Premiere Watch: Bad and Crazy, Snowdrop, Bulgasal: Immortal Souls

45 December 16, 2021December 16, 2021

Premiere Watch: Bad and Crazy, Snowdrop, Bulgasal: Immortal Souls

by missvictrix

It’s that time again! More dramas are making their debut this weekend, and they’re each exciting and thrilling in their own way. From crazy cop action to historical drama and immortal revenge, I’m not sure which drama to lunge for first.

Bad and Crazy

Time slot: Friday & Saturday
Broadcaster: tvN
Genre: Mystery, thriller, fantasy
Episode count: 12

Reasons to watch: This drama looks like a wild one! It’s been a hot minute since we had a cop bromance style story, never mind one that’s heavy on the crazy. In Bad and Crazy, Lee Dong-wook and Wie Ha-joon take the lead as two very different guys (one bad, one crazy) that are forced to work together in an unconventional manner. In between fighting, fighting, and more fighting, they eventually settle into a partnership that should be a lot of fun to watch. Lee Dong-wook is forever a draw, but it’s also exciting to see Wie Ha-joon’s first big role after Squid Game. He’s got a packed drama schedule thanks to that success, and while my inner fangirl is excited for him, I feel like we also need a moment of silence for all the cute second lead roles he played in the past. Surely that stage of his career is no more. RIP.

Snowdrop

Time slot: Saturday & Sunday
Broadcaster: JTBC
Genre: Melo, romance, historical
Episode count: 16

Reasons to watch: It’s finally here! Snowdrop has really been through the mill on the production front, so it’s exciting (and maybe a little nerve-wracking) to have it finally premiering. There’s so much attention on it, and so many eyes, that I’m honestly a little worried for it — it’s a bit of a wild card at this point. Jung Hae-in plays our hero, and I’m sure he can carry the thing, but we have Blackpink’s Jisoo in her first leading role as our heroine. I’m actually very sympathetic to idols starting out as actors, so I’m cheering for her here. The two are also joined by a fantastic supporting cast, so between the actors, the PD, and the setting, all that’s left to is buckle up and see what’s in store for us.

Bulgasal: Immortal Souls

Time slot: Saturday & Sunday
Broadcaster: tvN
Genre: Fantasy, melo, action
Episode count: 16

Reasons to watch: Our third premiere this week is another drama I can’t really predict the success or deliciousness of. But, like the others, I want to believe! Bulgasal: Immortal Souls stars Lee Jin-wook (♥) as a cursed and immortal being who’s entangled with Kwon Nara in what I would ~~expect~~ hope is a fated romance. They’re joined by Lee Joon (welcome back!), and some epic-looking promo materials. I’m so in the mood for something epic and fate-filled, so don’t disappoint me, Bulgasal!

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1 Mase

December 16, 2021 at 11:06 PM

SNOWDROP! SNOWDROP! Feels like I've been waiting for this forever and its not even on Netflix nor is Disney+ making this available for same day viewing outside of SEA which is bonkers! I'm rooting for this drama to save JTBC from ratings and buzz hell but also for Jisoo to not be burned at the stake! If the plot fails hopefully they won't pin everything on the actors but more importantly please don't be the next Joseon Exorcist! Fighting!

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vv

December 17, 2021 at 12:09 AM

Honestly, I hope that this is not the case but, from what I have been seeing around the net these days, it is highly likely to be the next Joseon Exorcist or even worse. Mainly because, unlike Joseon Exorcist, the people who experienced that time are still alive and they know exactly what happened. So, if it in any way insults them or makes them uncomfortable, it will have worse consequences. And right now, it has done both. While a lot of people had calmed down back in March after the gov had made its statement, it got worse than that the past few days after the prod team released character descriptions for the main cast. A lot seemed to have serious issues with Jung Haein's character and a lot of the senior cast members' characters, of them including Jisoo's character's father. And since the main characters of the drama are what they see as problematic and anti-democratic, they don't see why they should accept all of that just for the sake of seeing a romance play out. But, again I hope that none of this happens.

