(clockwise from top left) When the phone rings, Lovely Runner, Queen of Tears, The Judge From Hell. Squid Game 2, and The Atypical Family
In recent years, it has been easy to identify a standout genre or a distinctive storytelling choice that defined K-Drama releases each year. 2024 however, has truly been a mixed bag; of shows that came in with immense hype, smaller shows that became standout hits, and great ideas that were let down once again by unfocussed writing.
A still from Queen of Tears starring Kim Soo-hyun and Kim Ji-won
The big hits
Among the biggest global hits this year on Netflix, Queen of Tears starring Kim Soo-hyun and Kim Ji-won had nearly everything going for it. Crash Landing on You’s writer Park Ji-eun, great lead actors backed by a solid ensemble cast, top-notch production values and a fitting musical score to boot. While the drama viewers across the world, including Rihanna and A$AP Rocky were glued to the screen and more often than not, tearing up at the tragedy of beautiful, rich people being plagued by scheming family members and disease, the emotional notes struggled to pull through in the latter half of the show. A surprise contender however emerged later in the year for a global hit,Lovely Runner, starring Kim Hye-yoon and Byeon Woo-seok turned out to be an utterly charming romance about a woman who finds herself able to travel back in time and sets out to prevent a tragedy that involves her classmate who becomes a famous singer. Despite having starred in several shows before this, both Woo-seok and Hye-yeon emerged overnight stars, with Woo-seok having become a household name now.
Byeon Woo-seok and Kim Hye-yoon in Lovely Runner
Time travel once again struck big with Marry My Husband, a revenge drama which had K-Drama favourite Park Min-young travel back in time to take revenge on her best friend and fiance, both of whom she realises would be the eventual cause of her ruin. The often over-the-top, yet tightly scripted drama was entertainment at its best – there’s honestly no better feeling than to see a carefully plotted revenge scheme satisfyingly play out.
Chun woo-hee in a still from The Atypical Family
If these were the obvious successes, a personal underrated favourite from 2024 has to be The Atypical Family. It is hard to pigeonhole this 12-episode show which delved into romance, relationships, family ties and friendships as it followed the members of a family who have seemingly lost their superpowers. Jang Ki-young, Chun Woo-hee and Claudia Kim essayed layered, well-written characters in this smartly written show that definitely deserved more love and visibility.
The other fantasy that made a mark, surprisingly chose to go the police procedural route. In The Judge From Hell, we had Park Shin-hye play a demon disguised as an unhinged protector of the law with an endearing detective played by Kim Jae-young hot on the trail of her vigilante justice. This year truly belonged to Park Shin-hye, who stood out as a maniacal demon in this show and had a completely contrasting role as a burnt-out overachiever in Doctor Slump.
Of romance and healing
Romantic comedies were few and far between this year, and No Gain No Love, starring Shin Min-ah and Kim Young-dae was a refreshing, short and snappy K-Drama that delivered well on the romance, comedy, and female friendships front. Sure, we’ve seen enough and more of contract marriages, but No Gain No Love also bravely explored the women’s lives at its centre, their relationships and careers, something we only need to see more of.
Shin Min-a and Kim Young-dae in ‘No Gain No Love‘
A remake of the much-loved Chinese drama Go Ahead, Family By Choice stood out as a wholesome, sweet show at a time when there seemed to be an avalanche of thriller releases. The show, starring Hwang In-yeop, Jung Chae-yeon and Bae Hyun-Sung made for the perfect, wholesome watch with guaranteed smiles, tears and swoons. We don’t have enough of these shows any more and could do with a lot more of these warm shows with immensely likable characters and relationships.
For several other romances, it truly was the season of healing and forging new bonds. Doctor Slump starring Park Shin-hye and Park Hyung-sik had them essay the roles of two high school rivals who find themselves in the present navigating burnout, career roadblocks and mental health struggles. While Love Next Door too had a promising start with a high-achieving techie making her way back home on a sabbatical and reconnecting with her family and childhood friend, the Jung Hae-in and Jung So-min starrer, unfortunately, fell prey to lazy, unfocussed writing which the sparkling leads could do little to redeem. Netflix original Mr Plankton, starring Woo Do-hwan, Lee Yoo-mi and Oh Jung-sae, meanwhile chronicled the final, healing journey of a man who finds out he has little time left and sets out to find his biological father.
Inspired adaptations
Adaptations of web novels and comics like Kang Full’s Light Shop continued to strike gold. An eight-episode show, the horror-thriller, Light Shop pulled off a casting coup with Ju Ji-hoon, Park Bo-young, Seolhyun, Kim Min-ah and more. Much like Kang Full’s Moving, Light Shop too was complex and original. We also saw books come alive on screen this year, with season 2 of Apple TV’s Pachinko, based on the book of the same name by Min Jin Lee as well as both TV show and movie adaptations of Sang Young Park’s novel Love In The Big City. The television series, starring Nam Yoon-su and Lee Soo-kyung faced considerable backlash ahead of its release from conservative Korean groups who protested against the show being centred on a gay man finding love. A sensitive, layered coming-of-age story where love, life and the city of Seoul itself is a central character, Love In The Big City was nuanced and well-made with Nam Yoon-su effortlessly making the role of Go Young, his own.
A still from ‘When the phone rings’
The year saw several thrillers which included Shop For Killers, The Frog, The Trunk, and the entertaining police procedural Flex X Cop starring Ahn Bo Hyun and Park Ji-hyun, but the genre is now truly having its moment in the sun with the success of the ongoing show When The Phone Rings, starring Chae Soo-bin and Yoo Yeon-sook. There’s a lot that the show seems to have gotten right so far; great chemistry between its leads, bringing together politics, family secrets and marital strife, and a mostly unrealistic yet thoroughly entertaining premise.
Given the track record of how While a few much-anticipated sequels, including Sweet Home’s third season and the second seasons of Gyeongseong Creature and Hellbound, did not live up to the hype, Squid Game’s second season has thankfully turned out to be the one sequel this year that has managed to turn things around.
Gong Yoo and Lee Jung Jae in a still from Squid Game 2
While a third and final season of the show is set to release in 2025, this also is probably time to take stock of the increasing number of shows that have sequels releasing or are in the works. This used to be an absolutely rare phenomenon till a few years ago, and where writers probably need to put the focus on is making tighter shows with fewer than 16 episodes when needed. Shows like My Demon, or even Love Next Door could have done with far fewer episodes.
With Squid Game 2 wrapping off the year in style, what is next for 2025? There’s already palpable excitement among K-Drama fans for Lee Min Ho and Gong Hyo-jin’s ‘space romance’, When The Stars Gossip, which is all set to stream from January 4. Following the dystopian Squid Game blitz, a light and breezy romance is probably just what we need to start the year with.
Published – December 28, 2024 05:23 pm IST
#KDramas #Squid #Game #Lovely #Runner #Atypical #Family
