Kim Ji Won and Yoochun Become the Sensory Couple for SBS

This is definitely a good news week for SBS. Even if its weekend drama is tanking so hard at unprecedented levels of embarrassing, Punch is owning both the ratings and critical acclaim over on Mon-Tues so that should be sweet consolation.The network can also breath a sigh of relief with the audience opinion in the third week of Hyde, Jekyll, Me that is drama storytelling has gotten noticeably better even if the ratings is still the pits. I’d take drama I enjoy watching over drama that gets high ratings any day.

The casting updates for the next Wed-Thurs drama is also starting to look more promising, starting off with a drama title name change from The Girl Who Sees Smells to Sensory Couple. The former is more intriguing but puts the emphasis on the female lead while the latter highlights the romance potential and places equal importance on both leads. With Suzy declining the leading lady role due to scheduling considerations with her idol singing career, the offer has now gone to Kim Ji Won to step into her first major leading lady role, with the added bonus of getting to romance Yoochun. If girl says no to this chance she needs a CT scan stat.

I really like Kim Ji Won but love even more her smart career choices and very solid acting experience on her resume. She’s not some untried newbie vaulting to first lead with too few supporting roles under her belt. Last December she was even the leading lady opposite So Ji Sub in a web drama promoting Jeju called One Fine Day. She’s definitely ready to step into bigger shoes and I hope she rises to the occasion and delivers on the big stage. The agencies for both purported leads claim that the casting is still under consideration but insiders at SBS have indicated it’s pretty much a done deal, which makes sense as filming is supposed to start next week.

With the failure of Hyde, Jekyll, Me to rope audiences in with the first four episodes, which were qualitatively terrible, it’s a good reminder that any drama needs smart talent behind the scenes in addition to casting actors and actresses who can act and look good onscreen. Sensory Couple will be written by the screenwriter of Yawang (Queen of Ambition) and Rooftop Prince while directing is PD Baek who did Tazza, Pure Pumpkin Flower, and Dream. Their previous works have been all over the place in terms of quality but not so consistently underwhelming as to worry me this early in the game.