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miss h

December 17, 2021 at 1:30 AM

I think the drama deserves a chance to prove people wrong, but I was shaking my head at the character descriptions. I know it is fiction but lies are still being spread about that time in history. You can't make the two male leads a North Korean spy and a righteous NSA agent and expect that people won't be upset. I hope it somehow plays out okay.

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Mase

December 17, 2021 at 2:22 AM

This drama has so much going against it and not saying the anger isn't justified but still I really hope it isn't as problematic as the synopsis and character description makes it sound!

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Kwan

December 17, 2021 at 11:42 AM

I also think it deserves a chance. Frankly, it seems to me that most Kdramas recycle the same ole same ole, and I'm getting really tired of it. "Snowdrop," looks like it's trying to seek new territory by pushing the envelope, but gets dished because it's not a cookie cutter drama. If Kdramas don't start changing I'll be in search of the dramatic fare from other countries.

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Mase

December 17, 2021 at 2:19 AM

I'm extremely worried it will go the Joseon Exorcist way yet hoping it goes the Youth of May route! I'm also worried that all the blame will go primarily to the Jisoo and Haein when there is an entire veteran cast who also chose the drama and if things go south they should also shoulder the blame! Not that I want things to go bad and the drama to be cancelled!

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vv

December 17, 2021 at 5:04 AM

unfortunately at this point, it is almost impossible to go the Youth of May route. It will always remain controversial, cause YoM hardly had politics, just two people who lived at that time. Whereas, it seems SD is neck-deep in the politics seeing the character descriptions. But yeah, it could escape the fate of Joseon Exorcist, if it doesn't do exactly what people are expecting of it.
Also, unfortunately, Jung Haein and Jisoo are the main leads around whom the drama is developed and also are the only ones promoting the drama. So they may have to shoulder most of the blame along with the writer and director if the drama does go south. Which again I hope is not the case.

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DancingEmma

December 17, 2021 at 3:14 AM

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2 ladyjaye

December 16, 2021 at 11:11 PM

So.... What is Snowdrop about?

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Radily

December 17, 2021 at 3:47 AM

It is about love, whether it's romantic, patriotic or nationalistic. That's just within the story. Outside the story, you also have her fans' love for her, citizens' love for their history to not get romanticised inappropriately and the production's love for their story to not get censored by the government.

Then personally, I would love that Jisoo somehow manages to demonstrate at least a serviceable level of acting ability to prove that she did indeed beat other aspiring actresses in the audition. I would love that the writer craft a story that is befitting of the other casts' talent. And I would love that the director show why he and the writer continue to deserve more critical acclaim that they have garnered from Sky Castle.

but I don't know ... she's got to be better than Kim Hye Yoon, Yoo In Na, Yoon Se Ah and Jung Yoo Jin ... and to be honest she most likely get overshadowed not only by them but also Jang Seung Jo and Jung Hae In as well ... I just don't think she should have taken this role even if the story wasn't controversial

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3 Jezz

December 16, 2021 at 11:13 PM

Legal streaming sites for...:
Bad and Crazy: Iqiyi
Snowdrop: Disney+
Bulgasal: Immortal Souls: Netflix

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4 Kurama

December 16, 2021 at 11:41 PM

Three very different dramas, it's pretty nice to have choice.

I will test the 3 but I'm not really excited for any of them. I love Jung Hae-In and the rest of the casting, but Ji-Soo is a big question mark and the fact they waited for 9 nine months to air it, it's not very encouraging...

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Emperor Titus

December 19, 2021 at 1:35 PM

They wait for 9 month to air Snowdrop not because of Jisoo's acting, but the controversy around the story. As of today (which Episode 2 is aired), 200,000 people signed a partition to the president of the country just want to stop JTBC from airing the show because a potential of "distorting history of the 1987 democratic movement".

I guess JTBC is taking risk that if the first few episodes clean up the argument, people will finally appreciate the show. This happened in Mr. Sunshine (after they change the description of Dongmae and turn the name of his gang to an imaginary one (which Snowdrop did the latter one as well). And for The Kong: Eternal Monarch, the production team need to apologize twice to have 2 references related to Japan.

