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Premiere Watch: The Veil, Squid Game, One the Woman, Yumi’s Cells

The drama airing schedule changes at the drop of a hat these days, but that doesn’t mean there is any lack of new dramas to choose from. Premiering in our new weekend slots we have a massive infusion of crazy: doppelgänger hijinks, kill games, and woman and her animated cells. In addition, The Veil (which delayed a week from its initial airing schedule) is also being added to the mix, in case you needed even more action on your drama plate.

 

Squid Game

Time slot: Friday
Broadcaster: Netflix
Genre: Thriller, action
Episode count: 9

Reasons to watch: It feels like dramaland hasn’t had a really high-stakes game-based drama since the excellence that was Liar Game, so the excitement is high for Netflix’s original drama Squid Game. Lee Jung-jae, Park Hae-soo, and Wi Ha-joon are all pulled into the madness that are the squid games. They might sound fun on paper, but the trailers and promos we’ve seen make it abundantly clear that there’s a huge difference between being eliminated from a game, and being eliminated from the planet. Netflix dramas are notoriously lacking the soft edges we’re so used to in dramaland, so I’m expecting a nail-biting and stomach-churning tale here.

 

One the Woman

Time slot: Friday & Saturday
Broadcaster: SBS
Genre: Crime, comedy
Episode count: 16

Reasons to watch: Doppelgänger stories are a staple of literature and drama alike, and One the Woman looks like a zany take on the dramatic trope of the double-goer. Based off what we’ve seen and heard thus far, One the Woman seems like the action-comedy version of Mask, maybe — both feature a questionable heroine who’s mistaken for a chaebol, and then all hell breaks loose. One the Woman is led by Honey Lee, who seems to have found her sweet spot after The Fiery Priest. She plays a corrupt prosecutor who’s mistaken for her a chaebol heiress after an accident + coma, and that creates all sorts of problems in both of the lives she’s now living — especially with regards to her fiancé, played by Lee Sang-yoon. (Special shout-out to Lee Won-geun who’s returning to the small screen here, too!)

 

Yumi’s Cells

Time slot: Friday & Saturday
Broadcaster: tvN
Genre: Romance, slice-of-life
Episode count: 14

Reasons to watch: The ever-popular Kim Go-eun is back in dramaland with a scruffy Ahn Bo-hyun at her side… but will the animated cells in this drama steal the spotlight from these popular humans? Yumi’s Cells is one of the buzziest dramas this fall, not only because it’s the adaptation of a much-loved webtoon, but because it’s Korea’s first foray into a live animation drama. Kim Go-eun plays the eponymous Yumi, and while she navigates her daily life (and budding romance~) we see the reaction of her many cells. Despite the level of interest in the drama, this one strikes me as a risky venture — there’s a lot of room for it to go wrong. But there’s room for things to go right, as well, and maybe Yumi’s Cells will change the drama landscape as we know it. As for me, I’m looking forward to seeing much-used phrases like “my dating cells dried up” play out in their most literal sense. But am I ready for squeaky cherubic characters running around my drama? Time will tell.

 
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Because I am *BORED* and in somewhat of a watch drought, and Red Sky neither airs every day, nor is it airing for two weeks, I will probably be picking up The Veil and Squid Game just to try them out and see what they're like.

One the Woman didn't really trigger my interest, although it'll be another drama to add to the "Chaebol's Poor Doppelganger" dramabeans level glossary.

And Yumi's Cells, well...
Although co-written this time by a trio, the first writer credit is still Song Jae Jung. The premise is very on brand for her, mixing "virtual" worlds might as well be her trade mark at this point, however it also reminds me a lot of Inside Out, which (perhaps controversially) I did not like, at all. It's also Song Jae Jung, which means for me at least, it will inevitably end in shitposting (she got me into this mess after all). Although I said at the end of MOA, I would duel her to the death next time round (have to avenge the lack of cane sword somehow), Jeffrey or no Jeffrey... I just... don't feel like shitposting anything right now. Lol.
It is somewhat of a shame however because I love animation, and although the animation style of the cells doesn't interest or attract me one bit, Korea's first foray into a live animation drama would be something of a milestone.
Please, however, do let me know, if there are any particularly special shitpost worthy episodes, and I'll consider doing a one off.

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I had to look up Song Jae Jung, and initially I was like I don't know her work and the I saw W and Memories and said oooh, hmmm, maybe not lol. However I will give it a try.

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This not the first time I have seen a negative passing reference to W. I thoroughly enjoyed but I cannot say whether it was genuinely good or bad because I am incapable of being objective when it comes to Han Hyo-joo's projects. I am sure if she were in Two Broke Girls, I would think, "Hmm, I can see the influence of Moliere..."

