The Best Hit (2017)

KBS has been winning lately with their dramas, the scripts they’ve been producing are of high quality and the actors they’ve chosen are all talented with merits worth praising. So it’s no surprise that their latest drama is a gem.

The Best Hit appeals to anyone whose familiar with Korean reality TV, with a slew of cameo appearances, quirky comedy, and a witty script that does fairly well to portray intricate family bonds. This is a drama that will combine your love of the 90s and the entertainment world to give you a refreshing onscreen experience. Oh! And time travelling! That’s a theme that isn’t going anywhere, anytime soon.

The drama starts in the 90s, giving us a glimpse of Yoo Hyun Jae (Yoon Shi Yoon), a popular and rising star of a group called J2 who suddenly goes missing and winds up time travelling into the present. Meanwhile, those around him have moved on with their lives, including his manager Lee Gwang Jae (Cha Tae Hyun), a CEO of a small entertainment company in 2017 who struggles to support his odd family.

Gwang Jae’s son, Lee Ji Hoon (Kim Min Jae) dreams of becoming an idol, ditching cram school and deceives his family while secretly being a trainee at a large entertainment company. Attending school in his place is his friend, Choi Woo Seung (Lee Se Young) a diligent student who does numerous part-time jobs while posing as Lee Ji Hoon at school in order to receive an education.

Of course from the very beginning there are a TON of cameo appearances, so if you’re familiar with Korean entertainment whether dramas, movies, or reality TV, you’ll be left losing count of how many people come and go. Fans of the hit show 2 Days, 1 Night will absolutely love this since both Yoon Shi Yoon and Cha Tae Hyun star in it and have managed to secure cameo appearances of their fellow reality TV mates.

There’s also plenty of inside jokes and references that go along with these cameos which makes me appreciate the script and writers even more. From Lee Kwangsoo’s appearance of being a ‘betrayer’ and ‘two timer’ which fits his image on Running Man to Kim Joon Ho’s gambling reference, the drama does an incredible job of making these suggestions in subtle ways that fits the format and plot perfectly.

Kim Min Jae alone is a force to be reckoned with, having shown a tremendous amount of potential in Goblin. The boy is practically soaring, choosing the right projects to work on and displaying an extensive range of talent, I never pegged him as a dancer but that’s exactly what he does here – mind blown. I’m almost scared to look up his real age because he seems so young and full of untapped talent, if the industry has only seen the tip of the iceberg then he’ll be dominating Korean entertainment once he’s older.

The drama seems like a treat for those of us that are major fans of Korean reality TV, and if the story remains consistent and witty then this will no doubt be a winner. I’m simply wishing all the best to Yoon Shi Yoon, who really sold us with his acting chops in Mirror of the Witch. I also personally love Cha Tae Hyun because he’s such a lovable personality, so although this drama doesn’t aim for high ratings, the quality of the show might prove otherwise.