Kim Hye-Soo has somehow mastered the quirky girl boss roles. She did it in ‘Hyena’ and a more restrained version of it in ‘Under the Queen’s Umbrella.’ In the new Disney+ series ‘Unmasked,’ she takes this template and applies it to Oh So-Ryong, a gung-ho and fearless tv journalist in the show Trigger, whose ratings are dropping but lends credibility to its channel’s programming. So-Ryong is gutsy enough to paraglide into a cultist den to grab the scoop that she needs to break a story wide open without regard for her own safety (and that of her team). The first two episodes of ‘Unmasked’ promises to be a wild ride into investigative journalism in a televised platform.
Creating the contrast for the character is Han Do (Jung Sung Il), a director for the drama world who finds himself out of the narrative department and sent to the news division. He is not a people person and his first introduction to the world of Trigger and the many unique characters that comprise the team. In the first two episodes, we see this world through Han Do’s eyes and while he’s resistant to it, it’s a case in episode two that finds him joining the fray and getting entrenched into the team.
While the first two episodes feel like the show will take an episodic structure – with each episode or couple of episodes detailing a unique and individual case – the cliffhanger of episode 2 suggests that previous cases may come in to play later on. This would create a thrilling world that is unpredictable and quite dangerous as the show may be the type to create enemies.
This show seems to be Kim Hye-Soo’s bailiwick: the character, the genre, the tone. It’s a strong mix of suspense, thriller, and a generous dose of comedy. So far, there doesn’t seem to be any romantic angle being set up for Oh So-Ryong and Han Do but you can never really tell with these dramas, though she does seem intrigued by Han Do’s background and potential to be a strong teammate and the new director of Trigger. Whether he adapts and acclimates himself is the question, and he probably will, so the real story is how.
The other characters that populate the show are played by Joo Jong Hyuk (of ‘Extraordinary Attorney Woo’ and ‘Yumi’s Cells’ fame) and Jang Hye Jin (of ‘The Red Sleeve’ and ‘Jangnyeon: A Star is Born’ fame). Joo plays an eager segment producer who is hoping to land his first story while Jang is the veteran senior writer of Trigger who knows more than enough about the crazy world that these characters have found themselves in.
The show has a fast energetic pace and is not afraid to get silly or to make fun of itself. What’s refreshing too is to see Kim Hye-Soo also go for laughs and not afraid to ridicule herself. The show looks dark and ready to go deep into the underbelly of South Korea’s criminal world as Trigger is known to solve cases that the police and prosecution were not able to.
By the looks of it, this is another glossy, trendy K-Drama from Disney+ that’s slick and efficient but not really the cultural reset that ‘Moving’ was. This is a show in the same vein as ‘Military Prosecutor Doberman’ or ‘Blood Free’ or ‘Red Swan.’ It will be fun to watch, if you find something in it to hook you but it won’t be making the same kind of noise that ‘Moving’ made.
My Rating:
Unmasked is now streaming on Disney+! Click here to watch it now.
