Mask Girl Director Kim Yong-hoon Helms Latest Korean Original Exploring Idol Industry Dynamics
Variety is a new K-pop business drama that will be added to Netflix’s Korean originals lineup. It stars Son Ye-jin, who is best known for her role in Crash Landing on You, and Jo Yu-ri, who is best known for her breakout role in Squid Game Seasons 2 and 3.
The new series is directed by Kim Yong-hoon, who also directed Mask Girl, one of Netflix’s biggest Korean successes of 2023. The black comedic thriller spent four weeks in a row on the streamer’s Global Top 10 Non-English TV list. It reached the top spot in its second week.
Variety is a change in Kim’s style. He’ll be leaving the harsh neo-noir crime world of his breakout book, Beasts Clawing at Straws, for the high-pressure, high-gloss world of K-pop success. The show will look at the tensions, goals, and troubled relationships between the performers, their passionate fans, and the people who run the industry.
Son plays Se-eun, a powerful entertainment executive who is willing to sacrifice all to bring back the failing idol group she helped start. The seasoned actress has a lot of intriguing and busy projects coming up, such as the Netflix period drama Scandals and Park Chan-wook’s highly awaited film No Other Choice.
Jo plays Seung-hui in Variety, a fan whose strong love to her favorite celebrity leads her down a dark path. It’s funny that the rising actress gets cast in this role because she used to be a K-pop star and was a fan favorite in the Korean–Japanese girl group Iz*One.
CJ ENM Studios and UNU are making Variety, which is another show that Netflix has been a top commissioner for Korean content makers for a long time.