The Producers (TV series)


The Producers is a 2015 South Korean comedy-drama television series written by Park Ji-eun, and directed by Seo Soo-min and Pyo Min-soo. It stars Cha Tae-hyun, Gong Hyo-jin, Kim Soo-hyun, and Lee Ji-eun. It aired on KBS2 from May 15 to June 20, 2015 every Friday and Saturday at 21:15 for 12 episodes.
WWW kbs.co.kr/drama/produca

Synopsis

In the center of Yeouido is the KBS building. On its sixth floor are partitioned offices where employees work in the network's variety department, keeping hectic schedules of filming, editing and all-night meetings.

Cast

Main

Supporting

;KBS
  • Park Hyuk-kwon as Kim Tae-ho, chief producer of the variety department.
  • Kim Jong-kook as Kim Hong-soon, PD of Open Concert
  • Seo Ki-chul as Jang In-pyo, director of the variety department.
  • Ye Ji-won as Go Yang-mi, office manager of the variety department.
  • Gi Ju-bong as Park Choon-bong, the president of KBS.
  • Lee Joo-seung as Kim Joon-bae, floor director of 2 Days & 1 Night. Turns out to be a legendary ghost of KBS.
  • Lee Chae-eun as Son Ji-yeon, writer of 2 Days & 1 Night.
  • Go Bo-gyeol as Wang Min-jung, youngest writer of 2 Days & 1 Night.
  • Bae Yoo-ram as Ryu Il-yong, assistant director of 2 Days & 1 Night.
  • Shin Joo-hwan as Hyung-geun, assistant director of 2 Days & 1 Night.
  • Susanna Noh as casting writer of 2 Days & 1 Night.
  • Kim Sun-ah as Kim Da-jung, youngest writer of Music Bank.
  • Jang Seong-beom as assistant PD of Music Bank.
;Byun Entertainment agency
;Baek's Family
;Extended

Special appearances

;Episode 1
Episodes 1–2
;Episodes 1–4
  • Jo Yoon-hee as Shin Hae-joo, assistant director on Entertainment Weekly and Seung-chan's crush.
;Episode 3
;Episodes 3–4
Episodes 4–5, 12
Episodes 4–5, 10, 12
;Episode 5
;Episode 6
;Episode 8
;Episode 9
;Episode 10
;Episode 12

Production

The Producers was dubbed as "the most anticipated show" of 2015 because it served reunion between the actor Kim Soo-hyun and the screenwriter Park Ji-eun after the pan-Asia successful television series My Love from the Star. The series was produced by KBS's entertainment department instead of the drama department and was helmed by director Seo Soo-min, whose past experience has been on variety shows. It was also the first terrestrial network drama to air in the Friday–Saturday time slot.
First script reading was held on 23 March 2015 in Gangnam District, Seoul, with no media presence. The first day shooting was held on April 1, 2015 on the 6th floor of the KBS building in Yeouido. Official posters for the drama were unveiled on 29 April 2015.

Original soundtrack

Notes

Reception

Commercial performance

Yonhap News Agency reported The Producers would earn according to the broadcaster and industry sources. It reportedly earned alone from product placement and other sponsored advertisements which was above the average amount for a 16-episode series of about at that time. Also, it was sold to 12 Asian countries at high prices. However, KBS officials said that it would log lower-than-expected profits due to rise in initial production cost stating various reasons including the change of producer in the middle of the series.

Critical response

The Producers received mixed critical response. Kwon Ji-youn writing for The Korea Times called the premier of drama "great boast and small roast" reasoning that despite having "an all-star cast, impressive cameos and an original setting and plot" the drama was "nothing out of the ordinary." She praised Kim Soo-hyun's acting calling the transformation from his former character on My Love from the Star "striking" and he and Gong Hyo-jin were only able to pull off humour scenes. It also received criticism from entertainment industry insiders regarding its verisimilitude, particularly in the drama's depiction of producers as the weaker party in dealing with celebrities, which they claimed is "highly unrealistic" unless top stars are involved.

Viewership

The Producers drew an average viewership rating of 12.5% and topped the Content Power Index rankings.
In the table below, the ' represent the lowest ratings and the ' represent the highest ratings.