways: The former is written by popular webtoon writer Kang Pul, who also created 26 Years, which was adapted into a movie starring Jin Gu and and Han Hye-jin. Ms. Hammurabi is another legal drama (yawwwnn), BUT the main character is a newbie judge, which should provide some freshness to an otherwise overdone genre. The heroine is described as an overzealous rookie with a love of high heels and short skirts, who will focus on the people rather than on the case. This is giving me some strong Legally Blonde flashbacks, but the reports are saying this drama will have a more Misaeng in the courtroom vibe, so we’ll have to wait and see what the tone will be like.
Personally, I’m much more invested in, and worried about, the adaptations of Gi Gi Gwe Gwe and Beauty Inside. Gi Gi Gwe Gwe is a webtoon on Naver I read, and it’ll be interesting how they intend to adapt it because the webtoon is not one storyline but more of an omnibus. The genre isn’t consistent across each story either, so while they all have a somewhat eerie, supernatural element to it, some are more comical, while others are more touching, satirical, or outright scary. Gi Gi Gwe Gwe sounds the furthest along in pre-production, with two people already attached to draft the screenplay: writer Chun Sung-il, who has worked on Chuno, Level 7 Civil Servant (both the movie and the drama), and the movie Pirates, and director Park Jung-woo, who worked on movies Pandora and Jail Breakers.
Gi Gi Gwe Gwe, Beauty Inside
2015’s Beauty Inside is one of my favorite movies, and I still listen to True Romance by Citizens! on repeat whenever I need a little pep, so I’m clinging to the hope that this is one movie-to-drama adaptation that won’t fail *cough* Level 7 *cough*. The plot revolves around a man who wakes up to different faces every day, and the woman who comes to love him. I thought the story was perfectly sized for a film, so I wonder how they intend to stretch it out for a whole series. Also, there was a lot of star power required for the body-shifting hero in the movie, so I’ll be interested to see how that will be handled in the drama.
All in all, it looks like NEW is pretty serious about getting into the drama game; they’ve gone on a hiring spree and brought on directors Kwak Jung-hwan of Chuno and The K2, and Song Hyun-wook of Oh Hae-young Again and Introverted Boss. NEW founder and CEO Kim Woo-taek recently said that their company will focus on producing diverse content, in a “safe production environment,” so I’m going to be looking forward to what they will bring to the dramaland table.
Broadcast dates haven’t been announced yet, but the agreement with JTBC covers this fall through the end of 2018, so we can expect the first of these dramas to start later this year.
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Tags: cable programs, Descended From the Sun, drama production
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1 Funmi Olofinlade
April 19, 2017 at 2:29 PM
I also loved Beauty Inside!!! Hopefully these adaptations are done tastefully as usual. JTBC is on a roll this year. Bring on the dramas!!!
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2 kdramaskimchi
April 19, 2017 at 2:35 PM
turning the beauty inside into a drama sounds like a very tricky project though...i wonder how they wanna stretch it to a drama and it will also require a lot of actors...anyway if they succeed..i will be watching it's first episode to see if it's well done and if it's good..i will watch to the end! my only hope is that the drama comes with an icing of han hyo joo reprising her role as yi soo and yoo yeon seok as an extra topping...i hope this is not too much to ask!☻♥
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chingu
April 19, 2017 at 3:22 PM
It'll be cameos galore! However it'll turn out, I think I'm def gonna tune in bc I love the premise.
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3 UmbrellaMan
April 19, 2017 at 2:50 PM
I am interested to see how they adapt Beauty Inside, especially since the main character body swaps everyday. So the star power will have to come mainly from the lead heroine. We shall see...
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chingu
April 19, 2017 at 3:20 PM
I'm thinking it'll be a different body/actor every episode and maybe it'll be like, 10-12 eps, or smth.
And I'd love for Kim Go-eun to be the lead heroine. ? Hee.
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UmbrellaMan
April 19, 2017 at 3:23 PM
Maybe each day would play out over multiple episodes so we would have one actor for longer time frames. Otherwise this will have a huge main cast!
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pickledplumtree
April 19, 2017 at 8:35 PM
This could also bring in a complicated element, because the audience may become too attached to certain versions of the MC if they stick with one actor for an extended period of time. I even became attached to certain faces in the brief moments of the film!
