When The Stars Gossip Ep 1-2 Review: Lee Min-Ho, Gong Hyo-Jin's space rom-com drama has Bollywood flavour

When The Stars Gossip on Netflix is the first big Korean drama to release in 2025. Lee Min-Ho makes a comeback as Dr Gong Ryong who is sent as a space tourist on a landmark space mission programme of South Korea. The show is written by Seo Sook-Hyang who has also created dramas like Something In The Rain, The Heirs and Drama City. Actress Gong Hyo-Jin is paired with Lee Min-Ho. After five long years, Lee Min-Ho is making a comeback in a Korean drama. His last outing was Pachinko that got immense acclaim all over. Here is our first impression of When The Stars Gossip.

What is it about…

People who love Bollywood-storytelling will enjoy When The Stars Gossip immensely. It has the right blend of humour, drama and melodrama that is loved by desi audience. It will remind you of some David Dhawan movies. Lee Min-Ho plays Dr Gong Ryong, a gynaecologist who loves to deliver babies. One day, he meets a rich chaebol heiress, Choi Go-Eun and ends up terminating her pregnancy to save her life. The two fall in love after a steamy night of lovemaking. His chaebol father-in-law will only allow a debt-stricken Dr Gong Ryong to marry his daughter if he manages to expand the lineage of the Choi family in the most unimaginable fashion.

What's hot

Lee Min-Ho oozes charm as Dr Gong Ryong. He is immensely likeable with spot-on comic timing. Gong Hyo-Jin plays Commander Eve and the actress seems to be relishing the role. She is pitch perfect as the astronaut. Actress Han Ji-Eun looks stunning and Alex Hafner is also great as Santiago Gonzalez, the foreign crew. After banks, hospitals, law firms, we have a romantic love triangle set in a space station. The cinematography is top notch. The OST was a beautiful one. When The Stars Gossip has a very unique pitch with the space angle so many would be keen to check it out.

What's not

Korean drama purists might not agree with the love story of Ryong and Go-Eun that starts off with a passionate night. There is no sense of longing, which might put people off. The VFX too is kind of inconsistent given the high budget of the show.

Verdict

Indian viewers might just fall in love with the zany idea of When The Stars Gossip. It has humour, melodrama and two leads who know how to act other than being easy on the eye. Another huge reason is that the drama is directed by Park Shin-woo who gave us gems like It’s Okay To Be Not Okay.