Premiere Watch: Climax
by stroopwafel
Time slot: Monday & Tuesday
Broadcaster: ENA
Genre: Melo, mystery, noir, political
Episode count: 10
Global streamer: Viki
Reasons to watch: It’s a star-studded affair at ENA, and their new drama, Climax will be dropping viewers into a world packed with power plays and romance.
Joo Ji-hoon and Ha Ji-won headline as two halves of a famous power couple, with Oh Jung-se, Nana, and Cha Joo-young in supporting roles (Cha Joo-young was unable to attend the press conference due to health reasons).
Our leads play a powerful prosecutor and a top actress whose marriage was one of both love and convenience. They’ve benefitted professionally and socially from the marriage, but they’re still thirsty for more. They’re not the only ones, and they’ll be facing off (and perhaps joining hands with) members of a chaebol family. Cha Joo-young will play the ruthless second wife of a chaebol head, with Oh Jung-se as her stepson and rival to the chaebol throne. Nana will be playing a secret operative who works on behalf of Joo Ji-hoon, and her work will take her into the heart of Ha Ji-won’s inner circle. In this survival of the fittest story, power is a zero-sum game and there can only be one winner.
A story of political intrigue where the rich and powerful fight it out to be top dog isn’t brand-new territory for dramaland, but this cast and the show’s writer-director Lee Ji-won have me excited to tune in. The cast is a strong one, and with the right writing, even a well-trodden story can offer something new and fun to watch. Lee Ji-won was the creative mind behind the 2018 film Miss Baek, and having seen her work, I’m going to trust that she’ll be able to add depth and dimension to all aspects of Climax.
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