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4 dooleygongshil
April 19, 2017 at 2:50 PM
OHHH... I'm look forward to seeing what how they'll turn out. Descended was such a huge hit, it'll be hard to follow up.
A show about a female judge sounds fresh and interesting! A smart female lead is always appreciated and it'd be from a new perspective since there aren't really any dramas about judges (that I know of) female or otherwise.
Like the rest of you, I'm most curious about Beauty Inside. They won't just need a lot of actors, but good ones. Each actor would need to be able to convincingly portray the same character. Of course, the female lead is also really key as well. Here's hoping!
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5 Bongsommie
April 19, 2017 at 2:57 PM
Woooooosshh
Really looking forward to how bwarty inside would come out and how many actors would come on for the different faces
I hope hwarang guys -bank ryu and sun wool still come on
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Bongsommie
April 19, 2017 at 2:58 PM
Sorry beauty ??
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6 adachiyutos
April 19, 2017 at 3:02 PM
Most of jtbc's dramas are produced by Dramahouse so I'm wondering what this means for them? Regardless, this is a pretty big deal for jtbc and all of the projects sound interesting. Ms Hammurabi sounds a bit like Prosecutor Princess.
I don't think Beauty Inside can work as a drama but it could be a good opportunity for lesser known actors to shine.
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siesta
April 20, 2017 at 1:58 AM
"Ms Hammurabi sounds a bit like Prosecutor Princess. "
that's exactly what i thought too!
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7 bananachocolate
April 19, 2017 at 3:02 PM
I think ive may have read one chapter of Gi gi gwe gwe somewhere and I too wonder how they will adapt that. I'm thinking more along the lines of shorter length episodes. As for Beauty Inside I kinda want less than 30 minutes per each since the main lead is switching out every so often. As for the casting, hopefully they can either hire only some actors/actresses and have them rotate around/ focus on few stories OR maybe hiting fresh faces ( as long as they can act lol). Yay to more female centric drama with Ms. Hammurabi
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bananachocolate
April 19, 2017 at 3:04 PM
hiring**
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8 callie
April 19, 2017 at 3:07 PM
A drama adaptation of Beauty Inside would be interesting... I'm unsure how they could make it work as a show though, since I personally felt like it didn't really succeed as a film to begin with.
Investment in the main character was hard with the changing actors. I don't feel like they succeeded in making it feel like the same character throughout the show. Both leads also felt underdeveloped, and therefore the romance felt hollow. This may be corrected by multiple episodes, i.e. more time to develop characters, but I feel like it might stretch the actual plot thin.
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9 chingu
April 19, 2017 at 3:15 PM
I loved Beauty Inside! Maybe it'll be a shorter-length drama w/ like, 12 eps instead of 16 or 20? Hopefully! I'm both excitedly expecting a diff face for our main "guy" for every ep, but also already bummed that I'll prob be too attached to one and then having to say goodbye to them bc they can only stay for a day! Gah, the heartbreak.
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10 tesshan
April 19, 2017 at 3:26 PM
I love Beauty Inside. It is not an easy task to get such a story turned into a drama. Being able to cast enough interesting and talented actors to keep the viewers glued to the screen over a (maybe) 16 episodes arc? Not easy at all. I cannot imagine anyone else than han hyo joo playing the female character. But I do not think any actor would go back to play the same character twice...
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nerdy
April 19, 2017 at 4:15 PM
They could cast someone less known? Or maybe idols, they wouldn't be able to ruin the 10 minutes screen time they get
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tesshan
April 19, 2017 at 4:26 PM
I was thinking that it would be difficult to get the viewers invested in the male character if there are too many actors (and too many episodes) that are not good. Some newcomers with talent could be a good option or some very well known actors (like an ocean's 11 kind of ensemble).
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11 yrlvv
April 19, 2017 at 3:34 PM
I think I might be sick if hearing "legal" one more time. With the current situation in Korea, there are so many legal relate dramas, one after the next. It's just too heavy.
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12 jellybine
April 19, 2017 at 3:46 PM
I'm not familiar with any of the webtoons/novel but I'm a bit worried about Beauty Inside. I agree that the story fits the film perfectly. I hope it turns put good!
I'm interested in Ms. Hammurabi because of the story description. It will be so good to see a sassy judge in court. :)
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13 Eries be the Light
April 19, 2017 at 3:52 PM
I think this year is belong to JTBC
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14 nerdy
April 19, 2017 at 4:13 PM
To be honest, I am not so sure I want to see the adaptain.
Movie was great, but I think drama would ruin its main charm....I already imagine how they will probably make male lead's best friend into a second lead, Yi-soo would become a hard-working poor girl with a family issues and we would get a TOTAL happy ending with main lead getting cured by the power of love (worst thing they could do, the main idea of show was being loved however you looked, without getting "repaired", so becoming a one handsome guy would make this show pointless)
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tesshan
April 19, 2017 at 4:29 PM
Nah they cannot change the ending...It is all about the beauty inside and not outside so it would not make sense ending it with him finding a cure. People would revolt. But yes I dread the additional drama bits they could add (relationship with mother, maybe meeting father, her relationship with family and work colleagues)
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pickledplumtree
April 19, 2017 at 8:41 PM
Actually, in the original US version, Topher Grace narrates the series and in the end he stops changing and continues to wake up as himself!
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15 sharreb
April 19, 2017 at 4:15 PM
Cautiously eagered. A casting may make or break a drama for me. End of last yr to now has some pretty good casting, so pray that will continue. Most of the title in works sounds interestin. Im never a fan of legal theme dramas. Crime yes. Legal no. So even when my fav Ji Sung is hitting it out of the park in Defendant..i did not watch. But i did enjoy Legally Blonde. Short skirt and female centric butt kucking female heroine gave me Power Office Girl vibes so if the actress and premise of it is good who knows. Maybe Gwi can be filmed like the Chinese Odyssey. But its always good news to see varying n diff dramas in the works
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16 잘자민민
April 19, 2017 at 4:16 PM
While I haven't really watched the movie Beauty Inside its premise sounds a lot like a book I read called Every Day. Where this person's soul switches bodies everyday and he falls in love with the girl while being in one body. So he finds her and gets her to fall in love with him. Am I the only one who noticed this? But anyway can't wait. Bring it on JTBC!!!
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UmbrellaMan
April 19, 2017 at 5:36 PM
Ok. Googled Every Day, realized it was by an author I recognized, David Levithan, so checked my Kindle books. Yes, I have read this, just don't remember a lot. Makes me want to read it all over again.
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swoosiederkins
April 19, 2017 at 6:12 PM
Sorry, totally unrelated, but...your username ^^
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michykdrama
April 20, 2017 at 4:03 AM
Goodnight Min Min? ?
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azzo
April 19, 2017 at 9:10 PM
Yes, I remember when I first heard about The Beauty Inside I thought of Every Day, it does sound similar to the book but it's different, "A" didn't have a real existence, no name, nothing, "A" was a wandering soul which just lived in whatever body it woke up in while in The Beauty Inside Woo-jin is a real person who wakes up one day and finds himself as a totally different person, and if I remember correctly it doesn't happen until he turns 18!
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17 sfgirl
April 19, 2017 at 4:30 PM
Loved Beauty Inside and still totally in love with Citizens! - True Romance. The way that song is shot at the end is gorgeous too! With the beautiful Prague Castle in the background!
I am not sure if that movie needs a drama remake.
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UmbrellaMan
April 19, 2017 at 5:37 PM
I bought that song almost immediately after watching the film.
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18 wackycashew
April 19, 2017 at 4:49 PM
This sound like an interesting partnership between NEW and JTBC. Out of the works listed, I'm interested in the Beauty Inside adaptation based on your description of the film (though I haven't seen it). I'm not really into scary stuff, and for the rest, I might be drawn to watch, depending on who gets cast.
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Mango Juice
April 19, 2017 at 9:30 PM
It's not scary! Guess the supernatural bit got you confused. I totally recommend that film though.
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19 potatodrama
April 19, 2017 at 5:39 PM
Beauty Inside is so good, I don't like this idea of making it into a drama. Sounds very "Hollywood non-creative status" for me.
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20 PanthomLights
April 19, 2017 at 5:42 PM
I'm worried and excited at the same time on how are they going to handle Beauty Inside.. I'm looking forward to it.
