Melo came out of nowhere and totally captured my sismance loving heart. Though this drama isn’t exactly about sismance, it’s more about the family you create for yourself when life takes a turn you do not expect.

It’s a bit hard to describe the storytelling style Melo has adopted. It’s quirky, yet everything is very down to earth, and has a slice of life feel to it. The show starts with our main characters watching tv and it’s a cameo of Honey Lee and… I have no idea. LOL. But it’s a sappy love story and the friends laugh and say that they should say I love You at least once. So they all say it to each other (cute brother of one of the girls included) and then they proceed to show a ton of people saying it too, essentially introducing us to the entire extended cast in the first few minutes. Pretty clever.

As I watched it again for this impression, the main characters’ feelings about love and relationships seemed more poignant than it was the first time around since I know all of their relationship woes.

That’s the thing about doing this first impression. The way the show unfolds all of their love lives and possible current love interests was too fun to spoil. They range from hilarious to extremely sad. Due to circumstances that are also revealed within the first two hours, our four friends live together and help each other survive. They all work in the entertainment industry in some shape of form, but none of them is a huge success.

Meet Im Jin Joo (Chun Woo Hee), she’s a script writer who doesn’t know how to keep her head down and just pay her dues with the head writer she assists. I find it hilarious that almost all fictional script writers end up being very eccentric and mean bosses. The writers must base these characters, not on themselves, but on the scriptwriter they worked for in the past. Jin Joo’s sense of humor cracks me up, and at face value, she is probably my favorite. Her interactions with her family and their dialogue were some of my favorite scenes.

Next, we have Lee Eun Jung (Jeon Yeo Bin) she’s a documentary director and the older sister of the fourth house mate, Lee Hyo Bong.

Their relationship has already touched my heart, and I want to know lots more about their childhood and family life. He’s a musician who records demos and seems to have steady work, but hasn’t hit it big.

Last, is the single mom of the group, Hwang Han Joo (Han Ji Eun) who works for a product placement company. Anytime they show the behind the scenes workings of that job, it kills me. I can’t remember which drama it was, but the director and the company were arguing about the actor drinking something right before his death scene. It must be an annoying task to fit in those products and not take away from the story. Han Joo is the most cute and bubbly of the group, but has a quiet strength to her that I really love.

I haven’t watched any of the female leads in roles that I remember. A few of the male stars are familiar, but most of them are new to me. It’ll be interesting to not have a favorite actor or actress to focus on and just enjoy everyone.

There doesn’t feel like there is one OTP that the show will be center around. It will follow the three women’s lives and the people they encounter. (Not that they haven’t established multiple love lines already) And so far, I am intrigued by almost anyone who has shown up on screen. Jin Joo’s boss cracks me up. I do love that they show her weaknesses and jealousy and don’t just paint her as an unreasonable person. Hyung from 1988 plays an eccentric PD that makes my heart super happy. Each character that crosses the screen has a story to be heard.

So, does sismance/makeshift family/strong female cast sound like your type of drama? Then you should definitely check this one out. Currently none of the Fangirls are watching with me, so I’d love to have a Melo buddy. Leave your thoughts in the comments, and maybe we can Twitter watch together.

Yours Truly,

Drama Geek (@KimchiDramaGeek)

Dramas With a Side of Kimchi