It seems we suddenly have a ton of new dramas out, and I was starting to feel a bit lost. So here’s a brief overview of the dramas currently airing, some of which I’m following regularly and some that I haven’t committed to sticking with yet.

For the series I plan to keep watching, I’ll probably follow up with more in-depth posts, but for now I’m taking a general, overall look at the current lineup. (The two dramas pictured above, Kingdom of Wind and The Painter of Wind, are probably the two best series airing currently, but for different reasons.)

SONG OF THE DAY

Sorri - “Because of You” [ Download ]

More on the current drama scene >>

Tags: Beethoven Virus, East of Eden, Jang Geun-seok, Kim Bum, Kim Myung-min, Kingdom of Wind, Lee Jia, Lee Jin-wook, Love & Marriage, Moon Geun-young, Park Shin-yang, Song Seung-heon, Tazza, The Painter of Wind, Yoon Soyi

Filed under: Drama Reactions & Reviews by javabeans - 53 Comments →

You know, I fully expected to dislike Tazza. I didn’t have many expectations, and I doubted that the drama version would be able to effectively capture what made the film version such a hit — I imagined it would be what you might expect if you had to cut down The Sopranos to air on network TV during the holidays. It would be a watered-down version at best.

And it is, for sure. Only one episode in (they only aired one last week), it’s a little too early to make predictions, particularly when much of the episode was spent in flashback. But although I started out the episode perilously near boredom, somewhere about halfway through, things started clicking for me dramatically, and I’ll admit I enjoyed it overall.

SONG OF THE DAY

Lee Ssang - “야바위” (Swindle). This song is actually from the OST of the film version of Tazza.
[ Download ]

TAZZA Episode 1 >>

Tags: episode recaps, Han Ye-seul, Jang Hyuk, Kim Min-joon, Tazza

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Before she was a femme fatale, she was a schoolgirl.

Han Ye-seul dons pigtails and a schoolgirl uniform to portray her character’s younger self in the upcoming drama Tazza. (Despite the clean face and the clothes, she still seems more like a grown woman in a costume than a genuine flashback. But we can’t all be Song Seung-heon and command name actors even in our childhood roles, can we?)

Tags: Han Ye-seul, Tazza

Filed under: Drama Casting & News by javabeans - 6 Comments →

Tazza actors and crew (Jang Hyuk, Han Ye-seul, Kim Min-joon, Kang Sung-yeon) came out on the afternoon of September 8 for the drama’s production press conference, all decked out in black to observe the death of Ahn Jae-hwan, which they’d received word of just earlier that day.

Apparently the actors put on a bright face for photos, but they became solemn at the mention of Ahn Jae-hwan. The drama’s new Madam Jung, Kang Sung-yeon, expressed her feelings upon hearing the sad news: “I couldn’t believe it. This was to be a good day for me [drama press day], but now I don’t know what I should say… Afterward, I’ll go to his funeral service. I’m so heartbroken I don’t know what to say.”

Regarding the drama itself, PD Kang Shin-ho explained: “Because there were previously a famous manhwa and a movie, there was some pressure, and I went through a process of trial and error. I put a lot of effort trying to use the gambling world to portray the ups and downs of the larger world. I hope people will like it.”

The Monday-Tuesday drama takes its place opposite MBC’s East of Eden and KBS’s Love & Marriage on September 16.

[Read more →]

Tags: Ahn Jae-hwan, Han Ye-seul, Jang Hyuk, Kang Sung-yeon, Kim Min-joon, Tazza

Filed under: Drama Casting & News by javabeans - 10 Comments →

Stars Jang Hyuk and Kim Min-joon of new drama Tazza take a leap of faith (har, har) from a bridge in Busan in recent shoots for the series.

This particular scene takes place when the two hoodlums are chased to the bridge and escape by jumping the railing and landing on a speeding truck. To get the shot just right, Jang Hyuk and Kim Min-joon filmed the bridge sequence approximately ten times with the help of stunt wires, in spite of the muggy summer heat. Also present at the shoot were residents of the city of Busan, who’ll be able to see the finished product in the September 16 airing of the SBS drama.

(Not to belabor Tazza’s comparison to its direct competitor East of Eden, but doesn’t this seem a teeny bit similar to EOE’s dramatic balcony jump scene?)

Via Go News

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Tags: Jang Hyuk, Kim Min-joon, Tazza

Filed under: Drama Casting & News by javabeans - 6 Comments →