I don't totally discredit public opinion (we all live in democratic country more or less, right?), but I am starting to fear public opinion is limiting creative freedom: didn't we see the negative impact of public opinion to Red Sky (which is an indirect impact of Joseon Exorcist, which, for JE, is not totally wrong though. For Red Sky, they have to change the dynasty's as well some people's name, who know if the story is affected, too?) and Mr. Queen?

However, to be fair, Jisoo's acting is, to say it mildly, suitable to her character overall. I don't know, yet, if she suit another drama with this acting, and she surely need lots of improvement. On the other hand, we shouldn't give her acting dead sentence yet, because a lot of idols do improve their acting skill. I actually have sympathy with her, adding all those terrible accusation to the drama itself ...

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5 wapz

December 16, 2021 at 11:48 PM

With ever increasing dramas and webdramas the kdrama landscape is looking a lot like the Chinese one. How many dramas have we had only in the last two months? Like c dramas now I'm more inclined to rely on reviews of beanies before watching a show than checking out each first episode on my own. There are way too many shows to do that.

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Suv

December 17, 2021 at 12:22 AM

I was actually thinking there are more dramas on online platforms than offline. For ex MBC only had 4 dramas this year and SBS had 8 while KBS had 11 plus thier weekenders. While Netflix has 7 dramas this year, TVing has 4, KakaoTV has about 9, Seezen has 1 and Coupang Play has 1. I'm sure I've missed a few more for online but overall online dramas seems to be a lot recently. I almost forgot about TVN and JTBC but out of the two I think TVN has the most. Actually now that I'm writing this you're right this is a lot like c dramas.

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miss h

December 17, 2021 at 1:17 AM

Yes, MBC and especially SBS and KBS cut their dramas way down. It probably evens out to what it always was with the online dramas offered now but networks still haven't learned about pacing them out so they all aren't premiering at the same time. I suppose weekend dramas get higher ad rates, but I still think having nine dramas on Saturday is insane.

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wapz

December 17, 2021 at 3:35 AM

Didn't they only cut down the Wed/Thu slot? I feel the dramas are still more than when there weren't any streaming platforms. Webdramas did exist from a long time but those weren't full length dramas like there are now.

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Suv

December 17, 2021 at 3:47 AM

SBS gave up WT but replaced it with FS while MBC gave up everything and now only has FS. KBS didn't give up anything and TVN actually added FS in addition to the 3 they already had. JTBC put their MT on hold for almost 9 months so they had fewer dramas this year. OCN shut down for a few months and only had 3 dramas this year. I think this year OTT made up for the abolished timeslots but definitely there are more dramas overall even if public channel's have fewer dramas. Next year if we look at the dramas that have been announced and/or cast TVN has about 8 and JTBC has almost 14, SBS and MBC have 6 and KBS has 4. Netflix has 14, Apple has at least 1 maybe more and Disney has almost 6 maybe 7. I'm not counting Coupang Play, TVing and Kakao because I'm not sure of their schedule plus HBO Max is debuting next year but not sure if they'll have their own local content available immediately. I agre with @Wapz this landscape resembles the cdrama landscape. There is more and more original content every year.

chibi8535

December 17, 2021 at 2:58 AM

I watch a different drama each night. Suddenly, the week doesn't have enough days... why have I only finished ONE, but have TWO more to add this week!?? 🤣

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wapz

December 17, 2021 at 6:12 AM

Yes... Way too many shows to watch.

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lunarnight

December 17, 2021 at 3:55 AM

I have a question. Do you think award ceremonies like Baeksang will award online dramas? Will they give them nominations? Or will a new award ceremony for only online content need to be set up? Right now the biggest award ceremonies for tv are only Baeksang and the channel award ceremonies. AAA, Apan, SIDA and others are more ambiguous.

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wapz

December 17, 2021 at 6:08 AM

Tbh while it will be unfair to leave out the dramas on OTT platforms, they can easily set up an online category. But also isn't Baeksang the only award that includes all channels? Hece, many shows even on TV channels get ignored. That said I really don't know if awards are really that important. All of them have been considered to be popularity awards but yeah atleast I'm glad for the winners.

