Sh**ting Stars (2022)

Unexpectedly good drama

It is  a great drama with cute and good chemistry between the main characters.Not gonna lie but this is one of my favourite drama.Even though the leads seem a little childish.
At a point it was a little serious with tae sung's past and revenge plot.I loved the part were GTS pick on OHB because of his embarrassment.
The people in the story works very hard to create good image of the actors and this also shows a good amount of problems faced in the entertaiment industry.

STORYLINE/PLOT
Like other romcom it is based on entertainment industry.The male is an actor and female lead is a PR head who cleans up the mess.It has a lawyer working together with FL who likes FL.Both fl and ml were college mates and have love/hate relationship.There are Ml's manager and another manager working in the same company.Ml's manager has a great relationship with the ml except for a point where their relationship becomes little strained.
And there are characters who work on the drama in which ml is the main actor.There is some relationship  problem between ml and his mom who is an ex actress who wants to resolve their issues from the past as she becomes ill.
There are some other plots where some people who hate ml try to sabotage his acting career.Some scenes you will be laughing like a hell and many times you will feel sad for th MC.

CAST
Honestly I didn't expect much from this and started this because I had free time and ended up loving this show. I saw Kim young dae in Penthouse and lee sung kyung in dr romantic 2 .I felt like they were tailor made  for this drama 

REASONS TO WATCH
-Good chemistry between the leads
-Slight bromance
-Good friendship
-Funny
-Some quirky humors

REASONS TO NOT WATCH
-Annoying family plot
-Unwanted revenge plot
-Scheming housekeeper

This drama is definitely worth watching with good chemistry between the ml and fl lead .It had a good amount of humor , family relationship and show a side of suffering for main actors.I think you won't regret watching it.

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Appreciable attempt...

The literal translation might be "shooting stars" but I still wanna call it "shitting stars" for 2 reasons: firstly, it has 똥:tong (poop) in its original title and the very fact that they've used asterisks (**) for the international title. So, even though many people say it's shooting, the intentions of the makers is very clear, huh!

Produced by "Mays Entertainment" and created by "Studio Dragon", "Sh**ting Stars (별똥별)" is a romcom plus idol-life drama. Written by Choi Young Woo and directed by Lee Soo Hyun, the show was originally broadcasted on tvN while iQIYI took charge of international distribution.

The show could be a romcom drama having the main couple at the center, surrounded by many other lovelines, but deep down, it portrays the life at Entertainment agencies, as personal managers of celebrities and members of a a PR team, all of whom are indulged in cleaning up the mess created by the stars, hence justifying the intended title.

Oh Han Byeol (Lee Sung Kyung) is the PR team Head at Starforce Ent. and a long-time close buddy to the topmost actor in Korea, Gong Tae Song (Kim Young Dae); both of them are like sworn enemies and the story mainly follows their story, as they develop feelings for each other. Kang Yu Sung (Yoon Jong Hoon) and Park Ho Young (Kim Yoon Hye) are two managers at the same agency, while Choi Ji Hoon (Ha Do Gwon) is the director. Cho Ki Ppeum (Park So Jin) works as an ent. reporter whereas Do Soo Hyuk (Lee Jung Shin) is the legal advisor to StarForce.

Other familiar faces in major roles are: Lee Seung Hyub (N. Flying), Jang Hee Ryung, Kim Dae Gon, JunQ (MyName), So Hee Jung, Choi Ji Woo and Jin Ho Eun. There are many rookie actors who did deliver well. Also, you'll see many guest roles including Kim Dong Wook, Lee Sang Yeob, Jang Ki Young, Song Ji Hyo, Moon Ga Young, Chae Jong Hyeop, Lee Ki Woo, Kang Gi Doong, Lee Sang Woo, Park Jung Min, Seo Yi Suk and Lee Joo Woon.

Plot development is average yet decent and likable. The pilot episodes and the follow-up didn't create any impression, ngl. But it suddenly became interesting from the 4th episode, idk why. The furtherance is smooth, with so many up & downs and several peak moments, accompanied by twists and revelations. Except for the first few episodes, I didn't really see it going down or dragged or exaggerated. Imo, the 13th & 14th were the ones where the show was at peak throughout, and everything is put to rest by the end, opening a smooth path for the finale week. Thr ending sequence and the finale ended in a grand way. So overally, it might not be very good in sum development, but it was nice and decent with minimum flaw and damage.

The show as an usual romcom, that too in 2022 did not require immense talent to create, however, maintaining the decent quality throughout is what should matter the most. In my opinion, the writers have been able to achieve so to a great extent, if not entirely. And provided that the writers are both debutants, they should be appreciated and encouraged for this was able to be acknowledged by a huge number of audience. It was a wise choice in their part to make it more about the "behind the scenes" workers than the stars, and also giving sufficient share to each of the couple development, adding the character goals to it.

Lee Soo Hyun PDnim who has debuted only 2 years back, has been able to create about 4 moderately acclaimed pieces and I believe this drama also belongs to the same category. His previous experiences surely has helped though this was his first romcom, unusual of his genre. The decent job in case of screenplay, screen-editing, sound editing, sequencing, etc. should be appreciated. Setup in modern urban vistas, there was no need of visual excellence, and everything has been kept simple. The extraordinary failure of cinematographic work in Africa should deduct a point from overall though.

There are 5 OSTs in total and all likable, perfectly blending to the drama and properly utilised throughout. "Shooting Star" by Nam Woo Hyun is alluring track with tranquil music describing how it feels to be in love. "How I Feel" with Kim Jae Hwan's captivating vocals has a jolly rhythm and a piece of confession. "My secret, My everything" by Sondia and Vincent Blue brings back the vibes of old K-romcom OSTs, I cry every time I listen; their harmony is everything. "Departure from a Country" by SuJu Kyuhyun is a melancholic yet alleviating song with stimulating lyrics. "Won't give up" by Choi Yuree is is a softcore track about assuring one about staying by their side and comforting for ever.

What I liked...

# Chemistry development between Tae Sung and Han Byeol was very fond, sweet and likable. Even though they get together sooner than expected, the follow-up journey was nice as well.

# The second couple (won't say who) were the cutest, I'll cry. I wish they had more screentime as couples or their prior development but I'm actually very happy that the couple existed. Let me cry again. The same goes for the third lead couple as well. Let me informq that there are 6 couples in total and each of them are uniquely heart-winning. Look forward to them.

# Park Ho Young, as a person was sweet and her acting is so adorable no matter the situation. The cheerful character she played, surely will remain in my memory.

# Kang Yu Sung, as a responsible and handsome manager did give me flutters throughout. The man is so charming, I will literally pluck stars for him. The character was well written.

# My Lee Jung Shin did shine in the show as well. Him in formal is paradise. The couple chemistry might have come very late but it was nice.

# The PR team, Manager team and the entire organization have been an amazing experience. I don't think such importance was given before? The office scenes were mixed bags of emotions, depicting various situations.

# Emphasizing mental health issues in idol dramas is common but this show did a good job in exposing variable sides of it and also throwing light upon the "behind-the-scene" efforts from the companies, which might not be entirely real.

# Dae Soo calling Yuna-yaaaa was so funny yet so pleasant, I swear. I will miss that for a while, hahahaha.

# There are more than one bromance in different forms though none of them is greatly emphasized, starting from co-stars to managers then between stars & manager and then stars and staffs, and what not. Each of them were fluffy.

# I love the very way the OSTs has been utilized in the show; not only they're good on their own, the appropriate use during the melodrama is actually well-handled. I don't usually see this as a specific point but this drama made me realize so.

What I didn't like...
# Kim Young Dae's acting was a bit off imo. Outstanding performance should be expected from a lead but I guess he was still not prepared to takeover the ML role. It wasn't bad actually, the thing is he needs more training and polishing, and definitely has the potential to become a good factor.

# Unnecessary crossovers did irritate me. The "Find Me In Your Memory" appearance was fine and relatable but the "Penthouse" one was annoyingly cringey and wasn't necessary. Def felt like a filler.

# The cinematography in 1st ep was disgusting, infact, very much overdone. No, seriously, Africa doesn't look like that irl.

# The less of the 2nd couple came to me as disappointing when I realized that even with the seemingly lees screentime, they outshined the lead couple.

Final Remarks... The pros definitely outweigh the cons: in simple, it was a good show to look forward to. Unlike a lot of people, I think it a fairly average drama with very few flaw, which makes it a decent one time watch, yet something that everyone should watch, provided that these days, old-styled romcom dramas with good production values. Go ahead.

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Are there any bad ideas?

"Sh**ting Stars" Writer Production Meeting

Producer: "So our primary storyline is a rom-com with Lee Sung Kyung and Kim Young Dae. Seems like a winner. What else are we gonna do?"

Writer: "How about a hint of a love triangle?"

P: "Sure."

W: "And a secondary romance."

P: "Love it."

W: "I'm thinking about a third romance too."

P: "Super."

W: "In fact, I've got ideas for another romance, maybe even two."

P: "We'd only be able to give the one about thirty seconds of screentime per episode, but so what? Let's do it. The other one gets no screentime but gets mentioned occasionally. That's no problem."

W: "And an anti-fan subplot."

P: "Awesome"

W: "We could also do a parent abandonment deal."

P: "Hell yes, let's do that too."

W: "Oooh, what do you think about a suicide by a childhood best friend?"

P: "Winner."

W: "A stalker?"

P: "Sold."

W: "Seriously? All this?"

P: "Yes. Absolutely and if you come with anything else, we'll do that too."

W: "How do we transition back and forth between all this?"

P: "There's gonna be a lot of hugging."

W: "Does that make any sense?"

P: "This is K Drama baby. We don't need to always make sense."

Does this sound exhausting and chaotic? Yes and that's "Sh**ting Stars". All of these things. Five relationships. Multiple dramatic subplots. Constant tone changes. Crises. Resolutions. Confessions. Binge drinking. And on and on and on.

Despite the kitchen sink and everything else in sight being thrown in, the more frenetic and messy things get, the better. The cast does a remarkable job at entertaining with a lot of these different elements. Lee Sung Kyung and Kim Young Dae are both terrific comedians and while they may not be entirely convincing as a romantic couple, they both consistently generate genuinely funny material. Lee Sung Kyung may not have the most varied range, but when she has a character in her element that matches her strengths - extreme extroversion and borderline emotionally manic - she's a joy. Kim Young Dae is slightly more subtle, relying on a slew of facial expressions and sly dialogue delivery. When the narrative around them is merely just average, these two are good enough with basic material to elevate the show to genuinely entertaining.

Park So Jin and Lee Jung Shin might not match the two leads in acting talent, but they do generate traction as a supporting couple. And Lee Si Woo is a gem as a pampered young actress that unexpectedly falls for her acting partner.

Unfortunately, the dramatic interludes come and go so quickly that they don't pack any punch. And with all of them centering around Kim Young Dae's Tae Sung, every time one of these subplots takes over, Lee Sung Kyung's Han Byul gets pushed in to a corner with far too little to do.

Worse, the most prominent character after the two leads is Yoon Jong Hoon's Yoo Sung. It's a bland character with a flat and one-dimensional portrayal. And when a relationship develops between Yoo Sung and Kim Yoon Hye's Ho Yeong, it's all awkward and uncomfortable.

Overall, "Sh**ting Stars" has some really entertaining stretches but mixed with some dreadful sections. But the two leads and the laughs they manufacture push this over the line in to recommended territory.

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별-똥-별 - quite a fitting description of the quality of this show.

Fun, entertaining, sometimes clever elements, with a crappy core.

What’s good? What are the reasons I somehow finished watching it? Everything except for the love story of Han Byul and Tae Sung, and both plot lines surrounding male lead. None of these 3 things work well - poorly written, with ridiculous resolution and out of the blue miracle ways out of the problems.

The convoluted way they tried to tell us the story of Han Byul and Tae Sung was some next level of bad presentation. Rom-coms are not thrillers, you do not need 10 different plot twists to make it exciting. The worst part of it was the fact, this type of non-linear storytelling made it close to impossible to understand the characters at the beginning, which led to me simply not caring about them at all.

The three semi-mystery plot lines, with two being part of a larger picture? Extremely unnecessary. The setting was all that needed to happen for the show to be interesting. Everyone wants to know what the behind the scenes looks like. What type of problems the actors face. How much of that glamorous life is try? What about the ugly side? The “mundane” celebrities life is interesting enough, no need to add over the top plotlines.

Not to mention, they were simply not well integrated in the story. Instead of showing bits and pieces of it throughout the show, they dropped larger portions here and there and it messed up the pacing. I don’t even want to talk about that Disney resolution, or lack of any closure for some.

That said, I did enjoy the main couple when they interacted with other characters. Han Byul and her gossip time with Ho Yeong and Gi Peum? Fun. Her friendship and working relationship with Yoo Sung? Interesting. Tae Sung with his manager? Adorable. Him bickering with Soo Hyuk? Some of the best comedy bits of the show. It amazes me how well these two worked with everyone except each other.

I just feel like their relationship was too juvenile. They presented some middle school type of behavior I just did not connect with. And it’s not like it’s impossible to show a sweet, cute romance - they did it with the side couple. Yes, it was over the top cute, but that’s who the characters were from the start - adorable, so it fitted the overall picture.

They also showed a more mature and chill approach with another side couple - a lot better paced even though they had 1/10th of the screen time compared to the mains. All the supporting plots showed me there is a skill and good writing hidden in the show, but somehow they failed to use it for the most important aspects.

I definitely enjoyed the few small commentary bits on the entertainment industry. Some were presented in a more serious manner, some leaned towards comedy. Sh**ting Stars has also one of the best “breaking the 4th wall” scenes I have seen in dramas for ages. I replied that one scene many times - perfectly executed if you ask me.

Performance wise, it varies depending on the actor. Probably one of the worst performances in Lee Sung Kyung’s career. She delivered close to nothing. The lines felt flat, the crying scenes evoke zero emotions. She presented little to no variety in her facial expression. And I know for a fact she can do better, she did in her other dramas. She is not an amazing actress, but should be capable of leading a rom-com.

