Lee Jong Seok and Suzy Offered Leads in Pinocchio Writer’s 2017 Fantasy Drama While You Were Sleeping

Color me not surprised with the casting for screenwriter Park Hye Ryun‘s upcoming fantasy K-drama set for early 2017. Hallyu actor Lee Jong Seok and idol-actress Suzy have been offered the leads for While You Were Sleeping and both are positively considering it. Lee Jong Seok has worked with Park Hye Ryun twice already, headlining her dramas Pinoccho and I Hear Your Voice, while Suzy isn’t a newbie to Park Hye Ryun either as she wrote Suzy’s first drama Dream High. Last month news about While You Were Sleeping said the drama was looking to cast leads in their twenties so this casting is clearly not a surpise. I love Lee Jong Seok and am happy that he keeps getting offered roles with promising screenwriters behind the scene but Suzy’s casting requires me to be super optimistic because she was so hit-and-miss with her last role in Lee Kyung Hee’s melodrama Uncontrollably Fond.

While You Were Sleeping tells the story of a female lead who can dream of bad things happening to people, and the male lead prosecutor who tries to stop the bad things from happening.


Comments

Lee Jong Seok and Suzy Offered Leads in Pinocchio Writer’s 2017 Fantasy Drama While You Were Sleeping — 71 Comments

  1. Is the male lead a prosecutor or an aerospace engineer? Both seems good, but prosecutor theme have done so many times in k-drama history. I personally want the male lead to be aerospace engineer.

    • @Cassy

      at least there will no more complain that he did not have “engineer aura” comment LOL

      he finally getting promotion, from assistant prosescutor in Prosecutor Princess to Prosecutor himself.Congrats Jongsuk XDXDXD

    • I know right? I was hoping for aerospace engineer too. I don’t remember watching a single Kdrama like that. I would really like something different like that. There are too many doctors, lawyers, chaebols and police series.

  2. I just wish LJS won’t be a sacrifice this time after KWB. LJS has already suffered extra hard for an untalented female lead in doctor stranger. Poor LJS

  3. Sounds like the female lead will spend half the drama sleeping & dreaming…. LOL…. I am fine with Suzy as long as she does not scream & yell… She was ok in the last two episodes of UF. Hope her acting will improve.

  4. YASSSSS for the good news. LJS is confirmed but I hope Suzy reject the offer. Knets and Inetz seem to be in-sync on this: Suzy just can’t ACT!!
    I hope she read the comments and rejects it. It’s obvious acting is not her best forte. Please stick to singing and CF.

  5. Lee Jong Seok has confirmed for the role. He is officially Park Hye Ryun’s muse.
    If Suzy confirmed, things may not turn out so pretty for LJS’ clean streak when come to starring in good potentially hit dramas.

    • But most of his co-stars were in acting controversies , Jin se yeon, Han hyo joo, park shin hye ( I completely remember under the news of their casting, the second comment with around 5000 or 6000 upvotes were “but her acting is…”)and now Suzy…
      his best co-star were Lee bo young IMO.

      • Truly nothing against the actresses that I mentioned, my comment was just the fact that I read in comment sections in the past three years.

      • Aside from Jin Se Yeon, the rest can act.
        I have no hate towards Suzy but she was quite bad in UF. I thought she was ok in Dream High because it was her debut performance but until now, she has not improved much.
        Idk if LJS could worked some miracle as he did with “Doctor Stranger”, having Suzy as his lead actress is a liability.

      • Before IHYV, LBY acted in My Daughter Seo Young which was a bigger hit than IHYV.
        Suzy is adorable. I have seen her in variety shows and in Dream High. When she was cast in UF, I thought this writer is good so it will be okay. People criticised MCW before Nice Guy but it was fine when it aired.
        So again I am going to hope that the production team knows what they are doing. It is not like if I hate things would change. With this writer, the story is going to be good. Well it has been so far.

      • @suzypretty , LBY has never had an acting controversy. She was in an acclaimed drama called my daughter seo young which had higher ratings than IHYV the year before.

