Premiere Watch: Diary of a Prosecutor, Black Dog

by stroopwafel

It’s hard to believe, but we’ve already reached the end of the year and these are the last two drama premieres of 2019. Goodbye old year, hello new dramas!

Diary of a Prosecutor

Time slot: Monday & Tuesday
Broadcaster: JTBC
Genre: Legal
Episode count: 16

Reasons to watch: On TV, a prosecutor’s life is usually at one end of two extremes. At one end, prosecutors are guardians of justice who takes down monsters. On the other end, prosecutors act as handmaidens to the powerful and corrupt. The reality is more run-of-the-mill, especially when you’re working far from the courts in Seoul. Day-to-day, cases lean toward the small and petty rather than media-attention grabbing. The drama follows Lee Seon-kyun (in his first drama since last year’s acclaimed My Ajusshi) and Jung Ryeo-won as they work to uphold justice. Their approaches may be different, Jung is all hard logic while Lee is softer with a people-first perspective, they take pride in working on behalf of victims seeking justice. They and their colleagues may toil away under the shadow of star prosecutors, but they take pride in the work they do. Tune in if you’re looking for an introspective drama on the lives of prosecutors the inner workings of a court of law.

Black Dog

Time slot: Monday & Tuesday
Broadcaster: tvN
Genre: Workplace, human
Episode count: 16 episodes

Reasons to watch: A teacher can play a formative role in the lives of their students, but what goes on in the lives of the teachers themselves? Black Dog centers the teachers at an elite high school in Seoul as it delves into issues of alienation and stigma. The drama title refers to “black dog syndrome,” wherein stray dogs are passed over by potential adopters simply because of the color of their fur. Seo Hyun-jin stars as a recent teaching hire at an exclusive high school–despite having no teaching experience. She quickly catches on that the school is a world of its own, and the stress of being thought of as a “fake” teacher or any parents picking up that she’s on a temporary contract wears on her. Just when she’s about to give up, Ra Mi-ran takes Seo under her wing and mentors her. Seo grows both as a teacher and a person; whether teacher or student, everyone has a lesson in life to learn.

 
RELATED POSTS

• Teachers Seo Hyun-jin, Ra Mi-ran prep for school in new Black Dog teaser
• Different approaches to justice in Diary of a Prosecutor
• Seo Hyun-jin reports to work under Ra Mi-ran in new teaser for tvN’s Black Dog
• First script reading for tvN Black Dog with Seo Hyun-jin, Ra Mi-ran
• Jung Ryeo-won, Lee Seon-kyun take a stand in new teaser for Diary of a Prosecutor
• First script read for slice-of-life legal drama Diary of a Prosecutor
• Seo Hyun-jin, Ra Mi-ran, Ha Joon cast in new tvN drama Black Dog
• Lee Seon-kyun, Jung Ryeo-won to co-star in new JTBC drama Prosecutor’s War