The Producers (2015)

Producers kept changing their approach

Short: Starts out looking really different to most, if you're familiar with "The Office" UK/US shows it's like that, docu-drama comedy style. I enjoyed the character arcs and how they developed, or for those that didn't necessary develop - they had other things to make them interesting. But it was IMHO too short and deserved at least a 16 run to make full use of the characters.

Detail:
Four characters in this story. The newbie producer who is probably the main thread that links it all together, coming at both work and life with freshness and naivity, but he's smart and bright so he picks things up. The two old-hand producers who have been friends for 25 years, one is constantly wrong in all his predictions (so much so that he's a reliable method of predicting the future, if you do exactly the opposite of what he says) and has a history of faltering shows including the one he's doing at the current time. The other is well established and PD of a successful Music show, but outside of work she's comically utterly oblivious to things that are going on around her, which leads to some amusing moments where you will face palm as it sounds like she's finally realised something - and then misinterprets it AGAIN. Lastly, the pop idol Cindy (played by IU) - who goes through the biggest transformation in just about every respect in this story.

This one starts out looking like the docu-drama-comedy type style with what seem like interviews and fly on the wall filming, intended to make the viewer feel like they're watching the behind-the-curtains activities of producing the TV shows they watch. If you aren't familiar with the style or it doesn't gel with you then that's going to make the first couple of episodes awkward to watch but I enjoyed it, it was different and I am always keen to see producers trying different ideas rather than just re-hashing the old favourites all the time. However, it looks like they changed their mind and this style of production mostly goes away after the first couple of episodes, returning on the odd occasion. A shame, but perhaps it just wasn't going down well with the audience when it was shown.

There's a good range of support characters too, in the office and at the various homes.

IU's character, Cindy, starts as a bratty celebrity expecting everything her way - but the story shines a harsh light on some of the brutal realities behind the lives of Idols and how fleeting things are. She comes out as a strong character who is able to wrestle back control of her life from what seem like impossible to beat odds and hers were some of my favourite scenes in the whole drama.

Overall I thought it was enjoyable, with some definite high points, but it was too short and with a cast of this level (who were all superb, as expected!) deserved much more attention than it got.

Its important to note that while it's 12 episodes - most of those are 70-80 minutes, and the final one is 1h45, so it's not going to feel short - you're just going to be left wanting more. I should also add that it does have a conclusion, perhaps more of a summary rather than a conclusion, and does feel like an ending, even if you are thinking "no, wait, more!". :)

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The casting was great, however story wise... it was so-so.

The actors played their characters well, it was surprising to find Kim Soo Hyun going back to his character as a dorky love stricken guy. Then there is IU, who I may say I have taken a keen interest with and a biased liking due to her "Dream High" character. As for Gong Hyo-Jin and Cha Tae-Hyun... these guys are veterans. What more can I say about them except that they have superb skills in acting? All these combined, I was still left hanging all throughout the drama. I have this nagging thought, "This is it? After all those 12 episodes, this is it? Where are the accomplishments?", I was left unsatisfied and that was a bit sad. It was rather short, they could have added at least 4 or 5 more episodes to give fulfillment to each of the main characters, to their career and over all life.

Setting the above mentioned aside - I did liked the ending, although it felt a bit rushed, at least there was closure for the characters, but then again I still wish there were more episodes to elaborate on what happened after. I seriously wanted to see snippets of "2 days and 1 night" but sadly they didn't show us anything more than what they wanted to.

However, over all it was a fun series, nothing dramatic or too funny. It's all light and entertaining, though it's not something that would entirely leave a mark for your drama watching career. I would recommend it to pass the time but if you are a fan of any of the main characters, then I highly suggest this - to indulge.

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Well only 12 episodes because of the style of show it was like "the office" the main character that stood out to me is baek sung chan. He is a sneaky little shit.in the beginning you feel bad for him coz hee so new and misunderstood but when he gets mad at somebody he'll do some sneaky revenge and look at the camera like....what wasn't me. The other was the relationship btwn kim jong guk and yang mi. The office lady, she was just unique and pretty, and just like jong guk i wondered how she was able to afford that car and her outfits. She works at the storage room desk. Lots of celebrities had cameos like jyp and jang hyuk. Its a very weird but funny show. Everyone did really great
p.s why is it that every show with gong hyo jin she has the worst costume. Everything she wears just doesnt flatter her image. Shes the main actress yet the rookie girl writer who never showed her teeth or smiled had the best outfits. Aigoo somebody burn her wardrobe and change stylist

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This is a very refreshing drama. It's not only different in it's approach, but also in how it's story unfolds. It's smartly written. It doesn't get itself wrapped up in drama cliches, or at least none that I found frustrating or ridiculous. I mean, there is the whole thing with how dense Gong Hyo Jin's character is and that is a frustrating character in any drama, but instead of treating that dense character as normal like most dramas do, this drama makes fun of her for it. So they certainly save themselves on that.
The hard part about this drama is that I am so used to the typical K-drama format, that I expected the same outcome here. The thing is, I didn't want that same typical outcome, so it made it frustrating to watch. But since it didn't end that way, it's kind of an all is forgiven situation.

