Casting is pretty much a done deal for the upcoming MBC Wed-Thurs drama following Miss Korea and it’s going to be Lee Min Jung and Joo Sang Wook for the rom-com Cunning Single Lady. This drama is being produced by Fantagio Entertainment and will be MBC’s first prime time rom-com in years. In 2013 the network had nary a rom-com in that time slot which was filled with melodrama When a Man Loves, weird spy drama 7th Grade Civil Servant, educational drama The Queen’s Classroom, thriller Two Weeks, and the medical flop Top Medical Team. Right now Miss Korea isn’t a rom-com but more like a satire serious drama with a potential romantic undertone. I can’t say I’m pleased with the coupling for Cunning Single Lady since it never crossed my mind but I could be pleasantly surprised by whatever chemistry sparks with Lee Min Jung and Joo Sang Wook. It will be Lee Min Jung’s first drama since she got married to Lee Byung Hun last August and she also had a lackluster outing in 2013 with the SBS political rom-com flop All About My Love. Joo Sang Wook, on the other hand, had a great 2013 with the ratings success of Good Doctor and his cable hit Ten 2.
Joo Sang Woo rarely does rom-coms whereas that genre seems to be Lee Min Jung’s forte. I remember he was quite winning in the comedy drama Paradise Ranch but its not hard to look winning acting opposite Changmin and Lee Yeon Hee (back then, she’s super awesome in Miss Korea now). I’m more concerned with this particular rom-com set up: Lee Min Jung and Joo Sang Wook play a divorced couple who gets a second chance at love. Sounds a bit like where Thrice Married Woman seems to be headed right now. The set up isn’t particularly interesting but this one has a leading lady that sounds positively detestable. Lee Min Jung’s character is vain and tries to look good believing that her future is tied to her looks. She married Joo Sang Wook young when he was just an engineer right out of college and their inexperience and immaturity leads to divorce. She tries her hand at love again only to run into her ex-husband years later who is now filthy rich. She sets her sights on seducing him into marrying her again now that his means have changed for the better and it’s all supposed to be comedic and romantic as per MBC calling this a rom-com. Except I’m cringing at hearing a shallow woman trying to seduce a man she dumped before because he’s rich now. This does not sound either funny or romantic in the least. Maybe the end product will be endearing but right now I’m going to sit far back on the fence for this one.
The drama is in the good hands of the PD who directed Me Too, Flower! and Queen of Housewives. The script is written by a newbie screenwriter who won a writing competition at MBC, which sounds a lot like the newbie screenwriter who won a competition at KBS and produced the script for Secret. Cunning Single Lady airs sometime in February after Lee Yeon Hee either does or does not become the next Miss Korea.
kind of sound like get karl oh soo jung. where the woman dropped her fiance bc he failed his bar exam. only reason she was marrying him was to be a rich lawyer’s life but once she found that out, i believe she left him at the altar to run off with a better catch. eight years later, she manages a store and an ugly classmate married her ex she dumped for ex fiancee and is rich. because of that she doesn’t dare go to a school reunion until she finds out that her ex fiance is now hot, a famous pro golfer and rich is coming to korea to attend.
Lee Min Jung isn’t the best actress, but she’s charming so I think she can pull it off without seeming too bad. Though most male leads are detestable to start with and people get over it, so I don’t see why the female lead can’t be for once.
I think this is a fresh premise where the female lead starts off as a character that will be hard to like….also I love when serious role actors try rom-coms, so I’m excited for this one!!
You couldn’t have said it any better & I totally agree with you @snow white!
Anyway, JSW is a very good actor and has always said he wanted to get out of his ‘usual roles’ by doing a rom-com. He’s so adorably funny in the variety shows QoM and RM. Such natural wit! Lol
so this will compete with Yoochun’s Three Days on SBS? Hmmmm… I like JSW from Good Doctor… But YC’s drama is still my most anticipated drama for this February.
So many great dramas to look forward to…
I love Joo Sang Wook….but not so much Lee Min Jung.
The first half of the synopsis sounded like TvN’s new drama…Emergency Couple I think…maybe it’s a new trend, divorced couple re-kindling their love.
It does sound like get Karl, oh soo jung. Also he kinda had revenge on his mind as well toward her. So maybe Jsw’s character is like that too,
I never really liked lmj until I saw AAMR and I guess I am one of the few that actually liked that drama. I marathoned it so that helped. I thought it worked for her well in that drama. I do like Jsw. He definitely has this nice charm to him that really draws you to his characters – maybe except Giant. Anyhow, I think the pairing could work out. As much as I hate drama trope – I am a bit of a sucker for those guys that like just one girl… So, I just wonder what kind of character Jsw will play and what lead to their failed marriage the first time around. Isn’t this what was supposed to happen kinda in MC which totally did not happen – figuring out what went wrong the first time and figure out how to change it, minus the time traveling.
Wow! A reunion for both since they were in 2007 MBC Kimchi Radish Cube drama. But this time MJ will get the man :-p
Well the plot kinda does sound shallow but with a good writing it def has potential to be good.
this year seems to be the year of second chance at love, with Emergency couple, this drama and other others dealing with divorce couple getting back together. I am certainly not complaining, dramaland needs more rom coms in the midst of melodramas and sageuks by the many.
Love JSW. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him in anything I’d consider a rom/com. I like him in serious dramas/movies.
I like LNJ, but not sure how the chemistry will be between the two. They just don’t seem a good fit. But who knows, stranger things have happened.
I like this couple.
JSW had a little romcom going for a while in Feast of the Gods until, well, until he didn’t. Same with Thornbirds.
He was cute.
I like when the ladies are married. They usually relax about the kissing stuff. Except for Han Ga In in AGD. She was stiffer than an uncooked lasagne noodle.
By the way, the English title? Hate it.
For more reasons than I care to specify.
Waiting JSW movies n dramas…always.