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Lmao, that is funny. From what I remember the writer started making up rules and it took me out of the story. I have been informed that I am incorrect by people who watched it more recently, but I Remer that being my primary reaction. Why aren't you following your own rules? Memories had the same problem for me, so I'm inclined to follow my initial belief. Regardless, we shall find out.

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When it comes to dramas with fantastical premises, I generally avoid careful critical analysis about plot developments (that is in no way suggesting you are doing that). I figure if I can accept an alternate universe sprung from the mind of an artist, I probably should not dwell too much on the plot niceties. Besides, any glaring clinkers would likely be excused by me anyways because of HHJ -- she was enough for me to sit through nearly 30 hours of Lee Seung-gi in Brilliant Legacy, which should count as a minor miracle, at least.

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@kafiyah-bello
W - a drama that was scared of its own story.

What irks so is that it could have been a contender. Its set up had such dark undercurrents and then half way through, when they really started to kick in...it ran away from them so fast it hurt. It wanted a little flirting with danger/mystery but it couldn't swallow dealing with what it meant one reality's stories to be actually real.

In the end it looked more like the drama just wanted to be a procedural with the parallel worlds relegated to being little more that a fancy MacGuffin.

SK Drama has an all to common tendency of running away from its own premise.

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@screentime, I can't tag, but agree. The beginning was excellent and then it died a horrible death. lol, I remember being really annoyed.

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I agree. I enjoyed W. Or at least for the beginning. Memories of the Alhambra was a mess though.

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I think MotA makes more sense and is more enjoyable if one takes to heart two key points:
1. The baseline reality for the drama is a simulation.
2. Like all complex systems, the baseline reality simulation has numerous and significant bugs.

As a side note, there are serious physicists who think our reality can best be explained by it being a simulation.

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A simulation put together by the low bidder.

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@hebang
Is the baseline reality for the drama a simulation though? (outside of the meta simulation of it being a created piece of media)- Or are we just excusing bad writing and execution of that writing in order for Secondary Belief to work... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I can work with writing being one of those complex systems and therefore inevitably having bugs, but if you're not even trying to fix your bugs and consistently winging your code, then you're just lazy, and why should I care (or even respect you.)

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@sicarius
For a set of contact lenses to produce the feeling of a sword smashing into your blade, or to actually kill you, it requires that the baseline reality to be a “simulation” in that it’s underlying mechanism be accessible by computer code in the baseline reality. Or at least I find that to be the simplest way to normalize much of the story.

No amount of self stimulation can generate the same kind of impact that an external force can…at least anything within the reach of the technology base of this drama. And players disappearing into Jeffrey’s dungeon requires that the game be able to move large amounts of mass and alter space-time…which can best be explained by A MAJOR BUG in the baseline reality simulation.

And yes, there’s no mention of any of this in the drama; it’s my way of finding the simplest modification that would allow the story to be.

At least that’s my take.

As a side note, the head B at BoD wrote that this drama is about faith, and because of that the ending was fitting. Interesting take, I thought.

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I thought both W and Memories started really well. Hyun-bin trudging back and forth in day 1 or MoA was hilarious, and the way the comic world reached out to pull in the FL in W pulled me in too.

Then, a good start with any kind of finish wins over a bad start with any kind of ending because if the first day or two seem lame I'm out and will never see the ending. Sometimes a trope I really hate will drive me out in just 10 minutes.

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Yes. And it is important to hook your audience, I agree.
However, yhe main problems I have with SJJ as a write are that she has interesting concepts AND starts then well, and then consistently finishes inconsistently and nonsensically. And because she admitted in Interview she actually wings her plots and does not plan them out, and that she has no intention of changing this, or improving her craft, I have no reason to believe she won't simply KEEP doing this, so I have little reason to watch her shows, other than to see if she lives up to her pattern. And I personally dislike that she seems to have so little care for her craft that she wouldn't want to improve it.

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“ And because she admitted in Interview she actually wings her plots and does not plan them out, and that she has no intention of changing this, ”

Gag.

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One other major thing I've with this writer is that she deserts the main female character, and lets the main male lead do a lot of the heavy work. Her FL's tend to stay back from the action. It's a shame.

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@soulsearch12 Yes, and MOA was definitely her greatest offender in that regard... *grimaces*.

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I understand this as an idea. However I have had dramas start slow or not particularly well and end wonderfully and then whatever the hell happens with SJJ's dramas. I hate terrible endings, they end any good feeling I have about the drama. I'll check the drama out, but if this isn't good, I will never watch her dramas again. 3 is a charm. I did it to Kim Eun Sook and I will happily do it to her. 😉

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Squid Game reminds me Alice in Borderland that I didn't like completely, there were some good moments.

Yumi's Cells looked super cute in the teaser but in the trailer, it looked more serious. I really like the premise.

