KBS Monday-Tuesday drama scene, which had slowed down since last year’s “the King’s Affection,” has given it all with “The Law Cafe.” Will Lee Seung-gi be able to save KBS?
“The Law Cafe” (written by Im Eui-jung, directed by Lee Eun-jin), which first aired on Sep 5th, is a LAW-mance drama based on a novel of the same name about Kim Jung-ho (Lee Seung-gi), a former prosecutor, and Kim Yu-ri (Lee Se-young), a four-dimensional lawyer and his tenant. The drama features actors Lee Seung-gi, Lee Se-young, Kim Nam-hee, Kim Seul-gi, and Kim Do-hoon.
Lee Seung-gi made a strong impression as well as his first attempt at his first villain role through tvN’s “Mouse.” At that time, he received applause for playing both the role of Jung Ba-reum, who had warm visual and good manner, and the cool Predator Psychopath at the same time. Lee Se-young also stood tall as a trendy actress through her previous work, MBC’s “The Red Sleeve.” “the Red Sleeve” recorded an unusual viewer rating of 17.4% last year, coloring the whole country with the red color of the King’s sleeve. The meeting between these two actors raised viewers’ expectations.
Taking a look back at the KBS Monday-Tuesday drama lineup earlier, many are disappointed. Since last year’s “The King’s Affection,” which caused the syndrome of youth historical drama, “Moonshine” (minimum 4.2%; maximum 7.6%), “Crazy Love” (minimum 1.9%; maximum 4.6%), “Bloody Heart” (minimum 5.3%; maximum 8.9%), and “Minamdang Cafe” (minimum 3.7%, maximum 5.7%). All works except “Bloody Heart,” which gained fame through word-of-mouth in the second half of the series, did not produce very positive results. This leads to the rising expectations for “The Law Cafe” as it has the trendiest names at the moment.
“The Law Cafe,” which started under the heavy pressure, hit a big home run. The 1st episode recorded 7.1%, and the 2nd episode fell slightly, but it still signaled a good result of 6.6%. The actors’ transformation in their acting method is also noticeable. Lee Seung-gi was witty, but his characters’ situation and narratives have been quite heavy. As a result, he always had to act with a sense of weight. However, in this drama, it is different. Earlier, Lee Seung-gi said in a production presentation, “’The Law Cafe’ is comfortable to me because it is a human, healing, and comedy series. I think we’re having fun while filming. The director and the atmosphere of the filming site is positive. I’m looking forward to the drama too because there are many things that have been produced outside of the script,” he said. “When it goes on air, our rating is up to the viewers. When we had the first meeting, the director said, ‘If it doesn’t work out, it’s my fault.’ I’m doing this series without feeling pressured,” he said. Thanks to that, his burdenless acting also soothe the viewers.
Lee Se-young is also showing her extraordinary acting skills. Starting with the SBS drama “The Brothers’ River” in 1997, she has grown to become an adult after working as a child actress such as MBC’s “My Mother’s Daughters,” “Daejanggeum,” SBS’s “Land of Wine,” “Single Again,” and KBS’s “The Gentlemen of Wolgyesu Tailor Shop.” As her long acting experience accumulated, she definitely caught the eyes of viewers with her solid and thorough acting skills. She also has perfect chemistry with Lee Seung-gi and plays along well his unique acting skills.
Last year, most dramas were specialized in heavy genres such as historical drama, action, and politics. However, light dramas such as healing and romance appeared to serve viewers who felt stuffy due to the pandemic and began to look for works that could be seen relatively lightly. “The Law Cafe” also has the theme of law and lawyers, but it has eased the weight of this theme as much as possible before approaching viewers. It is noteworthy whether “The Law Cafe,” which started quite well, will be able to save KBS’ Monday-Tuesday drama timeslot.
Source: daum
