SHINHWA 신화

But we, Shinhwa, will never let you fall.

“That’s right. I’m not responsible for your lives. Shinhwa members are not responsible for your lives. Never, ever. Not whatsoever.

Well tvN sure knows how to strike when the iron is hot. Its thoughtful romantic comedy Oh Hae-young Again just broke Cheese in the Trap’s record for highest ratings in their Monday-Tuesday drama slot, and the next day there’s confirmation that the show will be getting an extension. The series is enjoying a host of critical acclaim and popularity — on top of the stellar ratings for cable (Tuesday’s Episode 8 logged 7.798%), it’s being compared to rom-com greats like My Name Is Kim Sam-soon. So it’s no wonder that the network wants more episodes.

The drama stars Seo Hyun-jin as the quintessential every woman, Eric as the guy who wronged her but is falling for her, and Jeon Hye-bin as the woman from his past who shows up to ruin everything. The heart of show is really Seo Hyun-jin, who is especially funny, warm, and vulnerable in the role. She’s always been great, but this is definitely the show that made everyone stand up and take notice of her.

Producers have confirmed that the show will be getting a 2-episode extension, bringing its total count to 18. They’ve also promised not to fill the extra airtime with bloated material just to prolong the existing story, and said that they were already having to cut down a lot to fit everything in 16 episodes, so the extension is really to show everything they intended.

That’s easy to say (and it would’ve been moot had the drama not been a ratings hit), but hey, I appreciate producers who care enough about their story to even say that much. It’s the rare drama that can manage not to lose steam with an extension, but it might just be early enough in the story to make it work seamlessly. We’re going to hold you to your word, so make it perfect!

Oh Hae-young Again airs Mondays and Tuesdays on tvN.

Deranged (Blu-ray) (First Press Limited Edition) (Korea Version)

Expected release date: November 28, 2012

Price: US$38.99

Subtitles: English, Korean

Blu-ray Region Code: A - Americas (North, Central and South except French Guiana), Korea, Japan, South East Asia (including Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan)