There were so many shows that SHOULD have been incredible this year but just kinda let me down. But let’s not be all doom and gloom, there were definitely some stand outs and new favorites, too. If I thought it was worth watching, I’ll slap a pic with it… so if you just wanna find some recommendations it should be a quick scroll. Listed alphabetically for your convenience.

• Arthdal Chronicles: The Sword of Aramun – 9.5/10

Arthdal Chronicles went out with a bang. After waiting FOREVER for this second season, getting used to several major cast members replacements, and then trying to figure out where to actually watch this thing in the USA… I am pleased to announce it was worth all the hassle. It’s just a cool story, ya’ll. It’s epic in scope and concept, in costuming and set designs, and character development and plotline. It did not get a 10/10 because Kim Sung-cheol was my favorite character, Ipsang, in season 1 (so much so that I wrote an entire post about him) and his replacement Lee Hae Woon, though good, could not really compare. My other minor complaint was the chemistry was lacking between the ML & FL in this second installment…. who were perfect for their roles in the show but maybe not so perfect together. But otherwise, the cast replacements totally held up to the standard set by Season 1.

• Behind Your Touch – 4/10 – I mean… it’s about a woman who accesses her psychic abilities by touching people’s butts. If they’d leaned hard into the comedy of that, it might have been great… but it tried to be a drama, a romance, and even a murder mystery. Ridiculous.

• Black Knight (Netflix) – 5/10 – I don’t know why they bother to gather all this Korean talent if they’re just gonna churn out basic “American Style” garbage science fiction.

• Bloodhounds (Netflix) – 6/10 – I love a good bromance but… what were they doing with Woo Do-Hwan’s character? I did not understand if he was supposed to be just… stupid… or mentally challenged… or… I dunno. He was so off putting with his weird child-like character mixed with so much physical violence.

• Castaway Diva – 6/10 – Okay, sure I am a sucker for childhood trauma stories but mixing that topic with this super cheesy idol story was just awkward.

• Celebrity (Netflix) – 8/10 – Trash. Glittery, devious, guilty pleasure trash.

Celebrity is a totally over the top mystery, revenge thriller that had me in its manicured clutches from the first episode until the last. I had a ball watching every episode. Don’t think about it too much, don’t pull at the delicate stitching on the designer gown or the entire plot might unravel in an instant. Just turn off your brain and enjoy the glitzy drama of bitchy girls and rich assholes. This show is the definition of guilty pleasure from beginning to end and I would recommend this for fans of trash… like Penthouse.

• Crash Course in Romance – 8/10 – I liked this one.

Crash Course in Romance had K-drama from the 2012-2016 vibes, including all the annoying tropes that I’m not sure work as well in 2023, but it made me happy and nostalgic watching this show so I’m definitely tossing it into the recommendation pile. I’m not sure I will ever understand the competitive nature of college entry in South Korea, and I will certainly never be able to wrap my head around math… but it was cool to learn about these study schools and watch this struggling lady strive to ensure the best possible future for her teenager. The romance between the celebrity math tutor (I know, right? what a weird world) and this hardworking middle aged lady made me kick my feet in the air it was so cute and stupidly adorable. What can I say… late to love stories work for me.

• D.P. Season 2 – 9/10 – Feel like being emotionally wrecked and sad for a few hours? This is your show. Guess they don’t have to worry about it hurting their recruitment stats as enlistment is mandatory in South Korea. This season hurt more than the first one.

• The Deal (Korean Drama) – 6/10 – I love this type of plot, but unfortunately they did nothing to expand upon this well-worn territory. Not to mention the incredibly shallow character development of the three main guys. I felt nothing for any of them, or their problems, it had the emotional weight of a commercial. Did an AI generator write this script or what?

• Doona! (Netflix) – 6/10 – One day I will be able to put my finger on why I hated this drama so much. Maybe I hated it more because I really wanted to like it more. That will be a reoccurring theme this year.

• The Eighth Sense – 10/10 – Gorgeous, emotional, romantic, and concise.

The Eighth Sense was a gay romance that tackled a lot of themes – first loves, familial pressures, survivors guilt, and the various complexities of friendships. The cinematography was stunning – capturing all the flickering emotions on the two main lead’s faces. It felt like falling in love, watching this show.