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21 salt N pepper
April 19, 2017 at 6:04 PM
I loved Beauty Inside, too! Downloaded the song on Spotify and iTunes immediately after watching the movie. I wonder if they can make it work as the original was quite good. I loved the original cast as well. Would it be possible to have Chun Woo Hee and/or Han Hyo Joo again?
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22 Nessie
April 19, 2017 at 6:12 PM
Wow this is really good news, it'll really amp up the production quality of dramas. Beauty Inside would be the most interesting one, I'm just imagining all the cameos and it's gonna be amazing.
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23 Janet
April 19, 2017 at 7:18 PM
i am super excited by beauty inside and i wonder how they will do it with numerous episodes!
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24 Lena S.
April 19, 2017 at 7:34 PM
Very interesting stories, i'm glad JTBC are investing in adaptations 'cause i tend to love them. I'm definitely keeping an eye on this.
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25 sweetsour
April 19, 2017 at 7:41 PM
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26 bqk318
April 19, 2017 at 8:27 PM
No, not the director Song Hyun-wook. He always mess drama up with mess ost and mess scenes.
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27 pickledplumtree
April 19, 2017 at 8:31 PM
Oh my, how can a drama top the Beauty Inside film?! It was so lovely and the pacing seemed perfect. It may be tricky to stay invested in the lead's character with him still changing appearance multiple times a minute for a whole kdrama series. But if the storytelling is well done, it is possible! Maybe they'll slow it down. I've also seen and enjoyed the original US version, which is a 6 episode mini series. I did like the different ending and backstory of the original, too. The US one was "Hollywood's first social film that (gave) everyone in the audience a chance to play the lead role throughout the story." They opened the project up to everyone to film themselves and post on facebook, and used it as the main character's different faces. What a great story.
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Aya
April 20, 2017 at 12:12 AM
I really love the original version of The Beauty Inside. What makes it even better was that since it was an interactive social film, the lead character (Alex) wakes up as a different person with different ethnicity, race, language, everyday.
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28 Sam
April 19, 2017 at 8:50 PM
I thought NEW would venture into another big production. What happened to that plan?
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29 azzo
April 19, 2017 at 9:01 PM
I loved Beauty Inside and I don't know how they're going to adapt into a drama but I'll watch it! Just Bring Yoo Yeon-seok, Lee Dong-wook and Park Seo-joon and I'll be stuck to the screen!
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30 Ceitidh
April 19, 2017 at 9:25 PM
I have a question. Wasnt NEW supposed to produce Criminal Minds as well? Are they still producing that one or they left that project? I haven heard anything about them and Criminal Minds again, even though they were he first ones to be linked to the project when the news just came out.
I would appreciate if anyone knows anything about it, to share it with me please ^_^
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Kent
April 19, 2017 at 9:31 PM
I think but Criminal Minds have been acquired by Studio Dragon and will be shown on TVN in July. That's all I know.
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31 changhyun
April 19, 2017 at 9:27 PM
JTBC is killin it!
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32 cozybooks
April 19, 2017 at 10:14 PM
Wow. I loved Beauty Inside, but I have no idea how it would work as a drama. Part of the charm was that no one face ever stayed for long--and could you imagine trying to keep that up for an entire series' worth??
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33 harucookie
April 20, 2017 at 12:31 AM
Beauty Inside as a tv series? Interesting....
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34 Poia
April 20, 2017 at 1:19 AM
I don't even know a title among those mentioned in the article! Wow I feel a noob right now :( so sad.
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35 beansoverflowers
April 20, 2017 at 1:19 AM
"safe production environment". i know they're probably just buzz words, but it's music to my ears.
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36 Trinity 🍆
April 20, 2017 at 8:49 AM
Anyone know what Moving is about? The cover has me interested. Woman vigilante? Athlete? Superhero? Out of them all that's the one that caught my interest the most.
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37 kakakash
April 20, 2017 at 9:00 AM
Ooo it'll be interesting if they bring a slew of various actors for each episode for the Beauty Inside.
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38 jadea
April 20, 2017 at 10:59 AM
I would love to see where they take Beauty Inside. It would be hard, but I think with the right production crew, writer, and casting, they could really make this an interesting project.
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