[HanCinema's Drama Preview] "A New Leaf"

Amnesia is such a tricky thing in dramas. Much like a sworn enemy, it always pops up to ruin a work's credibility, lower its quality and save writers from their own inability to enrich their story. Also, it does not sit too well with many viewers. MBC's 'A New Leaf' takes a slightly different approach, making the recovery and reacquaintance with one's life after it its premise.

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Premise

Kim Seok-joo (Kim Myung-min) is a talented lawyer with a very cold outlook on life. He believes people cannot change easily and his views come into conflict with the beliefs of an optimistic woman who works with him, Lee Ji-yoon (Park Min-young). After losing his memory following an accident, he finds himself faced with the man he used to be and eventually goes up against his old firm.

The Worrying

Writer Choi Hee-ra

After the interview fiasco of 'Golden Time', where writer Choi criticized her own cast in a very unprofessional and unwise manner before the interview was buried, viewers might not be eager to approach her work. More than that, if she does have issues with the people she works with, it could create a bad atmosphere and harm the series on a creative level as well.

Topic and Popularity

The premise of the series itself seems lacking in elements that drama viewers are fond of. Romance, family conflicts and other more melodramatic elements get their attention, but so far, the series is not going there. Along with that, the cast is of course great in terms of talent and star power, but with 'You're Surrounded' out at the same time, it might not win over the core drama audience.

The Reassuring

Good Cast

Kim Myung-min, like every actor, is not without flaws or bad choices in his career, but when it comes to delivering on a quality level, he never fails to do a brilliant job. Kim Sang-joong being here is an added powerful plus and with two ladies, Park Min-young and Chae Jung-an, who drama audiences are well familiar with and whose choices are, if not always successful, interesting, this is looking like a very well-cast project in terms of potential for creating a good work.

Intriguing Story

Amnesia itself might be an easy way out for writers in dramas, but the notion of who we are versus who we become and how we would feel if we could take an objective look at our lives is very interesting. While dramas are rarely contemplative and this might just end up another workplace conflict series, the possibility that these bigger issues will be explored is one very tempting reason to give the work a chance.

Final Thoughts

'A New Leaf' is one of those works that is vague enough and handles a topic big enough to really have many possible directions it could go. With a powerful cast and assuming all goes well with the writing and schedule, it might prove to be a good fresh take on its genre. Its popularity being unsure, ratings will be a worry until it happens, but if all goes well, it has the makings of a great series.

Written by: Orion from 'Orion's Ramblings'

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