Entertainer or Ttanttara (2016)

Shin Suk-ho is a director at KTOP and is also on the verge of launching his small entertainment company.
He plans on leaving KTOP and taking the famous “Jackson” boy-band with him.
“Jackson” is a band that Suk-ho helped to create but taking them with him when he leaves, angers the KTOP director and he is out to ruin Suk-ho’s new company and reputation.
Suk-ho is cocky and sure of himself, he doesn’t think twice before hurting people or deceiving them. It’s all for the money.
Everything works well for him, until he pressures a song writer to give up his rights on a hit song that he wrote, so that “Jackson”‘s lead singer can present it as his own creation.
The writer kills himself, Suk-ho has a car accident that lands him in jail for eight months and while he’s there, “Jackson” has decided to renew their contract with KTOP, thus leaving Suk-ho with no star band to launch his new company with.
After Eight months, Suk-ho is released from jail with his reputation in ruins.
Jo Ha-neul, a gifted singer, has been charged with sexual assault by his school-mate and childhood friend.
He asks for the maximum punishment, which is serving time at a juvenile detention center.
Despite the principal’s please, Ha-neul decides not to continue his music studies at Youngdo academy but as he leaves the place, the jingle that he has written, is played on the loud-speakers and Suk-ho, who just happens to sit on the stairs, outside of the academy, after a humiliating rejection from a potential investor, hears it.
After some inquiries, Suk-ho finds who sang the jingle and speaks with Ha-neul about making a record. Ha-neul agrees but only if he performs as part of a band.
So now the search for musicians who will form the band begins.
Jung Geo-rin, is is Ha-neul’s sister and legal guardian.
Ever since their parents died and Ha-neul’s older brother, Jo Sung-hyun, killed himself, Geo-rin works a few jobs to support her brother and herself.
She is trying to find out why her gentle and dedicated brother was accused of a crime that she is sure, he didn’t commit.
Kyle is a young guitar player who can’t get a break and plays in second rated groups. He is sure of himself, frank and not afraid to speak his mind. He studied music at Julliard.
Na Yun-soo is a guitarist and a single dad to Chan-hee. He is sweet and naive but also very sincere about his feelings.
Suk-ho first met Yun-soo at a club where one of the costumers demands to play his guitar and he refuses. He is grateful to Suk-ho for defending him and joins the band as a bass player.
Seo Jae-hoon is a mama’s boy who studies at the Seoul university and plays the drums in his free time, as a hobby.
When Suk-ho hears him play, at a music store, he decides to recruit him as a drummer for the band.
Since Jae-hoon’s mother is used to controling him and invests lots of money in his studies, it’s very hard to convince her to let her boy play the drums in a band.
Yeo Min-joo has been Suk-ho’s trusted friend for over ten years, she works as a chief executive at “Ocean music” and later on, leaves her job to join Suk-ho at “Mango”, his new entertainment company.
Jang Man-sik is a songwriter who used to work for KTOP, he has a crush on Min-joo.
Min-joo.
Man-sik and Min-joo have Suk-ho’s best friends for many years.
President Byun is the owner of the rehearsal studio where “Ttanttara” is rehearsing.
He used to work for KTOP and has known Suk-ho since the beginning.
Jo Sung-hyun is Ha-neul’s older brother who has killed himself.
The reason behind his suicide is known to KTOP’s CEO and President Byun, who feels so guilty that he quits his job at KTOP.
Lee Ji-young used to be Ha-neul best friend. She is the girl who framed Ha-neul for sexual assault and has managed to blackmail her way into “Twinkle”, a new girl-group. Her stage name is “Luna”.
Ji-nu is the leader of “Jackson”, a popular boy-band that Suk-ho has helped to form and was the manager of.
Ji-nu, who was stressed and depressed, started taking antidepressants.
One night of mixing alcohol and medication, has lead him to make a fatal mistake that might cost him, his good name and his career.
Kim Joo-han works at KTOP as a director.
When Suk-ho has decided to leave and start his own company, KTOP’s CEO, has offered Joo-han, who was Suk-ho’s assistant, his position as director but in return, he had to back-stab and betray him.
Joo-han takes care of himself, he is a cynic who will stop at nothing to get what he wants, he knew about Ji-nu’s depression and was hiding the fact that Ji-young is suddenly part of the KTOP team of talents, and debuting on TV with a popular, new group, despite failing audition after audition.
While Ha-neul has to conquer his fears that the people in his band and his sister will get hurt because of the accusations against him, Suk-ho is trying to find out what really happened and to clear Ha-neul’s name.
As things start to clear up, Suk-ho, finds to his dismay that knowing the truth, also means making a difficult choice.
Poor Kyle, who seems like a cool fellow has a really hard time and I really can’t blame him. One minute there is a band, then there isn’t and then, there is again and then there isn’t.
I must say that while Ji Sung is a wonder and a breath of fresh, sexy and talented air and Lee Hyeri is quite good as the protective sister, Kang Min-hyuk walks around with a blank look on his face. He is a fine singer though.
Falling on ones knees and bursting into tears seems to be a popular practice in the series. I wish that they would stop, since it’s a really cute drama and this kind of overly dramatic acting is just silly.
Other than that, I don’t understand why and how a man like Suk-ho could ever fall in love with someone like Geu-rin.
It’s not only that she is a child and he is a grownup, there are many couples where the man takes the part of a father but this will not work here because it’s not believable. There is no chemistry between these two and Geu-rin would be better of with someone like Kyle.
Speaking of Kyle, Gong Myung is just great. He fits his character well as does Lee Tae-Sun, who has a very sweet and goofy smile.
It’s a fun series to watch but the end is a bit sudden, it’s as if they ran out of time and left all of the relationships in the middle.
I would have loved to see what happens to Yeo Min-joo and Na Yun-soo and also, what happens with the Geo-rin, Ha-neul and Suk-ho triangle. I really don’t think that Ha-neul will give up that easily.
Favorite moment 1 – Kyle calls Geo-rin to rescue him from the police station, after he picked a fight with a drummer in one of the groups that he plays with.
After taking charge and defending him as if he were a family member, Geo-rin takes him home and feeds him with Ha-neul looking surprised at the new development.
When Kyle tells Geo-rin that she likes Suk-ho and Ha-neul tells him to shut up and eat, Kyle the smartypants answers:”How can I eat with my mouth closed?”
Favorite moment 2 – Suk-ho wants to keep the fact that there is a single dad and a guy who was convicted as a sex offender in the band, but Kyle just has to open his big mouth.
Favorite moment 3 – Kyle looks at a poster about a musical festival and sticks a gum on the faces of one of the performers, praised on the poster as a Julliard genius.
Just as he does that, Yun-soo and Chan-hee come around the corner.
As Chan-hee greets him happily, nervous Kyle tries to hide to damaged poster and asks:”Don’t you knock before entering?”
Confused Yun-soo answers defensively:”People knock on streets?”