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[HanCinema's Drama Preview] "My Beautiful Bride"

Doing one thing and doing it well is just fine, but with channel OCN having successfully established its own style of series for a while now, branching out into different things is inevitable. "My Beautiful Bride" is an upcoming drama which adopts more of a regular drama programming form and focuses on a main plot, something the station's series have already attempted a few times. Done well, this might just be a milestone for the provider.

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Premise

Kim Do-hyeong (Kim Mu-yeol) is a man who will stop at nothing to find his fiancée. When his bride to be goes missing, Do-hyeong start diving deeper and deeper into the case, willing to even become a monster in order to find her. Cha Yoo-mi (Lee Si-young) is a detective who is trying to help him, while at the same time trying to keep him from losing himself in his quest for the truth.

The Worrying

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New Schedule and More Episodes

With the series airing twice a week and running for more episodes, it marks a change in the channel's usual output. This might be great news for those wishing to get more out of OCN shows, but at the same time it should be cause for concern. Will the production be able to maintain the quality standards we have experienced so far or will the change and filming system be its undoing?

Serial Format

Focusing on one specific story, rather than a procedural has been done by the station before. However, combined with the fact that this is longer than other shows, it is important that the plot is also more packed and story more intricate than what has been created so far. If attention is paid to style over substance, it will be hard to follow the drama for so many episodes. They will need to adapt their content and let go of old habits for this to work.

The Reassuring

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'Heartless City' Writer

JTBC's 'Heartless City' is a rare gem of a show, which focuses on the crime genre, but from a more personal point of view. The series has really good writing, nuanced and strong characters and great overall quality. Writer Yoo Seong-yeol is a valuable asset and "My Beautiful Bride" could do incredibly well if the same level of quality in story carries over and if OCN can let go of its usual approach and go for a bit more depth.

Powerful Premise, if Developed Well

While the series can end up uninspiring if it focuses more on style and action than story, the basic premise is one with great promise. Morally ambiguous characters are always interesting and revenge stories well liked. The idea of going to extremes for a loved one is something everyone can sympathize with and if the drama is willing to go dark and explore the potential of its story, it will be a gripping experience.

Final Thoughts

The series has put out some impressive promotional material and its cast is for the most part very capable and appropriate for it. A change in one's way of operating is always worrisome, especially with the filming system of Korean dramas. At the same time, it is difficult to not be excited by the potential here. "My Beautiful Bride" might just be an ok crime show, but it could very well end up a great suspense story.

"My Beautiful Bride" begins its run on June 20th and will air every Saturday and Sunday at 23:00, on OCN.

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Written by: Orion from 'Orion's Ramblings'

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