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lunarnight

December 17, 2021 at 7:52 AM

Award shows are important because people deserve to be rewarded for the work they put in. Evaluation is also necessary to know who the good performers are. Even popularity is an evaluation which is necessary within the industry. Baeksang is like the Golden Globes and it includes all the dramas but like the discussion was saying there are so many drama son different platforms now will Baeksang include all the platforms when it hands out awards? Because apart from Baeksang there aren't any other award shows that incorporate online dramas and AAA, Apan and SIDA can hardly be called award shows. Everything is fan voting or attendance awards.

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miss h

December 17, 2021 at 8:30 AM

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Lila

December 17, 2021 at 1:33 PM

Yes. Expect Netflix Originals to start making a push into Baeksang and other prestigious awards ceremonies very soon.

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6 Wise

December 17, 2021 at 12:08 AM

About Snowdrop, I don’t know exactly why there were only JHI, JS and the director who attended the press conference where there are more senior actors as casts in this drama, but my guess is because they chose to promote only with ML and FL. If i’m right, then this could backfire. Given her past roles that are minimum not only by quantity but also quality, JS doubtly have enough to lift the show, though there is JHI alongside her. And by its trailer, i don’t think JHI and JS story is the only main story in this drama. I do feel it is very disrespectful for other actors to not promote the drama where they play important roles in the story. I hope i think it wrong that the production try to promote the drama with only both of them just because JS popularity. Cross my fingers for this drama for i’m excited to see Jang Seung Jo.

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7 gadis

December 17, 2021 at 12:52 AM

I'm also hopeful for Bulgasal. Like you, I'm in the mood for something epic and hopefully this one delivers. Especially since it's been so long since I watched Lee Jin-wook's drama.

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8 miss h

December 17, 2021 at 1:09 AM

I’ll give Bulgasal a try though I’m a little conflicted because I don’t like Lee Jin-wook. The story sounds interesting though and the trailers are gorgeous. I do like Kwon Nara, Lee Joon (It's been 4 years!) and Gong Seung-yeon.

Snowdrop is finally here, but Disney+ didn’t seem to learn from Squid Game’s success that people outside of SEA watch kdramas. I don’t like watching on illegal sites, so I guess it will be a pass for me unless they do end up offering it in the U.S. I hope the production is right and the drama proves non-controversial, but after reading the character descriptions, I have my doubts. I think people should give it a chance, but I'm not even Korean, and I was bothered by them.

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Mase

December 17, 2021 at 1:25 AM

Disney+ is bonkers for not offering it's Korean content worldwide for simultaneous streaming! Why is nobody looking at the Netflix success model and thinking this is what needs to be done! Some of the biggest consumers of Korean content isn't even SEA so I don't see the logic! Disney+ was flooded with requests to make Snowdrop available globally but they said they would do so only after the drama finished airing! What is the logic!

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miss h

December 17, 2021 at 1:36 AM

It's crazy. They should have had all of their ducks in a row, ready to offer it worldwide same day. People are going to watch it on illegal sites and when Disney+ finally get around to releasing it, they won't get the numbers. I hope they at least change their model by the time their next k-drama is released.

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Mase

December 17, 2021 at 2:14 AM

If they were aiming for more subscribers then they should have gone for the worldwide release but they seem determined to keep their content segregated by region! I have no hope for any of their Originals if their business model doesn't change! Which is sad because they are picking up and producing a lot of Korean content recently.

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wapz

December 17, 2021 at 2:48 AM

Ah i don't get why region restrictions exist at all. Back in the days Viki or Dramafever would do that because one or the other had the rights to air the show in that particular region. However, now when only one streaming service holds the exclusive rights it is kind of unreasonable. There must be some solid reason behind that for them to be still following this rather stupid move. Viki and iqiyi too have shows that are still restricted in my region and not only kdramas but c and t too. I wonder if they realize that this is the only thing that stops me from paying for their subscription. And now add Disney plus to that.

miss h

December 17, 2021 at 8:39 AM

I don't really care about Snowdrop, but I really want to watch Grid with Seo Kang-joon. I was mad when I saw they got it.