• Evillive – 7/10 – if you’re gonna queer bait us to this extent, just be queer. Especially if you can’t fix the plot up enough to be great without the ambiguous gay angle. Ultimately a let down, this had a lot of potential and the dynamics between the leads was very enjoyable to watch.

• The Glory – 10/10 – HOLY SHEEPLE. This show, ya’ll!

The Glory wrapped up in 2023 with a deeply satisfying conclusion. I was horrified, traumatized, and totally hooked by this show. Watching a woman’s steely resolve to destroy the lives of the monstrous people who had destroyed her own life was addictive. I usually don’t like Song Hye-kyo because I don’t think she’s very good at portraying emotions – her best roles are when she’s cast as these cold, closed off ladies who don’t want to let anyone near their fortified hearts – so she worked perfectly for the lead in this show. One of the best revenge dramas I have ever seen.

• The Good Bad Mother – 7/10 – I do not understand the hype over this show. And I adore the leading male, he’s one of my favorites. Even so… I just did not enjoy this show. I struggled to finish it.

• Gyeongseong Creature – 6/10 – Another disaster. A shoddy patched up mess of a monster movie that really had no right being as bad as it was. The elements were there, but whoever was in the kitchen just did not know what to do to create the masterpiece that this show should have been. A-List actors came across as flat with one dimensional characters. Just… not good. Sorry, ya’ll.

• Heartbeat (Korean Drama) – 6/10 – Vampire comedy writes itself, so I was looking forward to some giggles with a South Korean slant. But nope. The comedy is stale. The chemistry between the leads is non-existent. The story line was promising but ended up being a huge waste of my time. Deeply disappointed. Don’t bother to stake it, this one was dead on arrival.

• The Heavenly Idol – 3/10 – I don’t even know what to say about this hot mess of a show. I am giving it a 3 because I had a blast making fun of it… so much so that it was totally worth watching. It’s like if Pureflix made a K-Drama… but with a weird mix of mythology. This is another one where if they had just leaned into the camp – it could have been a hit. Just be silly and over the top, don’t try to reign in your nonsense show with moral messages and unnecessary elements. Know what you are.

• The Killing Vote – 9.5/10 – Preposterous. And super fun. I loved this show.

The Killing Vote had a Devil Judge vibe to it, with the same societal distrust in the justice system and a self-righteous man pretending to empower the people when really he’s got his own personal agenda. This show was a blast each week and I was won over by the young secondary couple who were swept into the madness due to their familial connections. This is what I mean when I say a show should know what it is. It won’t be for everyone, but I am particularly fond of over-the-top social justice type stories.

• King the Land – 5/10 – The most boring, cliched story elements tossed together and yet people seemed to like this mess? Do they not realize there are literally a million better dramas about a dickish-rich guy slowly figuring out that… uh… most people have to work for a living and do shit they don’t wanna do in order to eat? And some nice, capable lady comes along and sorta-kinda helps him be a slightly better person without actually making any significant changes to his wealth, status, or company. I mean, just cause you stick two attractive people together does not mean the show has any merit. I didn’t even bother to finish this one.

• Kokdu: Season of Deity – 6/10 – Okay, you are probably wondering how I could give this turd of a show a 6… and that’s fair. But at least it tried to go camp. It attempted to be silly and stupid and have a good time with its nonsense story. It reminded me a lot of A Korean Odyssey, actually, which was also a mess but had a good time being terrible. Unfortunately, the silliness just didn’t pan out as well with this show. The leads had no chemistry at all (just like A Korean Odyssey, actually!) and the FL did not have the comedy chops to play off the zany romance (also just like A Korean Odyssey, actually!). Kim Jung Hyun is so good at comedy, I really hope they keep casting him as these insane wacky characters – but you know, next time make sure it’s a good show first and be sure you hire one of our comedy queens to hold up the rom-com dynamics.

• Miraculous Brothers – 8/10 – I wish I had watched this all at once – but when I started it only 11 episodes were out… and I was totally drawn into the story of stolen books, unsolved murders, and a time traveling magical boy. Then I kinda forgot about it… and when I finally finished it up, it didn’t have the same appeal anymore because I’d crammed too many other dramas in my head inbetween. I still think this drama was totally unique – and I enjoyed the odd bitter friendship between the time traveler and the book thief. It’s unique. And definitely worth watching. But learn from me – watch it all at once.

