Drama Views - Producer (2015)

Producer follows the lives of 3 variety PDs - Tak Ye Jin (Gong Hyo Jin) as PD of Music Bank, Ra Joon Mo (Cha Tae Hyun) as PD of 1 Night 2 Days and Baek Seung Chan (Kim Soo Hyun) as a rookie PD and one starlet, Cindy (IU).

It started off as a mash of drama cum documentary but this wasn't well received in Korea so after the second ep, it was essentially a normal romcom. I enjoyed both formats and overall, I thought it was a well made, well thought out and well acted drama.



Pros:

- Acting by the leads. Gong Hyo Jin and Cha Tae Hyun are always awesome, but I was really surprised by Kim Soo Hyun. I have watched all his dramas since he started being a lead and I always thought he was vastly overrated but he really proved his worth with this drama. He became Baek Seung Chan. IU started off shakily (honestly, she looked sleepy rather than bitchy) but she delivered where it really mattered.

- I loved all the characters as they made sense to me with their flaws and strengths. Cindy's arc was good but I personally liked Baek Seung Chan's arc more. Loved his growth arc from clueless and bumbling to a more confident PD. Really, the show was about him (at the expense of the other leads, especially Joon Mo.) Although the 2 older leads didn't get much of an arc, I also loved Ye Jin's character. She felt super real to me (other than the denseness of not knowing Seung Chan liked her ._.) with her hot temper and prickliness hiding her fear of being weak.

- The OST! Good songs + awesome singers.

Cons:
- Why was each episode 1.5h long???

- The gradual shift in focus from a drama about the workings of a variety show to a drama about the love lives of 4 people. I especially wanted to see more of Ye Jin working as a Music Bank PD. Nevertheless, I know significantly more about how a variety show is made now and I guess the drama did it's job.

Favourite scenes:
When Seung Chan imitated Ye Jin's drunk habits. L.M.A.O!!!!!

And almost all of Seung Chan's scenes, especially in his first few days of work.