      • lmao knets bashing PSH’s acting? That’s new haha
        Do a bit or research. It’s not that hard she was praised by knetz even with the Heirs mess…
        In fact Pino’s response was great or at least better than his other 3 dramas…

  6. So much debate in my previous article over the potential candidate who could lived up the role of an aerospace engineer, when in fact, the hero is a prosecutor. LOL
    Nothing against LJS, but I would like to see other actor in a drama penned by PHR but she must have liked him a lot and vice versa. Their collaboration proved to be successful and I kinda of feel that they have established a comfort zone between themselves.
    I am not belittling Suzy but if UF is any indicator, this may not look good at all. She was ok in “Dream High”, a drama also written PHR but that was a coming of age youth drama and here, I don’t see her having the acting chops to pull it off.
    My guess is she will accept the offer since LJS has a stellar record to secure good ratings which will benefit her.

    • But Lee Jong Suk’s last three dramas only average around 10-11% ratings, it’s not that stellar. UF’s ratings were pretty similar.

      • But double digit rating considers as a success in past three years, no need to mention all of his five dramas were the winners in theirs time slots consecutively without a single flop, there is no other actor in his twenty with this record, also after IHYV all his dramas were sold to China with the highest price ever at the time.

      • UF ratings were in double digits for only the first three weeks, they dropped into single digits for the entire remaining run.

        The ratings toward the end actually are a better measure of impact, and it was telling that UF couldn’t break 10 percent after week 3 even when W wasn’t airing.

      • One thing beside the rating is the buzz that those dramas received, for example W broke the record with more than 1 million comments on Naver TV brands I think, or Pinocchio broke the record of online rating and so on…

  7. Good luck to Lee Jong Suk.
    Should Suzy confirmed, he may need to brace himself to do a lot of works to save the drama.
    Kim Woo Bin and Lee Jun Ki has proven that no amount of talent and powerful performance could helped a drama when the lead actresses are not complimenting their talent.
    But may be, good writing will help.

    • YG / LJS please say no to this project. I hated her in UF she killed that drama for me tbh
      Smh…. for them to even consider her after UF

  8. I’m sorry but I prefer kang sora… She is young and can Act….
    i love lee jongsuk and kang sora chemistry in dr. Stranger…
    My quack couple…

    • You are right. But even if it’s not kang sora, there are still other actresses better suited for him. He will have to carry the pressure of the drama when there is a weak link in the cast. But I guess he doesn’t have to worry about her overshadowing his performance.

  9. Even good script writer can’t help. UF isba classic example. A so so story but with good leads can provide good chemistry an rating. For me, KRW and PSH in Doctors is a show case.

  10. Lee Jong Seok is confirmed to be the male lead so I’m soooooooooooooooooo happy that my wish came true that he’s collaborating again with writer Park Hye Ryun!! *Dancingofhappiness* but I want another actress for the female lead role!! I know that she’s working on herself to improve in acting (which I hope she reach that point someday) but I’m sorry to be greedy, I don’t want a hit-and-miss actress, I want a GOOD actress with Lee Jong Seok!!

  11. Well, i’d like to see other actors to have the opportunity to work with this writer. I like both but there is a kind of elitism in dramaland . Hallyu and high popular stars work together in the “best projects” and the others just have what is left from the cake.

    • Same here. I was hoping for other actor to be casted not that I dont like LJS. But the moment they announced that Suzy is the potential female lead, I feel relieved that my bias not getting the part. This will be LJS’ swang song before MS. Surely he would want to leave with a bang before a 2 years career hiatus.

    • Certain writers going to certain actors and often PDs seems to be a thing in K-Dramaland but it happens in Hollywood as well. I get it as a way to hedge your bets in a vicious business. However, when people complain that so and so actor should pick better projects, I find it important to remember that some of the top writers go back to the same well over and over again or only deal with A++++ level actors. Everyone else is left with the left overs, which can produce a ratings or critical success, but it’s much more a role of the dice.

      I have never seen Suzy in anything, but I don’t think she was probably up to the task of a melo like UF (which was initially reported to be more of a “light” melo.) This hopefully will suit her better, and I’ll maybe give it a go though I was more interested when he was an engineer or whatever.

      • A lot of directors are talking about a real creativity crisis in movieland thanks to this vicious business ( marvel, …) . That’s why festivals like Sundance are so important. Sometimes less stellar productions have the chance to shine . Recently in dramaland , no surprise in casting news ! It’s a mix with the same actors , writers, directors…

      • I recently read an article about Hollywood regarding movies specifically. The question asked was what happened to the romantic comedy? Right now the trend is franchise staples like Star Trek and Star Wars and DC Comic and Marvel movies. Now I like a lot of that stuff and so do my kids, but I’m not gonna count 50 Shades as a romantic comedy sooooo the reporters question still stands. It used to be studios went for 1 or 2 big budget movies and would go for 4 or so with low to moderate budgets where maybe they would make 20 to 40 million dollars. Now they don’t even try. It’s too bad.