The most compelling part of this drama for me was Cindy. With the other characters it was simply just the typical K-drama relationship problems, or the trouble of getting better ratings, but with Cindy, I just felt completely sad for her. She had nothing in her life except for fame and it was heartbreaking. Honestly the fact that she was still stuck up and self centered at times further strengthened her character because it showed how it was part of her barrier that she would put on herself as well as just being so alone that it made sense with her. The fact that she goes through what she does and still ends a strong individual at the end showed she was the strongest character in this drama. IU does such a great job at fleshing out her character. She was fantastic.

From a pure acting standpoint, Kim Soo Hyun is easily the strongest. In My Love From the Stars, he was super suave, and he's a guy at the top of his game. But this show is why he is a top actor. I completely forgot that previous image and completely bought him as a bumbling dork here. Everything from his demeanor to the times he pulls off an impression, he owns it. Can't say I fully liked his character at all times, but he does a great job with it regardless.

Gong Hyo Jin and Cha Tae Hyun are both great as usual. I've always enjoyed them, and they continue to show why they are top class actors.
Kim Jong Kook was certainly a revelation. For being his first role, he provided some great comic relief and he does a much better job than I expected him too. All the way around the cast was great.



I know, don't post spoilers, but I'm not one to engage in comment sections or converse with my fellow drama fans, so this is basically my one outlet to get whatever I want to talk about out. So don't read this next paragraph if you haven't watched the show.

Our four leads are all big stars, but if you had to narrow the show down to two leads, most would probably say it's Kim Soo Hyun and Gong Hyo Jin. The drama seems to focus on their blossoming relationship the most. So, if this were any other drama, the two of them would end up together. I was expecting that, because that's the typical outcome. So because of that, the show was a bit frustrating to watch because I didn't want them to. They had great chemistry as a senior producer and her junior colleague, but never in a romantic fashion. So I just want to thank the writers of this drama for being brave in doing something that at least to me felt out of the norm by not having them end up together. So many dramas are about one character having feelings for another, and then that person ends up liking them back, but the truth is most one sided loves don't end that way. So while I was shipping Seung Chan and Cindy, I'm still glad they didn't end up together romantically either. Maybe you could of said the same thing about Ye Jin and Jun Mo, but that never felt like a one sided love, but always that he was just holding back.



I hope to see more dramas like this in the future. While I don't really watch American dramas, I at least feel they are constantly trying to break the mold and be different. K-dramas on the other hand are a lot slower in that regard. So many of them follow the same mold, and it's probably why so many of us get hooked on them, maybe because we like that about them. But at the same time we need to have those that progress more too. Not just in how a drama might have a different unexpected outcome for it's story, but also in it's format. The way they tried something new here by having the characters talk to the camera. It made it unique and something different for a K-drama, and I liked it.

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Overall The Producers was a fun drama to watch but halfway, even though it was only 12 episodes, it got a bit boring and draggy. The love story was bland and predictable, there was a twist but at some point it got really obvious what was going to happen. The couples didn't have much chemistry and there was hardly any romantic buildup, there was but it all went down the drains. I didn't really ship anyone in this show and I wish the love story wasn't so dominant.

I loved it how this show started by introducing the world of producers. It was a great idea that Seung Chan was a rookie and that he learned about all the rules and customs through hilarious mistakes and misunderstandings. I liked the reality tv- vibe and the interview type of narrator, it was really fun and made me feel like I really got into the heads of the characters. But in later episodes this style slowly fades away and the episodes are filmed more or less the usual way. The drama loses some of it's edge. Overall it's great to see how almost everything in this show was meant to criticize the Korean corporate world, how ridiculous unspoken rules and hierarchy can get. I believe South Korea needs more dramas like this with more poignant criticism.

I must say that Baek Seung Chan is one of the best drama characters ever. I loved how his naivety clashed with the hardened shamelessness of the "adult" world. Often his honesty was taken the wrong way and even his good intentions were misunderstood. His character was brilliant. The other main characters were great too, it took a while for Cindy to grow on me and I think that IU's acting needs more practice, compared to the other cast she lacked. The side characters were hilarious and I wish they had more screen time instead of the love triangle that made me yawn.

