Lazy Unnie’s Couch: Love Is for Suckers

Goo Yeo Reum is a television producer in the tenth year of her professional career. Although she works harder than most producers, the shows she makes all seem to flop. Then she’s selected to produce a new dating-themed reality TV show called “Kingdom of Love.” Her neighbour and best friend of twenty years is Park Jae Hoon, a plastic surgeon who has lost all his passion for work. Their relationship is close but purely platonic. Park Jae Hoon is jaded by his experiences and has also essentially given up on love. As such, he only ever pursues casual relationships. In the planning stage of the show’s production, Goo Yeo Reum runs into struggles, having difficulty finding suitable bachelors to appear on the programme. She eventually turns to Park Jae Hoon in desperation. To help her, he agrees to become a contestant on the show. But in this unfamiliar new dynamic—as a producer and a cast member—they unexpectedly begin developing never-felt-before romantic feelings. Will “Kingdom of Love” turn friends into lovers?
mydramalist

Starring: Lee Da Hee | Choi Si Won | Joo Soo Hyang | Park Yeon Woo | Lee Juyeon | Lee Dae Hwi
Episodes: 16 (60 mins. )
Aired: October 5 – December 1, 2022
Network: ENA
Where to Watch: Viki

Trope after trope, Love Is for Suckers proved that romantic comedy with a bit of angst thrown in is my genre. There was nothing spectacular about this drama but I think that made it stand out to me. It also could have been my slight obsession with reality shows but who’s keeping check. What I thought was going to be a simple friends-to-lovers slash meta look at dating shows, ended up being far much more. Putting two pretty people with good emoting abilities and decent chemistry, really had me rooting for the main couple from day one. But during this journey, just like any well-produced reality show, there were moments when I thought there would be no HEA. Maybe it was because they threw so many things in the pot and I didn’t know which would actually stick, but just like any trashy show, I was hooked.

The biggest trope that was leading this ship was the friends-to-lovers. Goo Yu Reum and Park Jae Hoon were friends since school and turned into adult neighbors. They depended on each other and obviously to everyone except them, they were made for each other. I loved that they didn’t spend too much time with them ignorant of each other’s feelings but boy were there so many things until we got there. I felt like so much happened in just the first three episodes that by the time we get to the later half of the show, I was wondering how they were going to have enough content. There were so many love triangles, I felt like I was in a high school geometry class. Some were successful and others felt more like smoke screens. What could have made it better is if they dialed it back a bit and focused the energy a bit.

However, I think because it was based in a world of reality television, there were a bunch of characters that were colorful and rounded out storytime that wasn’t focused on the mains. I could go through them but what’s the point. The breakout stars for me were the storyline that followed contestants Chef John Jang and Webtoon comic Park Ji Wan. In the beginning, I didn’t see the potential there because Chef John was a dick and I was like this guy isn’t redeemable. But as the show went on, I was tired of seeing the mains and their melodrama and wished to see more of him and Ji Wan. That alone makes me wish for a second season focusing on them.

Surprisingly, I kept up with this one rather well. I grew a little bored and weary around the 12th episode mark, but I stuck with it because my mama ain’t raise no quitter. well, that’s a lie, but I really liked the chemistry between the characters and the dating show aspect. It is nice to see when SK does a few more risque plots for them. Sex, mental health, side babies, attempted murders. This show really had everything but the kitchen sink, but worked.