• Moon In The Day – 8/10 ESTIMATED – I haven’t finished this one yet, but I’m enjoying the melodrama of it. I doubt my rating will go up with the end… if anything, it might go down… but I’ll collect my thoughts on this once I’ve seen the whole thing.

• Moving (Korean Drama) – 7/10 – It started out so good, too! But this show wanted to make every character the MAIN CHARACTER – and there were just too many characters running around to pull this off. Entire episodes dedicated to one character’s plotline or backstory, leaving the other characters completely out of the mix. I could barely remember the kids by the time we came back to them. It was so frustrating. And it’s not that I didn’t like the backstories and side characters – it’s just that every writer has to chose their leads. The side characters can rock, can have amazing stories, but they should not overshadow the leads. And if you’re gonna be an ensemble story, you gotta share screen time with some consistency and “track” with everyone. What a waste.

• My Dearest (Korean Drama) – 9/10 – And here we have Gone with the Wind, Korean-style.

My Dearest was a ride. It’s set during the Qing invasion of Joseon, so, you know, times were tough. Slavery. Hostages. Girls being shipped off to foreign lands as “tributes” and whatnot. And in all this turmoil, we have the sassy, brash lead female Gil Chae (played to perfection by Ahn Eun Jin) trying to win over the heart of a dude who’s clearly in love with someone else. Enter the suave, player Jang Hyun (again, played to perfection by Namgoong Min) who has sworn off marriage but becomes infatuated with the beautiful, spirited Gil Chae. If you’ve seen or read Gone with the Wind, then… just… imagine it. Just like Gone with the Wind, this story is more sorrow, heartbreak, and hard times than anything else – but at its core it’s a fiery romance about two strong willed people trying to figure out their feelings. Loved it.

• My Demon – still watching… it’s kinda dumb but I’m enjoying it anyways.

• My Lovely Liar – 7/10 – The concept was fun. I hate to say it, but I don’t think the Leading Male is much of an actor. I should have realized Hwang Minhyun is an idol. Hidden Side is a gem of a song, though! This show, however, is not very impressive. I enjoyed the concept, and I love the Leading Female, Kim So-hyun… so I watched it all… but there are so many better shows with a light supernatural twist that are far superior. If you’re just looking for something light and cute, this is a solid choice, I guess, but it’s hard to get excited about it.

• Not Others – 9/10 – Applause to the non-traditional story line, characters, and vibe of this show.

Not Others found a way to turn a basic rom-com into an unexpected treat by shifting up the traditional starting point. Who knew a story about a grown woman happily living with her single mom would be so freakin’ good? I really loved both these gals – and their respective love interests, who were perfect compliments to their personalities. Besides the dynamics of the two women figuring out if they know how to separate their lives, there were some good mysteries and crimes to keep us excited. It was so nice to see something different.

• Perfect Marriage Revenge – 8/10 – This is my brand of nonsense, but it also felt kinda deflated.

Perfect Marriage Revenge… what can I say… the concept was fun, the couple had great chemistry, but I just didn’t particularly like either of them. I didn’t find them interesting, charming, or unique. And if you’re gonna give me such vanilla leads, then you better make the Evil Queen larger than life… and again, it just didn’t quite reach peak evil in my opinion. Though there were moments when the dialogue was there, it just didn’t feel earned. However – the step-sister was stellar – and I thought her crazed desperation was absolutely the show stealing performance in this drama. Whenever I considered turning it off, she would show up and revive my attention with her theatrics. So, yeah… watch it for the irredeemable evil step-sister.

• Revenant (Korean Drama) – 10/10 – Helllooooooo horror drama!

Revenant creeped me out. I have enough religious upbringing to be utterly compelled and horrified by the idea of demonic possession. Unlike your Western possession story, this one did not involve priests slinging holy water. Revenant treated us to traditional Korean mythology and folk customs. To the tantalizing and horrifying aspects of working with the dark arts to gain power. I was on the edge of my seat each week watching a young woman’s life fall apart after she inherits her estranged father’s eerie legacy (Kim Tae Ri is really one of the best actresses out there). I especially loved the non-romance in this story… as there was definitely something there between our possessed girl and the cop who was drawn to her, but also… not quite. Add to that the unusual relationship she had with the academic who was helping her and the whole thing was just a non-stop exploration of uncharted territories. If you wanna be unnerved – this is your show.