All in all this drama is a fun watch, refreshing and hilarious but also serious once in a while. It's loaded with criticism and puns.

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This drama has one of the most interesting and innovative plots, I've seen, surrounding the workers in the variety show department at KBS. From start to end, it was entertaining, relatable, funny and real.

Content
- The entertainment industries dark side.
- The tough life of idols and staff members.
- The making of entertainment.
- Inspiring life lessons and point of views on love.
- Amazing acting.
- Funny, touching and memorable scenes.

If you enjoy watching dramas, idols or reality shows, I recommend that you watch this. It may not be 100% realistic but it does bring a lot of things to light in a very funny but at the same time serious and informative way. With some extra drama it was entertaining until the last episode and leaves room for a lot of different ships.

ENJOY!!

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I love The Producers - and I'm not quite sure why

I understand why people didn't like The Producers - but I for one really loved it. But the strangest thing is, the greatest thing about The Producers for me is, the feeling you have while watching it. I'm not sure about others, but for me, how you feel like watching a drama is as important as everything else. I just loved the cast and the chemistry between all the main leads, the cast and chemistry just felt so natural that I thought at points I was watching a real group of people instead of actors and actresses.

The OST is also surprisingly addictive - I can guarantee myself that I'll be listening to this OST on YouTube over and over again for years to come. I also really liked the cinematography and the documentary concept (if the documentary concept was used more I think it would have been repetitive but thankfully it was the right amount). Of course the story is great too, but I don't want to spoil anything as I really suggest that you watch The Producers if you haven't done so already! Please <3

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Very uneven writing

The first 4 eps were incredibly boring, I wondered "how can one show have so many inane conversations"?! About shaking printing cartridges, etc. It was basically filler for the first 5 hours!
Even later, many scenes (the production meetings, the meetings in the big boss' office, Ken Doll and paper lady's storyline) remained very repetitive and very boring.
For all the talk about the team producing 2D1N, I was also disappointed that we barely saw any shooting.
Luckily, it wasn't all bad: any scene focusing on our main four was good, they were all very likable, and I was rooting for pretty much any combination of the four, so the watching experience was still good. I just had to fast-forward a lot around the good bits...

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A sincere drama, that may probably leave you unsatisfied

Because of the mixed reviews, I was hesitant to watch this drama. In the end, I did watch it only because IU (Cindy) co-stars in it. In that regard, I may be biased : she was stunningly beautiful in every scene. The vulnerable-yet-strong persona suits her beautifully. If you are fans of IU and watch this drama, you probably won't be disappointed.

I liked The Producers, but I was left with the frustrating sentiment that it could have been so much better.
This is not, by any means, a bad drama. Both the writing and acting are sincere. The characters are flawed in very relatable ways, and the depiction of their interactions, aka the story, mostly steers clear of the heavy-handed tropes (unlikely coincidences, misunderstandings, unrealistic change of character,...) that tend to plague k-drama. The comedic moments were hit-and-miss, but most were light-handed enough, and some were hilarious enough, that I did indeed laugh out loud once in a while. Kim Soo Hyun (Baek Seung Chan) truly shone in that regard.

The first few episodes felt like a Korean take on The Office, and the newbie's confrontation with the "real", petty world of business felt, at least in a comedic sense, right: because his own reasons for joining this world were so childish and misguided, his ordeals were funny. I can't spoil the show, just let me say that this arc becomes far reaching (not as a character arc, more as the conceptual arc of making life-defining choices based on the ground of love) in a scenaristically brilliant turn of events.

What makes me sad about this drama is that, while it is always respectful of its audience, it did not commit to writing a meaningful resolution for its characters.. There were so many dots let to be connected.

My guess would be that the writer had the perfect drama in mind, but that, ironically, some producer ruined it.
Or, maybe, it was the writer's intention that so many likable characters should be left hanging. A slice of life...?

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Sometimes Not making Dramatic will turn out perfect

This is a slice of life, office drama at large, but the subtle hints of emotions/feelings at small makes the show a Natural beauty.
With a slice of life/ reality kind of show rather than slice of life/over the top romantic show there is chance that show may not become popular.
But KBS2 managed to land a star studded cast for this show which turned out to be much relaxing and close to heart than anything else.
All the actors did a perfect job, with Kim-so-hyun performing his character in such a comedic way was so funny..
The innerworkings of a TV Station was portrayed very well with both beautiful and ugly side to it.
The story was satisfyingly good even though non of cast got together (dated) .
Finally hoping there will be a season 2.

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