After watching the 3rd and 4th episodes of On the Verge of Insanity, I predict this may be one of my favorite workplace dramas this year.

Kim Ji-suk dominated my screen thanks to Monthly Magazine Home. Our CEO dancing whale has a heart, in spite of himself. But judging by the trailers for next week, he still needs to learn to think before he speaks.

Wanting more of that KJS and Jung So-min chemistry, I watched their 2013 bittersweet drama special Came to Me and Became a Star. After watching this love story, MMH feels like an alternative timeline corrective.

Then I watched a few episodes of The Romance (Viki) a reality TV show where two M/F performers collaborate to write two short web drama romances. It began filming towards the end of 2019, 3 months before Kim Ji-suk’s casting was announced for My Unfamiliar Family. He asked his friend of 14 years, Yoo In-young, to co-write Timing a story about longtime friends falling in love. The other couple Kang Ha-na (My Roommate Is a Gumiho) and the idol, Jung Jae Won aka One (Arthdal Chronicles, Her Private Life), co-write Mute, a story about a woman who can hear thoughts of people whom she loves.

As a variety show, The Romance is compelling on at least two levels. First—it's very interesting to watch the creative process between the two pairs. One pair are strangers and the other are old friends. By all accounts Kang Ha-na is wonderful but my first pass just focused on the second pair. Second, it feels voyeuristic to observe Yoo In-young and Kim Ji-suk navigate this project and their history. There's a palpable undercurrent of curiosity and reluctance between them. Who knows how things might have gone if they'd taken the leap in their 20's?

Am I the only one who enjoyed "Mine"? I really think it was one of the best dramas this year. It wasn't the usual over the top makjang, but to me, it wasn't boring at all. The female leads were simply amazing, Ja-kyeong and Jin-ho had one of the best character development I've ever seen in a drama, there were no plotholes, everything was tied up well and the best thing, the villain wasn't the one-dimensional monster-you hate him, but you also feel bad for him and that's good writing and good acting. Even the annoying characters, the mother- and sister-in-law, got depth. Same with the housekeeping staff. And the plot twists were really good. The weakest point was the relationship between the maid and young master, but they didn't get much screentime and they were there only to serve as a catalist for Seo-hyun to accept herself so I can ignore the couple. And at least Soo-hyuk finally acknowledge Seo-hyun as his mother. Hi-soo & Seo-hyun really show that you don't have to be rude, beat people up or have a tragic backstory in order to be a strong woman, like so many kdramas would have us believe. Personally, I found the plot engaging and even the pointless things turned up to be important later (like how everybody thought the scene with Hi-soo asking Sang-tae to raise the oxygen saturation in the house was a long PPL, but in the end that system was used to poison someone). If you want to watch it, don't expect Penthouse madness, but a mature story about two women in their late 30s finding their real self and fighting for what's theirs.

my jam so far has been monthly magazine home. it's the rom com i've been looking for after a series of failed rom coms (*cough my master *cough lol) i guess sometimes following things by the books (cold but warm hearted main lead, adorable 2nd male lead, and now co-habitation) works lol but despite this formula, i actually think the show is quite funny!!!! found myself laughing out loud a few times for each episode. the compliments and the convenience store mates were so funny lol

I finally got to watch episode 3 of HP2. I think there is now one degree of separation between HP2 and DR, TK2 and that is actor Kim Joo-hyun. (There probably are others.) Although not credited (yet) I swear it is KJH’s voice on the other end of the line when Ik-jun phoned his former classmate about the liver transplant patient he was asked to perform surgery on.
I am really not crazy with the Jun-wan-Ik-sun romantic story line in HP2. Instead of spending so much time on the various love lines the writer could have been introducing new characters for our favorites 5 to interact with. Still it is early days.

Bossam (ep.18) I like everything about this show, and want to agree with another reviewer that Kwon Yuri is now firmly on my 'to watch out for' list.
DAYS (ep.11) I am still hesitantly enjoying this, but need to catch up.
Nevertheless (ep. 3) Thinking about it objectively, this is not a healthy relationship; however, I find the tension between the leads compelling and I really enjoyed seeing the other side of Park Jae-eon when he went into an overboard panic thinking that something had happened to Yu Nabi.
Imitation (ep. 9) Fascinating, but the one episode a week is really dragging the story out and making it harder to maintain interest, yet not enough to drop it and binge later sigh.
Falling into your smile (ep. 16 Cdrama) I really enjoy the gaming / real life mix and this has been enjoyable fluff all the way through.
Planning on starting Rattan; can anyone tell me at which episode it starts to pick up? (the reviews seem to imply it gets better as it goes along).

Hospital Playlist 2: I am so invested in Joon-wan and Ik-soon long distance relationship. It is killing me! I know it's a small part of the show but I was in a long distance relationship for years and they are portraying it perfectly!!

Nevertheless: I've only watched the first episode as I convinced a friend who doesn't watch dramas to watch it with me. I'm intrigued and want to skip ahead of her....

I'm also watching Coffee Prince for the first time and I'm LOVING it. The way this show builds tension is perfection. Unfortunately, this show has not been healthy for my Gong Yoo obsession...hahahaha. I cannot wait for The Silent Sea with to be released. Gong Yoo + Bae Doona in a drama = my personal heaven.

I'm pretty new to dramas (I started watching them about a year or so ago), so I feel like I'm still making my way through the classics. If anyone else has other great ones to share, I would LOVE to hear your favorites. The reviews section has been so helpful. Currently, about 2/3s of the way through Healer right now.

I've been reading the webtoon of True Beauty and think it is fantastic. The art on the webtoon is incredible. I haven't watched the drama yet but I'm worried it won't be as great as the webtoon. Anyone read the webtoon and watch the drama? Were you disappointed in the drama?

my roommate is a gumiho
Personally, I liked this show a lot! It was kind of simple but mostly happy. Male lead polite and very handsome. Probably a little bit too careful, a little bit of noble idiocy as well, but not for long time. Nothing like perfect, but then perfect for her.
Female lead totally sure of herself, not amazing but relatable.
Secondary characters mostly fun to watch and even shining in their own energy and businesses.
Plot predictable but you could trust the writer.
And since we were telling from day one: nothing was taken too seriously. Nothing grandiose, but it worked well.
Also, different than many shows that we have destroyed in this forum: it works for a rewatch or a binge watching. Come on, forest, do do sol sol la la sol, abyss, melty, (to my regret: doom) and many others don't deserve the same respect.

my fellow citizen
Watching casually,, having fun... simple as it can be, but with lots of action. Even politics can be fun.