        I do have a question about Suzy. She gets a lot of grief among international fans, but are Korean fans okay with her. I mean this is coming pretty quickly after UF so what gives?

  12. Suzy will probably do well. Not because she can act (since she can’t) but because PHR always writes likeable female leads. So even though her acting is gonna be a suck fest, people will look over it and just enjoy her cool written character. Though I do wish they offered the role to someone else.. Sigh.

    • In UF, Suzy was quite bad partially because of the way her character was written. Problem is, an amateur actress will make the poorly written character even more unlikeable due to her poor interpretation. That’s the case with Suzy and also IU, though i think IU is the better one of the two. You are probably right, she has done a PHR drama before, maybe she will perform well given that the character is less complex which i doubt is the case here.

  13. What a downer! *cry* She can’t be any worse than Jin Se Yeon, nah? I literally had to drop Dr Stranger because of her appalling acting (the only Lee Jong Suk’s drama I couldn’t finish). Give me Kang Sora or Kim Ji Won instead (same age group)I’m still grieving over my favourite pairing that never happened in Dr Stranger- Quack couple. Why Drama Gods, why?!?

    • I totally agree with you! Give me Kang Sora or Kim Ji Won please.. Suzy is still lacking with her acting. She didnt impress me with UF.. the way she talk and most specially the way she shout were terrible. Kang Sora or Kim Ji won would be perfect. I really Suzy will say No!?

  14. Is everyone just hoping that in the next drama Suzy will miraculously turn into this dynamic talented actress? If so, I would advise them not to be holding their breath. She is cute, but she just can’t act. Just my opinion.

  15. Suzy has been around a loooong time in KDramas and her performances are frankly subpar, she is there because she is popular outside of the acting sphere to potentially sell the drama overseas. Unfortunately while I think LJS has really worked on his acting and will do well Suzy will just look and act like a pretty doll wide eyed and expressionless. I feel sorry for actresses who truly have talent but don’t have the supporters to get them in to give them these roles. Not expecting much at all. KEnt like Hollywood are horrible for female artists who don’t conform to their unrealistic expectations. 🙁

    • Yes@gonggirl , i feel sorry for actresses who never have the same opportunities like Suzy. In my country ( France) we still have some actresses who are not “goddesses” and still have leading roles.

  16. I just don’t understand it, do they really have to care about popularity, her acting is something else(not in a good way at all). I mean we have many kdrama actresses that are young and willing and even better at acting and all we get to see is another Suzy mediocre acting. This is in no way a good news for Lee jong suk fans, I like the actor a lot and I wish he has better leading actress to workwork with. I couldn’t get past Uncontrollably fond and I hope this won’t be the same, will she accept *fingers crossed* but I hope not

  17. Coming out of presidential election fiasco, here comes another joke. LOL. How exciting the casting news! Good luck, LJS. Yeah, but stay as a prosecutor. Good riddance of an engineer character. LOL. At least I can bear to watch him in a professional role that is foreign to me.

  18. As usual the male lead will do all the work while Suzy’s wooden ass gets a free ride and media play.

    LJS deserves better, he already had to work double to compensate for Jin Se Yeon who looked like she was on tranquilisers in Dr Stranger. Let’s not throw away a promising female lead role on such a subpar actress please.

  19. Come on, Suzy. You’d better say no. You know why? Actors like this LJS guy can’t create similar hypes as he is expected to. He doesn’t even stand in a manly way.

  20. I have nothing against her, not her fan, but a pity her. They truly really trying very hard to bring this cf model trying to turn actress into international spotlight at any price, to gain popularity, by paring her with international popular actors, from fake dating to doing drama regardless how negatively affects these actors.hersponsors are powerful.But her image has been poorly manage. They need to send her to study, rest her from public eyes a little, recharge , and comeback, with her the theory of strick while iron is hot , does not applied, because if they continue will burn her to ashes.

  21. Sigh-Suzy-I was always told if you can’t say something nice,don’t say anything at all but about her acting-um,um,nice hair. Wish this drama all the best, tho!

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