The Veil = return of Nam Goongmin and Park Ha-Sun's sexy voice!

I'm not interested by One the Woman's story and the actors for this drama.

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I dunno... One the Woman is one that could be hilarious or awful. Will check out.

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I’ll check out all of these. Genuinely excited for Squid Game, as the Netflix dramas have all hit home for me.

Yumi’s Cells has a solid cast and an interesting premise, but as stated, has a lot of ways it could go wrong. Kim Go-eun dramas are pretty hit or miss for me, but I can’t deny she’s always solid.

One the Woman seems like a show I’ll likely drop after the initial episodes, but I’d like to be surprised. Honey is being practically typecast at this point, as she’s repeating her Fiery Priest character right? Lee Sang-yoon I find is fun in variety shows, but I haven’t actually finished any of his shows that I can think of…

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Argh!!!! FOUR new shows starting Friday, plus Great Shaman and I have to watch them ALL in time to comment/rate them Saturday morning for WWW. 😱

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First world problems.

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Fighting!!

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The snark is strong in you.

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Way too many Fri Sat dramas to keep up with. I wonder if someone else has an issue with Netflix dramas like I do. I can't seem to press play or continue many of them. I guess it was because all episodes release at once and I can no longer binge watch. Though it could also be the lack of the soft edges.
Anyways looking forward to Yumi's cells the most.
One the Woman may turn out to be an underdog like The Graceful Family but keeping low expectations for that.

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Shows like One the Woman can be great or awful, depends a lot on the writer and director. I will check it out and see. Been in a drama slump lately with not much to get excited about.

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Really excited for Squid Game. It reminds me of Alice in Borderland/Liar Game/The Hunger Games, all of which I loved.

Why is Friday/Saturday the new hotspot for dramas? I don't like it. I'm tentatively looking forward to Yumi's Cells for Kim Go-eun. I'll try One the Woman for Honey Lee, but the promotional material hasn't interested me much. I might try the first episode of The Veil, but I don't like Namgoong Min or spy/action dramas so it will be a likely drop.

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Legal streaming sites for:
The Veil - Kocowa/Viki/Viu (some Asian regions)
One the Woman - Kocowa/Viki/Viu (some Asian regions)
Yumi’s Cells - Iqiyi

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Yumi's Cells is also on Viki in some regions (at least it is available in mine)

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I think The veil will air on Fridays and Saturdays, but on the drama list here it says Wednesday and Thursday. And will Yumi's cells air twice a week or only once, on Fridays?

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Yumi's cells will air Friday and Saturday the same as The Veil.

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I am so here for Squid Game.

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I watched a little bit of One The Woman Ep.1, it was like Good Casting trying to be Mr. Queen with a character from The Fiery Priest, to me.
(The same PD directed both One The Woman and Good Casting)
I will watch at least until Ep.3, but I might drop it if it's too over the top.

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I’m very excited for Squid Game. That actor lineup is very impressive and only nine episodes mean it will be easier to binge. It being a Netflix original also means I can expect some hardcore stuff. I’m ready.

The Veil (still prefer the original title), I want to watch exclusively because of Namgoong Min and Park Ha-sun.

I like Kim Go-eun and Ahn Bo-hyun well enough to maybe check out Yumi’s Cells, but the animation of the cells still freak me out so I’ll refrain unless I hear rave reviews. That said, I’m happy that Kim Go-eun will be in a drama that might finally do her acting chops justice.

I…do not care for One the Woman. That premise is makjang-y as hell and I don’t care that much for any of the actors. Honey Lee is being typecasted to death.

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"I…do not care for One the Woman. That premise is makjang-y as hell and I don’t care that much for any of the actors. Honey Lee is being typecasted to death."

The ironic thing is she wasn't even the first choice. It was Kim Ah Joong, but she turns down lots of dramas. She can do comedy too, but Honey Lee goes all the way out there with her comedic talent. I respect her for that, b/c many actresses want to look pretty. But yes, she's typecast as her Fiery Priest role, but its what brought her the most success too. I feel many talents want to expand beyond their pigeonholed roles, but just don't get offered them or when they do it flops ://.

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I enjoyed episode one of MBC’s THE VEIL on Kocowa. Namgoong Min is in great form and shape. It has a very nice cast so I hope the writing stays strong for all 12 episodes.

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I'm going to watch Squid game because it looks good. I think this might be korea's attempt on an Alice in Borderland kinda drama, and I really enjoyed that one. I also liked Liar Game manga and Japanese drama so hopefully I will enjoy this one too.

The dramas airing now just bore me to death. I slugged through the first half of Devil Judge and I can't seem to finish it now. I tried Red sky and Lost (Ryu jun yeol) but they just can't keep my attention. :/ I'm waiting for Jirisan which will hopefully end this drought!

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