ENA Rom-com K-drama My Troublesome Star with Uhm Jung Hwa and Song Seong Heon is Another Surprise Hit of the Summer as Ratings Triple Heading into Finale Next Week

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So all the attention, rightly, is on tvN runaway weekend hit Bon Appétit, Your Majesty but there is actually another rom-com that has turned into a hit for a different network as well just not as stratospheric in ratings. Small cable network ENA premiered My Troublesome Star with Uhm Jung Hwa and Song Seung Heon last month on Mon-Tues and … Continue reading →

The 2022 Busan International Film Festival Kicks Off with Red Carpet in Usual K-actress Styles with a Few Standouts

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This week is the start of the prestigious and popular 2025 Busan International Film Festival in South Korea and it will be interesting to see which festival premieres generate buzz. The premiere day red carpet was dominated by the ladies, with many top actresses and popular stars showcasing their movie star quality fashion looks. The standout for me was Kim … Continue reading →

Netflix Fantasy Drama Genie, Make a Wish with Kim Woo Bin and Suzy Release Tons of New Stills Switching Gears From Weird and Goofy to Showcasing Interesting Characters

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This is the first promo from upcoming Netflix fantasy K-drama Genie, Make a Wish that didn’t make me want to laugh at it. The drama released a ton of new drama and character stills this week all of which form together to actually tease a full story complete with other characters beyond the killer genie and his lamp rubbing actress … Continue reading →

Cheng Yi Responds to Heightened Criticism Over His Own Voice Dialogue in The Journey of Legend

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So all the criticism I mentioned in the prior post on The Journey of Legend haven’t been addressed by the production, but there is one additional criticism that has been addressed directly and it’s one that has plagued male lead Cheng Yi for multiple dramas so not just here. It’s over his own voice dialogue – the criticism is that … Continue reading →

Deng Wei Reportedly Taking Over Xu Kai’s Role in Dual Male Lead Drama Ting Feng Ling with Wei Zhe Ming

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One person’s lost opportunity is another person’s gain, and with news that the production of period investigation C-drama Ting Feng Ling is not casting currently embroiled in scandal Xu Kai as the male lead there is an open role for another actor. That actor may be Deng Wei, as news is circulating he’s taking over and will work with the … Continue reading →

The Journey of Legend with Cheng Yi Opens with Immediate Popularity But Quickly Drops Off Due to Complaints About Production Quality, Cheesy Acting, and Stale Plot

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With a few days airing now under its belt, it’s time to check in on the first impressions of period C-drama The Journey of Legend. It’s a big budget big male lead production headlined by Cheng Yi, who is coming off a very successful last period project with Mysterious Lotus Casebook hence the additional interest in this drama. The drama … Continue reading →

Conspiracy Theories About C-actor Yu Meng Long’s Death Spread Following Police’s Quick Closing of Case and Speculative Aspects of His Sudden Passing

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It’s been five days since C-actor Yu Meng Long tragically passed away in his thirties from a fall out of a residential building. What was ruled swiftly by the police as “non-criminal” in the manner of his death has since become a conspiracy theory exploding into social media. Reportedly he was afraid of heights and had a work event scheduled … Continue reading →

Netflix to Cap K-drama Star Salaries at 300 Million Won After Escalating Drama Budgets Caused by Salary Inflation

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This is good news to stop the continuing ballooning of drama budgets, but unfortunate for stars that have soon to be produced Netflix K-dramas. The streaming giant is reportedly capping K-drama salaries at 300 million won (about $212,000 USD) per episode after it got to nearly three times that amount in recent years for super top stars. This will hopefully … Continue reading →

K-netizens Excited Over the Casting of Rising Actor Kim Jae Won as the Male Lead of Yumi’s Cells 3 Opposite Kim Go Eun

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The unexpected surprise that is young actor Lee Chae Min being totally on point in tvN weekend drama Bon Appétit, Your Majesty may be starting a trend. Because this week attention from K-netizens are on rising actor Kim Jae Won who earlier had been cast as the male lead in Yumi’s Cells 3 but didn’t get as much coverage then. … Continue reading →

Zhao Lu Si’s Attendance at Fila Fusion Event Cancelled Last Minute with Her Side Pointing Fingers at the Interference of Her Agency

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Watching Zhao Lu Si publicly battle to leave her agency and break the contract may be entertaining for passerbys and her fans are all rooting for her, but from a legal point of view it is mostly just smoke and mirrors. Ultimately the contract termination will be negotiated to terms that both sides will accept on the sliding scale of … Continue reading →

Wang Chu Ran to Pair Up with Xin Yun Lai in Upcoming Tencent Period Revenge C-drama A Ming Dynasty Adventure

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A new C-drama is being prepped and slated to start filming next month in October 2025. It’s titled A Ming Dynasty Adventure and the Chinese title is 明月录 Ming Yue Lu or Record of the Bright Moon. It’s a Hunan TV and Mango C-drama and casting insiders are saying it will star Wang Chu Ran and Xin Yun Lai. She … Continue reading →

The Prada Curse for Asian Stars Continues as J-actor Sakaguchi Kentaro Gets into Cheating Scandal with Actress Nagano Mei

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At this point if you’re an Asian actor and Italian couture house Prada comes calling with a brand ambassador offer bolt the other way as fast as you can. There is a scandal in J-ent this week and the male lead in the center of it is popular star Sakaguchi Kentaro, who happens to be Prada’s Japan brand ambassador. Him … Continue reading →

Tan Song Yun and Liu Xue Yi Lead Talented Cast in Upcoming Tencent Period Family Scheming Dynamics C-drama Against the Current

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There is a specific genre of slow burn family politics and romance period C-drama that if done well can be so addicting even with leisurely pace and a lot of pointed looks more than action. I’m talking about The Story of Minglan and The Sword and the Brocade, and even Yu Zheng’s more makjang take on the style in The … Continue reading →