Lee Jin Wook Returns to KBS with Upcoming Mon-Tues Drama Hello Monster

This casting news feels like three steps too early but that’s hardly a problem when the bigger issue is recent dramas seemingly not being able to cast leads. The upcoming KBS Mon-Tues drama has now been confirmed to be an out-of-the-blue selection called Hello Monster. Originally the personality disorder medical drama Dr. Frankenstein was supposed to follow behind the currently airing Blood but clearly that’s not happening when DF can’t find a leading man after both Kim Soo Hyun and Yoo Ah In passed on the drama. The current KBS Mon-Tues slot is the rating pits no thanks to the critically eviscerated Blood so it’ll be an uphill climb for the successor drama.

Luckily for Hello Monster, the drama is on the right track by inking a leading man already, and one that is both good looking and talented to boot. Lee Jin Wook is returning to prime time as the leading man of Hello Monster after doing tvN cable dramas I Need Romance 2, Nine: Nine Times Travels, and Three Musketeers after his military discharge. He’s returning to the scene of the crime KBS, namely his last big network drama was the still insanely bad Spy Myung Wol, which actually gives me hives just remembering the experience of watching it. I’m iffy on both the KBS track record of late and the short snippet synopsis of Hello Monster. The bright side? It doesn’t involve personality disorders or vampires, yay! Downside? Read on and see for yourself.

Hello Monster comes from the screenwriter of All About My Love and the PD who directed Queen of the Office. It’s described as a rom-com between a criminal profiler, a specialist who is an expert in probing the minds of criminals, and the woman who stalks and harasses him. Don’t shoot me, I’m just translating verbatim the press release description! I know, it sounds horrifically bad already and I’m wondering how it’s even remotely possible to make the leading lady likable much less root for her to get the man rather than praying that she goes to jail.

The romance is expected to develop as they butt heads and eventually fall in love. I’m wondering if stalking and harassing in this case really means she keeps hounding him for some professional reason or another? Not that it makes things much better but goodness I need something to keep my thread of optimism hanging. Once again, this drama doesn’t have any DID or vampires so that’s already one big thumbs up, right? Riiiiight?


Comments

Lee Jin Wook Returns to KBS with Upcoming Mon-Tues Drama Hello Monster — 25 Comments

  1. Too bad Seo Hyun Jin is attached to Let’s Eat 2 because I still have the Crown Couple withdrawal from Three Musketeers. I can’t wait to see who the leading lady is if he signs on.

  2. Han Groo or Jung So Min… he’s kind of ‘meh’ but a likeable leading lady would make this a must-see for me. Plus I loved the writer’s last outing.

    • Really want to see LJW in a good drama or romcom, but the synopsis sounds like a weird stalkerish procedural, hope it surprises us in a good way. And yes for Han Groo, she needs to get another lead role asap.

    • i’m interested with the synopsys, the story hasn’t done many time like DID or chaebol love plus the actor is lee jin wook, i miss him in a drama after nine n the three musketeers that i reallly love

  3. I would prefer to watch a thousand DID dramas than watching someone fall in love with their stalker. That is not a good message.

    If you harass and stalk long enough the victim is bound to love you. Someday.

  4. When I read “Criminal Profiler”, my mind went to OCN!

    So DF, where are you going ? It’s not complete if KBS doesn’t have DID drama like MBC/SBS lol

    goodluck HM 🙂

  5. Well, those ridiculous Kiss dramas (ITSAK, Playful kiss, etc etc etc) were popular and loved by many for reasons I will never understand. It had a stalker for a female lead too, so I think this has hope – for others, of course because I’m out.

    Yay that it’s not DID because LJW is no Hyun Bin to keep me watching. But that synopsis sounds like crap. Maybe when more details are revealed, it’ll be more tolerable than what it’s currently saying. Here’s to hope!

  6. I’m not saying Lee Jin Wook is bad actor but I think he has very limited expressions..lol.. The only drama I like watching him was Nine but that was mostly because of the leading lady. Anyway, I’ll see the teaser before deciding whether I’ll watch it or not.