• Song of the Bandits – 6/10 – Great actors, great sets, great costumes… and yet, I was not at all drawn into this story and basically had to force myself to finish it. And this is a short show, too. If it weren’t for Lee Ho-Jung turning me on every time she sauntered into a saloon with her blood soaked hands, I don’t think I would have bothered. But dang, girl! Why weren’t you the main character???

• The Story Of Park’s Marriage Contract – 7/10 – It’s corny and cute. I’m still watching it but feel like this is a safe bet of a mid-show.

• Strong Girl Nam-Soon – 4/10 – I was one of the people who asked for this. I wrote an entire review praising the first show and begging for a spin off series to show off other “strong women” with the family genes. Listen, you gotta be careful what you wish for. This is like one of those old parables where the devil starts cackling immediately after you sign away your soul and says “You forgot to say you wanted the spin off series to be worth watching!” And I just stand there, defeated, knowing that’s true. At least we got sexy reels of the bad guy all over our socials. Silver lining, eh?

• Sweet Home 2 – 7/10 – To say I was disappointed in Season 2 is the understatement of the year. This season felt so disjointed – whose story was this? I’ve rewatched Season 1 about a half dozen times over the past two years, and it remains a stand out in K-Dramas as well as proof that Netflix can help fund some truly wild and creative projects. This season, however, will probably just remain the necessary bridge between Season 1 and Season 3. What can I say, I still have hopes they can salvage this mess for the finale… save us, Lee Do-hyun!

• Taxi Driver 2 – 5/10 – We did not need a Taxi Driver Season 2. I know most of ya’ll wanted it, but it was absolutely unnecessary. This season was repetitive, boring, and uninspired. Though I will give it snaps for introducing me to that amazing Dragon Bridge that goes over the River Hàn at Da Nang, Vietnam. Did ya’ll know that thing actually breathes fire??? It also spits out a fountain of water, too, depending on the holiday. Seriously – type in Dragon Bridge Vietnam in a search engine. It’s far more interesting than anything that happened in this lame season.

• Twinkling Watermelon – 8/10 – You know when you drink a slushie too fast and get brain freeze? But you keep drinking it anyways cause it’s delicious?

Twinkling Watermelon was a surprise hit for me. Okay, hear me out here (no pun intended). There is a cuteness saturation point and I think this drama definitely was soaking in the sugar-sweetness tooo toooo toooooo long. But maybe it’s because I listen to so much K-Pop that I did not mind this sickeningly sweet teen drama about a time traveling boy who jumps back in time and befriends his own father – and tries to set him up with his future mom. Sometimes you just want to jam out to STAYC, okay? There’s no shame in loving adorable and super-sweet-cutesy things, including this show. Everyone was absolutely lovable and charming in this drama, but it’s the two male leads that will steal your heart. Their cute friendship with the unusual dynamics of being secretly father/son was the colorful icing on the cake.

• Vigilante (Korean Drama) – 7/10 – This was on the border of being a hit. It was so close! It had such potential! It had all the the ingredients, too. Anger at the failure of the justice system. A burning need for revenge. Masterful secret plans to root out evil above (or below) the law. Great actors. But it didn’t quite congeal, ya dig? I think this one needed to bake a little bit longer. It was still gooey in the center. Give the writers time to iron out the kinks, please. Maybe add a few more episodes if you need to and if that’s not possible then cut out some of the plot points so it works better.

• The Worst Of Evil – 7/10 – This is another show that needed a little more work in the writer’s room. This is a story about a married couple, both police officers, except the wife keeps getting promoted but the hubbie is struggling to move up in the field. He takes on an undercover assignment to infiltrate a local gang and becomes friends with the leader only to discover his new bestie is still harboring a crush on his first love… who just happens to be the cop’s wife. I mean, WUT!? I love this more than words!!! I wanted 2 things from this show: MORE of that delicious complicated love triangle with MORE drama, emotions, and insane consequences cause… that’s the most over-dramatic ridiculous melodrama recipe ever! And I wanted MORE of the friendship/bromance between the cop and the gangster. They should have made this show longer so we could have those two things more – and this could have been the 10/10 show of the year. The Worst of Evil brought us SUPER WOOK back, for God’s sake – Ji Chang-wook is too good at action not to be making more of these types of shows. And we got to see Wi Ha-joon kiss a woman? Finally! But since they didn’t play up the love triangle it felt kinda awkward and strange. Sigh. What a disappointment. If you’re a fan of gangster shows, though, I would still recommend this one.