☕️ "Queen of Tears", "Lovely Runner & "Chief Detective 1958" Breaking Records

☕️ Good Morning!

We’ve got a full finale calendar this week with the juggernaut “Queen of Tears” coming to an end this weekend. What are your thoughts on this one?

Both “Lovely Runner” and “Chief Detective 1958” are also crushing the ratings game - it’s been a great ‘season’ of popular dramas! And I’m even more excited for May’s lineup 😎 

[FYI if you were looking for “Chief Detective 1958” this weekend…It will be landing on HULU May 22nd for the US region. Until then it is only on Disney+ Korea (time to break out the VPN again!)]

Casting is light this week but the Kim confirmations are fun ones!

And again, a huge thank you to our sponsor KOCOWA for the special offer for our readers🫶💖

Okay, time to get this KDrama Coffee Break started! 

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WEEKLY LINEUP
”Queen of Tears” Finale is HERE

PREMIERES

⭐️ 04.26 GOODBYE EARTH

FINALES

✅ 04.25 GRAY SHELTER
✅ 04.26 GOODBYE EARTH
✅ 04.28 QUEEN OF TEARS
✅ 04.25 HIDE

thoughts…

So we made it to the end of “Queen of Tears”. Are you sad to see it go or ready to say ‘Bye 👋 If you’ve been following this newsletter for any amount of time you know I’m in the latter category. The cast was fantastic and the concept intrigued me but the length of the episodes was challenging. I will die on this hill: the series needed a good editor.

“Goodbye Earth” is actually here after its future was in question due to the drug case against YOO AH IN. The director stated that they did indeed edit Yoo Ah In out as much as possible without ruining the story continuity. I know that the drug laws in South Korea are strict but it enrages me that someone who has a drug problem is treated worse than sexual abusers.

Should I binge “Hide” now that it’s finished?

FINALE POLL
Who’s Sticking Their Landing?

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JENN’S WATCHLIST
“Lovely Runner” Continues to be Delightful!

▶︎ Lovely Runner

I’m really enjoying this one so much more than I expected! Y’all know I love time travel and I was so happy this week when we went back to 2023 (2?). Adult Im Sol KIM HYE YOON & Ryu Seon Jae BYEON WOO SEOK is just so…charged. Ryu Sung Jae’s POV of the meeting with Im Sol when her wheelchair broke down was just heartbreaking, and I love them. I’m not the hugest fan of HS romance so I hope we spend more time in this time. I’m also loving all the theories I’m reading on-line - so much has happened and we’re only heading into eps 5 & 6! And I must give a shout-out to our 2nd ML Kim Tae Sung SONG GEON HEE he’s an absolute delight and a solid contender for the why the trope Second Lead Syndrome exists! I’ve been a fan since his ‘Thomas’ days on “Missing: The Other Side” and his dynamic here with Kim Hye Yoon is so much fun, I hope he gets a happy ending!

▶︎ Blood Free

The power of JU JI HOON and HAN HYO JOO…my god. The story itself is a pretty straightforward revenge mystery with a standard dose of corruption. But the chemistry between our two leads has really elevated the first 4 episodes and I can’t wait to see where they take us in the next 3 weeks!

▶︎ Escape of The Seven: Resurrection

OMG! We actually killed off one of our original 7 - RIP Geum Ra Hee HWANG JUNG EUM. I can’t believe we’re only at the half-way point, I’m already exhausted. LEE JOON is chewing alllllll the scenery and seems to be in an entirely different show but who am I kidding, I’ll be here until the very ridiculous end.

▶︎ Nothing Uncovered

We still have 6 episodes to go and I honestly have no idea how they’re going to fill it. The thing that keeps me tuning in is the backstory and slow implosion reveal of JANG SEUNG JO’s Seol Woo Jae. However, I don’t feel he is going to survive to the end.

▶︎ Queen of Tears

This is one of the most popular kdramas in EVER and I want to love it and be a part of the LOVE but alas… 😬 The actors are fantastic and the chemistry is so good but the story itself meandered and just didn’t work for me. Fingers Crossed for the next one!!…looking at you “The Midnight Romance In Hagwon” (did you see that poster?!

CASTING NEWS
KIM’s Confirmed New Roles

🎉 CONFIRMED

• KIM JI HOON has been added to the Amazon Prime Series “Butterfly” cast with DANIEL DAE KIM, PARK HAE SOO & KIM TAE HEE

• KIM KYUNG NAM (34) will be joining “Connection” with JEON MI DO as JI SUNG’s (47) high school classmate (um, okay 🤣)

NEWS BITES
“Chief Detective 1958” Breaks Records

📣 “Chief Detective 1958” Breaks the MBC record for Highest Premiere of any Friday / Saturday Drama with a 10.1%

📣 “Lovely Runner” takes the Top Spot over on VIKI, ranking #1 in 133 regions!

📣 LEE JUN HO’s “Cashero” has been confirmed for production by Netflix. Lee Jun Ho will be joined by KIM HYE JUN, KIM BYUNG CHUL & KIM HYANG GI

📣 AHN BO HYUN promoted on his instagram that “Military Prosecutor Doberman” is arriving on Netflix THIS SATURDAY April 27!
Time for Rewatch? 😜 

VIDEO VILLAGE
May’s Lineup is Looking FUN!

April 26
GOODBYE EARTH (Official Trailer)

May 1
FRANKLY SPEAKING (4th Teaser)

May 4
THE ATYPICAL FAMILY (4th Teaser)

May 11
THE MIDNIGHT ROMANCE IN HAGWON (3rd Teaser)

May 13
CRASH (2nd Teaser)

May 13
DARE TO LOVE ME (1st Teaser)

K3 Chats
KDrama Coffee Break LIVE: This Sunday!

Mark your calendars for the next LIVE: SUNDAY April 28th 😎 

We’ll be chatting about:

• Baeksang Art Awards NOMINATIONS (and do we have thoughts!)

• “Queen of Tears” Finale

• “Lovely Runner” & “Blood Free” Premieres+

• Rest of our Watchlist

• Of course our OPEN FORUM for anything else you want to chat about!

See you Sunday 🥰