  7. I’m one of the few who liked Spy Myung-wol but didn’t like Lee Jin-wook’s in that drama. I thought he was too stiff in his acting and the character wasn’t that great either. I only liked him finally in Three Musketeers (or maybe it was all because of his character there).

    As to the screenwriter, I liked All About My Romance (one of the few LMJ dramas that I liked) so I have no problem with that. Time for a breezy, non-dramatic, slice-of-life rom-com for a change from the ones airing right now.

  8. I heard there is a sequential part 2 of Three musketeers which is starting during March. How come he accepted another drama for KBS? He had a very good chemistry with the female lead and also bromance with LDG and JYH was great. I am going to miss them if there is no part 2 of TM.

  9. hmmm.. suprisingly, i read a lot of bad comment about LJW acting. I feel weird because at the time Nine was broadcast, LJW acting has been generally positive reviewed. He got a lot of charisma and i love his acting a lot since Nine. I can see him as the cool specialist with witty and cold personality. I love Han Groo and i can see her in this drama. She is really good in rom-com.

    • i heard bad comment about his acting only in this site when i read about leee jin wook, mostly state that he’s good actor, i start like him in nine, his first drama i watch then i check all project some really good, some start good but the last few ep is bad, but i think his acting always good. the only his drama that i don’t like is spy myungwoll, really hate that drama

      • I loved him in Nine and Three Musketeers.I’d say those who criticized his acting in Nine failed to take into consideration the traits of the character he was required to play.As for Three Musketeers, if someone says he was stiff there, then I guess I don’t know what ‘good acting’ means as I found him absolutely charming there.His acting in ‘Someday’ and ‘I Need Romance’ was decent too.

    • First time I saw him was spy myung wol and I did find him stiff. I wasn’t sure about him when I started Nine, but it seemed like a cool drama so I watched it and he didn’t disappoint. I loved him in Three Musketeers but I did feel the role was written strictly for him.

      Up to now I can say for sure there are some roles he’s really good at delivering, but I can’t say that he’s a good actor that can do any role, not because I don’t think he is, but I just don’t know yet. I have to wait and see.

      With that said I’m pretty sure he’ll do a perfect job for this type of role in Hello Monster. And honestly if the writer manages to make the lead girl interesting, and more than the surface, we may be in for a nice ride 😉

  10. I love how all of these messed up relationships (doctors and patients, adults and minors, victims and abusers) are embraced and romanticized by Korean drama and I just read news of the KCSC reviewing a lesbian kiss for being inappropriate.

    So let’s have a stalker mentally break her victim so much he falls for her. Heck, that’s what happens in most rom-com dramas already, it’s just that it’s the guy being the forceful and stalking one and we don’t officially call him that.

    The only things that are different here is admittance that this is what such relationships really are and that the one on the offense is female. I think that’s something which should give us pause.

    • +1 on your sarcasm.

      I think we’ve had the female stalker variety also though. Dramas like Playful Kiss fall under that category for me. And pretty much every second lead is a stalker (the exes and the wanna-be girlfriends).

      • I guess they thought going from “It’s cute” to “It’s stalking” is some form of honesty, but they’re still selling this as a romance, so someone should tell them they missed the point.

  11. LJW cracked me up in Three Musketeers so I’m willing to watch it. If the leading lady is someone I like, I’m all in for it… Hopefully, Gong Hyo-jin, Han Groo, Lee Yubi or somebody…

  12. I am happy that LJW is back with another drama! He was great in Nine and The Three Musketeers. If only Seo Hyundai Jin is available!

  13. well KBS seems to be playing thier get out of jail card by trying to lure Jang Nara back from China for this drama as they did for Baby Face Beauty, it only in the she considering the role stage as yet. I not sure if she the stalker…Oh Happy Days flash back, or a police office or who know even both, though other sites have put it across as a thriller rather than a com/rom, so it anyones guess.

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