However, upon debut, it became clear that the 50 billion won production budget had gone up in smoke. The disjointed narrative, much like the zero-gravity setting, scatters aimlessly. Despite the delayed release and meticulous attention paid to the production, the drama turned into a chaotic mess of meaningless romantic encounters and bed scenes in just the second episode.
Premiering on January 4, tvN’s new Saturday-Sunday drama “When the Stars Gossip” tells the story of Eve (played by Gong Hyo-jin), a boss of a zero-gravity space station, and Gong Ryong (played by Lee Minho), an uninvited space tourist. Being the first Korean drama to recreate space in zero gravity, along with a star-studded cast including Lee Min-ho and Gong Hyo-jin, it garnered high expectations before its release.
These hopes, however, were dashed by a series of inexplicable bed scenes featuring Lee Min-ho and Han Ji-eun, Gong Hyo-jin and Kim Joo-hun. Instead of a delicate and endearing love line, viewers were bombarded with awkward romantic encounters that could be summed up as “Chunhyang and Mongryong fell in love with each other.” The sequence in which fruit flies mate aboard the station and Lee Min-ho smiles intensely as he feels affection for Gong Hyo-jin, who watches this scene, seemed so absurd that it could have been a parody of “SNL Korea.” The bizarre parade of scenes – distorted sperm, ectopic pregnancy and fruit fly mating – left viewers reeling.
While it’s plausible for a space station to conduct experiments related to reproduction and childbirth, that doesn’t mean viewers want to feel like they’re a part of those experiments. The drama’s obsession with showcasing the zero-gravity setting seems to have overshadowed its responsibility to deliver compelling drama. The fundamental elements of great dramas – solid narratives and emotional depth – are absent here. Without them, it doesn’t matter whether the story is set in space or supported by a budget of 50 billion won; it’s all useless.
