Cha Seung Won in "Best Love"

Apr 13, 2011

Finally, it’s Cha Seung Won’s turn for the spotlight for his new drama, Best Love, the Hong sisters project that stars him as a famous actor.

He’s still sporting the facial hair (sigh), but it’s a much tidier version than the look he wore for Athena, which practically had a lifeforce of its own. Cha’s character is Dokko Jin (yes, Dokko is a Korean surname, albeit an uncommon one), a star much beloved by the public, which means he’s the polar opposite to his love interest, who’s dogged by a more negative reputation. It also means that Cha is working with a more clean-cut image than his badass one of recent years.

In the stills directly below, Jin is at the office of his agency, and goes through a speed quiz over the phone with Ae Jung, the former idol star with a bad image played by Gong Hyo Jin. It’s reportedly an important scene connecting Episodes 1 and 2, and given the Hong sisters’ love of outrageous setups and comic gags, no doubt the scene’ll end with a kicker.

The Hongs have written six hit shows in six years, so they’ve earned the audience’s trust that they’ll deliver a solid mix of laughs, parodies, and romantic chemistry between their leads. I have faith that they’ll bring the funny, just as I trust Cha and Gong to deliver winning characters; now, I just hope the writers can work on maximizing their strong supporting cast too, since they’ve got Yoo In Na (Secret Garden) and Yoon Kye Sang (Who Are You) to work with.

Best Love premieres on May 4 on MBC.