K-drama Review: Shooting Stars

Shooting Stars is one of my favourite K-dramas, one I've watched several times over. It's a low-angst, feel-good RomCom with great chemistry, a wide cast of interesting characters, and numerous intertwined sub-plots.

English Title: Sh**ting Stars (2022)

Writer: Choi Young-woo

Director: Lee Soo-hyun

Length: 16 Episodes

Tropes: Enemies to Lovers, Office/Workplace Romance, Celebrity Hero, Secrets, Love triangle

My Score: 4/5

Description: Celebrity publicist Oh Han Byul (Lee Sung Kyung) finds herself working with her irksome nemesis Gong Tae Sung (Kim Young Dae) — who also happens to be her megastar client. Their love-hate relationship slowly develops into something more as they work through past hurts.

If you enjoyed this show, then watch: Love To Hate You, Touch Your Heart, Melo Movie (which is, admittedly, more angsty) and My Dearest Nemesis (by the same director)

This is another drama set behind-the-scenes in the film industry. I enjoy film industry stories (as long as they accurately depict the business) and really loved this one. This story shows how much work it takes to create idols and movie stars — the managers, publicists, assistants and even coaches who work to create the "magic" the public sees. It also shows the flipside, the pressures of being in the public eye — the lack of privacy, the inability of celebrities to go out in public and do the normal activities we all take for granted, the pressure to keep their images squeaky-clean, and the hate they receive simply for being famous.

At the start of the story, the ML's behaviour is quite childish, the stereotypic, out-of-touch-with-his-own-emotions male, but we see him mature as he discovers his own true feelings, faces his childhood hurts and fears, and ultimately becomes a hero worthy of the heroine.

Aside from an angsty storyline around episodes 13-14, it's a fun and lighthearted story. But what I love most about this show is that it doesn't take itself too seriously — it has all the cliches (sleeping with a head on the love interests shoulder, falling into someone's arms) and it also isn't shy to amp-up the product placement. (Which is not subtle!)

This K-drama feels more like a serial than most, as it has a lot of secondary characters and sub-plots. While there's an over-arching love story, the sub-plots rise, get resolved, then are replaced by new sub-plots.

Like many of my other favourite shows, Shooting Stars features strong female friendships, and a delightful (albeit reluctant) bromance between the two male leads who compete for the FL's heart. The chemistry between the leads is really good, from the moment they meet on screen, and their relationship is believable and filled with enough green flags to have us really rooting for them to get together (even if some of the kisses feel a little chaste and unnatural for viewers used to steamier western scenes!)

If, like me, you enjoy a show with a guaranteed romantic happy ending, this show has it in spades. Not only is there an HEA for the lead couple and the two secondary couples, but we're given HEAs for five couples! (Plus a sixth mixed happy ending.)

There are a lot of reasons to give this show a try, especially if you're in need of some light-hearted entertainment and a sweet romance.

If you're a writer, keep an eye on the following as you watch this show:

• How each of the workers at Starforce Entertainment are distinctive from one another. When creating supporting characters, it's important to ensure that each has a separate role that gives them a purpose for being included in the story, and that they don't blur together. Ensure that your supporting characters are just as complex and memorable as the leads, even if they get less screen time or page time.
• Despite how many sub-plots this show has, they all intertwine with the main storyline (the developing romance between Oh Han Byul and Gong Tae Sung). None of the sub plots go off at a tangent or feel like they're separate stories. Pay especial attention to how the stories of reporter Jo Ki-Bbeum and lawyer Do Soo-Hyeok support and develop the main storyline.
• While there may be more sub-plots than the average novel would have, look at the balance between how much time is spent on sub-plots and how much is spent on the central story.

Have you watched Shooting Stars? What were your thoughts? If you haven't yet watched it, check out this trailer: