Revenge Drama Shark Courting Kim Nam Gil and Son Ye Jin for the Leads
I need to pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming. Kim Nam Gil has been out of the army for many months now and has been relatively low key as he returns to his entertainment career. He has filmed a movie since returning but when he left for the army he was experiencing a newfounded success because of two back-to-back dramas Queen Seon Deok and Bad Guy so it’s not surprising that his fans are clamoring for him to return to the small screen. There was a rumor that he was offered the lead role in period drama Sword and Flower but that never panned out. Now comes the first report that he is being courted and is seriously considering the leading role in the upcoming revenge thriller Shark. Normally I would be annoyed that he’s following up the revenge thriller Bad Guy with what sounds like the same set up, but Shark is the third and final drama in the so-called Revenge Trilogy from the supremely talented PD-writing team that created two of my favorite K-dramas of all time. Resurrection (also known as Rebirth or Revenge) is permanently on my top-10 list while Mawang (The Devil) might even be a better drama than Resurrection though I didn’t like it quite as much. Both starred Uhm Tae Woong (he was paired with Han Ji Min in Resurrection and later with Shin Mina in Mawang) so I wouldn’t be surprised if the production courted him for the third and final drama. The dramas aren’t connected but are instead unique and fascinating stories that share the same “revenge” theme. The first two have been decidedly male-driven pieces where the ladies have played necessary accessories to advance the story, but Shark might find more use for its female lead since rumors have them courting Son Ye Jin. Kim Nam Gil and Son Ye Jin? Oh hell yeah. If this happens I can finally wipe away the abomination that is Personal Taste from my memory since that was Son Ye Jin’s last drama outing. Shark is scheduled to air on SBS Mon-Tues in June after God of the Workplace starring Kim Hye Soo and Oh Ji Ho, which is itself taking over for abysmally rated Advertising Genius Lee Tae Baek.
Part of me is a little bit sad Uhm Tae Woong couldn’t have made this a three-peat by starring in Shark. He’s long been confirmed as the lead for the upcoming sageuk based on the life of Admiral Yi Soon Shin. What I loved about Resurrection and Mawang was how complicated (but not convoluted) the characters all were. The revenge part was straight forward but everyone was written to be multfaceted as opposed to black and white. The directing was also exquisite and heightened the mood and tension considerably. Over the years many revenge dramas have tried but failed to deliver on both the writing and directing fronts (Kim Nam Gil’s own Bad Guy being a sterling example of “hot mess”) and I trust this team can deliver a third time. There is bit of hesitation stemming from their last drama, the non-revenge food-oriented cable drama Fermentation Family with Song Il Gook and Park Jin Hee, which was beyond boring to me. I figure the revenge thriller is their niche and I’m glad they are going back to it. As for Son Ye Jin? She can play angelic princesses or dark femme fatales with equal ease. I will be curious what type of character she will play if she accepts Shark.
Son ye jin? I’m in!!
Kim Nam gil?? I’m totally in!!!
Let’s this happen!
Wow! I can’t wait to see Kim Nam Gil in the small screen again, I miss him so dearly.
By the way, I am not sure if anyone here can remember or maybe I am mistaken, but Kim Nam Gil made a cameo in Son Ye Jin’s drama Personal Taste.
He needs to get rid of that moustache ASAP!
Unfortunately nothing says “revenge” like a mustache. I used to hate it too, but now I’ll be happy to have him back on screen even with a full Santa beard. Please come back. I also love Sohn Ye-jin – but also without a mustache.
I like Kim Nam Gil, but there’s no way he can compete with Uhmforce in my heart. I was really hoping for a Uhmforce/Ye Jin drama (just imagine the acting! And I’m sure they would have awesome chemistry), but if that doesn’t work out I supposed Nam Gil and Ye Jin should be a pretty great pairing too. Plus, I loved Resurrection (and Mawang to a slighter extent) so I’m sure we can expect great things from the writer and PD.
Ah, yes – I think UTW and SYJ would have been great 🙁 But wasn’t UTW supposed to appear in a sageuk later on this year? I assume since his baby will be born this summer he probably won’t want to do dramas back to back.
Uhmforce with Son Ye Jin would’ve been like a dream…the chemistry would’ve been awesome….its a shame he’s already commited…but I do wonder if he could stick this one first since the Lee Soon Shon drama keeps getting postponed
I must still be asleep because I think I’m dreaming! WOOHOO! At first I was a little concerned to see that Kim Nam Gil would be doing yet another revenge drama since I’d like to see him do something else. And revenge dramas seem to have both the biggest up sides and the biggest DOWN sides. So they worry me, and Bad Guy is an excellent example of why I’m worried. BUT then I saw it would be the same team that did Mawang!!! Awesome! I haven’t seen Resurrection yet but it’s near the top of my list since I’ve heard such good things about it! And if Son Ye Jin is in too. OMG! This could be awesome! Please, please let this come true!
Kim Nam Gil and Son Ye Jin!! Great 🙂
Oh thankgod , at least some good news! I was raged after dramabeans had to take down all their level 7 CS photos for I don’t know what the hell reason :$ this takes some of that sick announcement!!! Thanks ockoala …
I will basically watch anything by the people behind Mawang/The Devil. One of the best kdramas I’ve ever seen, complex characters and gorgeous cinematography (it also convinced me that Joo Ji Hoon could actually act. It’s hard to believe he went from Goong to Mawang and improved tenfold). Son Ye Jin is lovely (and totally needs to make up for Personal Taste) and idk about Kim Nam Gil skills, but they sure look compatible together. Excited!!!!!! Hopefully this will resurrect KBS’ Mon/Tues.
Out of curiosity, what did you guys not like about Personal Taste? I never watched it myself so I’m interested in hearing your opinion. I remember being surprised at the LMH/SYJ combo but it seemed like a cute enough concept.
Well PT was fun to watch , but not totally interesting and the characters where not the ones u unfold , by each episode a little bit more ,every thing was obvious and clear from the very start , plus the lead actress , defiantly had more to give , and her talent was a little bit wasted , lee min ho however was the main reason I ever watched this drama , back then I didn’t care weather the plot was a little bit naive or typical, nor the fact that the OTPs were not the perfect pairing , it was only his face that I waited for .ahhh . Still my thoughts maybe there was more that I didn’t go deep through
.PEACE! 🙂 but watch it , it’s cute and somehow refreshing!
Oh yeah, they were totally cute together but the story was mediocre. Son Ye Jin has done far superior acting in her other projects and LMH was still a bit green (though obviously showing huge potential) in PT. So if you’re looking for good rom com, there are far better ones around. If you love LMH you will probably like it.
I need him back on my computer screen ASAP!!!!!!!
Loved Mawang, still haven’t watched Resurrection.
Bad Guy may have been a bust but there’s no denying Kim Nam Gil was riveting to watch…he rocks revenge…and with Son Ye Jin to boot!…so exciting
Oh My… Mawang’s PD-writing team (haven’t watch resurrection, but i’ll)… KNG.. SYJ.. I’m in… add UTW on it i’m totally sold.. mawanh is my all time fave revenge drama which is compelling.. but, i hope the female in this drama has strong char..
SON YE JIN!!!
THAT WOULD BE SUPER AMAZING!
Hear that? That’s me screaming all the way from the southern hemisphere. OMGOMGOMOGOMOMGOMG I LOVE KIM NAM GIL especilly in REVENGE dramas.