When I heard Disney+ was venturing into kdramas, I thought they were taking a page out of Netflix's business model, but apparently, they aren't that smart.

drawde2000

December 17, 2021 at 3:36 AM

Acckk GDI! Disney+, what the heck!

That's disappointing. I wish I had known earlier it will not be available in my region, so I did not set my weekend for it.

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9 chibi8535

December 17, 2021 at 2:55 AM

Bad n Crazy seems like my jam, especially since it stars two of my faves, and oddly resembled Two Cops in idea (maybe not so much in execution); also starring two of my other cuties! xD

Hopefully Snowdrop turns out to be the swankier cousin to 'You of May', praying for it to not only deliver more polished visuals, but also an upgraded angsty plot!

Bulgasal... well, if I see ANOTHER BROODING IMMORTAL roaming the streets of Seoul wearing a grey overcoat, I will scream. -_-

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10 Myra

December 17, 2021 at 6:00 AM

There are too many dramas missing from the drama list here! Bulgasal, Taejong Yi Bang Won, Show window, Uncle!

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11 glenlake8

December 17, 2021 at 12:12 PM

Disney+ outside of the U.S, has an additional tab called Star which has parental control options. This is where they put the more adult content. If Snowdrop is released by Disney in U.S., I would bet they move it to Hulu, which is where Disney puts its more adult content.

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12 Doppelganger

December 17, 2021 at 1:26 PM

Everytime I see "Bulgasal" my brain thinks "bulgagi" and then I get hungry.

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13 zaizai00

December 17, 2021 at 2:19 PM

I think putting Jisoo in a leading role like doing her a disservice. This has nothing to do with her specifically, but an idol who has barely acted at all in a lead role with an arguably controversial topic to begin with... they'd have to pull some major wild cards out of nowhere. Everyone is kind of banking her being an acting prodigy (which has a very small chance of happening). I usually give idols the benefit of the doubt but they should start with supporting roles (just like any rookie actor) and build from there.

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javinne

December 17, 2021 at 9:49 PM

Agree totally. I wonder also, what's wrong with some secondary characters to start with? Many secondary characters are even better than the main characters in certain stories!!
Maybe it's all about the money, or maybe it is the agency or the manager's issues... these people sometimes have all the power in regard to what an idol can or cannot do...

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zaizai00

December 17, 2021 at 10:08 PM

It's a publicity thing - BP is huge internationally so it'll generate a ton of views at least in the beginning. Similar to scarlet heart. Unfortunate because I'm sure it's not a confidence booster for idols with all the scrutiny. Also, Jisoo was always pushed as the "actor" in BP (whether that's or real interest or not idk) so it's double the anticipation.

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Oran

December 17, 2021 at 10:58 PM

Even rookie actors sometimes start in lead roles like WJA in JBL, the female lead for Gentleman and Lady, JSY, Suzy even JHY in SG was the female lead, NJH is School 2015, KGE in CITT and before that her debut movie Eungyo, KDM in The Witch and Itaewon Class. Many actors and actresses these days start with lead roles because they clear the auditions or fit the character that writers have in mind. Idols just get hated more because it's assumed they got it through connections but isn't that the same for rookie actors? Most young actors and actresses come from well off backgrounds and can buy their way into roles.

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14 loveblossom🌸

December 17, 2021 at 6:47 PM

All these have gotten a lot of promos. I'm definitely gonna check out Bad and Crazy. Looks like fun entertainment.

Might give all of them a try. Slowly watching more dramas again. Interested in Bulgasal if it is an epic, magnificent story.

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15 ohudushi

December 18, 2021 at 3:01 PM

I haven't been paying attention so I've only just caught up with the Snowdrop controversy. I know theqoo isn't representative of the general Korean public but they're not being kind about the first showing.

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16 redfox

December 19, 2021 at 4:22 PM

Bulgasal: both male leads have like this very strong presence, almost steel-like. It is almost scary to put them in 1 drama. But, my girl Gong Seung-Yeon...wait, she kinda has masculine vibe, too.
Gotta go see how the energies balance

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