Cable is where it’s at, baby! I like Jae Hee so its with great pain and a sense of the absurd to see his post military acting projects hit upon one turd after another. First he picked Hooray for Love, and then dropped out when he hurt his back. Then came the terrible Color of Woman followed by the slaptastic OTP-musical-chairs crazy May Queen. And who can ever forget his “role” in Jang Ok Jung, Live in Love, a second male lead that didn’t show up until more than halfway through the drama and then had 5 minutes of screen time per episode thereafter. Maybe he’s exhausted his bad luck and the next one will be a charm. He’s the male lead for the upcoming jTBC cable weekend drama called The Firstborn. That sounds like some ominous horror movie title, I know, and perhaps the better title would be The Eldest. It’s a period piece set in the 1960s about five orphaned siblings raised by the eldest sister and each achieves success in life. Yoon Jung Hee (probably most well known for playing the female lead opposite Park Shi Hoo in the weekend drama Family’s Honor) plays the firstborn, the eldest of five siblings that raises them to become success stories after the death of their parents. The younger siblings are played by Jo Yi Jin, Yoo Hae Jung, Noh Jung Hee, and Kang UI Sik. Also in the cast is Oh Yoon Ah and Jang Mi Hee. Jae Hee plays the male lead and love interest of eldest sibling Yoon Jung Hee’s character. The drama airs in September after War of Flowers and is scheduled to run for 50-episodes. Directing is the veteran PD who directed the hilarious time travel drama Thousand Year Love with So Ji Sub and Sung Yuri (it must be watched for the unintentional hilarity) but also helmed First Love of the Crown Prince and My Woman. Writing is also a veteran scriptwriter who did If Tomorrow Comes and Dandelion Family. The network jTBC has been the home to a contender for my best drama of the year with Cruel City (Heartless City), and also aired one of my all-time favorite dramas in I Live in Cheongdamdong, not to mention quality fare like Childless Comfort, Queen In Soo, and A Wife’s Credentials. Check out the cast and the first stills of the kid actors below. Continue reading →