Kim Young Dae did fine. I enjoyed his more emotional scenes, he did a good job portraying the vulnerability of Tae Sung. At the same time Tae Sung was just a poorly written character, so it’s not easy to judge the performance of the actor.

Most characters did not have enough depth for the cast to truly showcase the skills they might have. Yes, Yoon Jong Hoon delivered the sweet hard working senior, Kim Yoon Hye was the cute and innocent junior, Park So Jin did an amazing job as a journalist with some internal conflicts and Lee Jung Shin was able to make the arrogant and distant lawyer more approachable and fun. But that’s it. The characters don’t really serve more than these short descriptions.

The production value was nice. Quite a number of scenes had an aesthetic appeal that supported whatever was happening on screen. Talking about the production, we cannot ignore the initial wave of criticism surrounding the uneducated and ignorant depiction of Africa. I still believe this just shows how lazy the writers are (honestly, the same problem happens in all countries, and is not limited to Korea). 15 minutes of google search is too much work for them. Finding a more appropriate way to present a specific plot line? Why waste time, when you can apologize later if it gathers some bad press.

Overall, it was painfully mediocre. I enjoyed following some side relationships (be it romantic or platonic) and plot lines, but close to nothing concerning the main two characters was good. They just put random events and ideas together, and did not spend enough time to figure out how to present them in a cohesive way. The show just did not flow well.

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I want to go through that feeling again and again and again.

I feel like this drama numbed me from the world. Yes, that’s the expression. My head, my brain, all become numb, and time stops when I watch it.

One of a kind. I can’t believe it’s over. I am crying because I will miss them. I am the fangirl Baek Da Hye is here.

This show is recommended for non-diabetics. It may contain too much sugar sometimes.

Some may consider the story plain. But the execution was very good. Something that was consistent in the drama: Warmth.

The drama is so pretty and lovely!! ㅠㅠ

All pairings looked good together. Everyone’s chemistry is so good, couples and non-couples. Amazing cast. Very nice drama. I loved every moment. I never liked any ‘famous stars’ portrayals in drama but Tae Sung is the best (can’t believe it is the same too flowery, cheesy Oh Nam Joo from Extraordinary You). Jung Yeol-i is the cutest. And “Yuuuuuuuu Naaaa -yaaa” is one of my favourite lines. Ki-ppeum was a great friend. Han Byeol was the loveliest. Every single character is something amazing. The noteworthy lovely cute moments are uncountable.

Every scene ensured me of how good the directing is. Watching it felt soft.
The story is precious. The meaning behind it is beautiful. It is very informative. I laughed out loud so many times. And I sympathized so much with them. The writing was really clever at times. It was alive.

I don’t deny that the first 7 episodes were a ?☆ starry ☆ ? butterfly dream ‿︵εϊз . Those 7 episodes pulled me hard. And after that it because closer to regular kdrama. The drama became more about events and less about characters, but it was still lovely and meaningful. I was expecting more angst in the beginning; that was my only complain. But then it picked up again. The end episodes made up for it. It swiped me off me feet again. Finally, it closed with the vibe it started off with; the best way. What a perfect way to end the drama.
I forget how good this drama manages to make me feel. Then I start an episode, the numbing starts. It makes me feel something new every time.

The music was just good enough to give you drama feels. The ost slowly infiltrated me. One song sounded noisy at first, but it took its effect on me. And in another song the singers' voices resonated. When the drama ended, I cried listening to it because I didn’t want to leave.

Honestly, I was hesitant about the cast when it was announced, but I was sold for their visuals in the promo photoshoot. That manicure picture. It screamed chemistry. They were visually perfect for each other.
And beginning from the first episode, I could feel the not-yet-tangible, in-the-drama-air chemistry. It was already amazing and very entertaining! The directing was so good at showing invisible things. I had a feeling I would love their dynamics. By the second episode I was already in love (with their relationship).
Watching it, I experienced so many sweet feelings. Warmth took over my body from head to toe. After binging a few episodes my face was burning hot and felt red from the feelings simmering in my stomach, and from the pumps of blood my heart fired. I wanted to stop but I couldn’t allow the feeling to go. I woke up with music pieces playing, and their voices talking in my head. Their energy took an effect on me. I was becoming light and bubbly like Tae Sung and Han Byeol. They are holding my heart currently

I JUST LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT IT. And I love how it feels like romance dramas from around 2017. I guess that’s even more why I was pulled.

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Cliches don't always go wrong!!!

An idol life based rom com drama,which literally gave me butterflies after so long. The drama was well- executed and was cute. All the side couples were also well done,and it didn't appear draggy.

The music and osts were super, especially the shooting stars Is being played on loop by me.

The drama gave me those old kdrama vibes,where the things are cringey, fluffy, predictable yet never boring, otherwise they have started making rom coms into melancholic slice of life types.

Kim young- dae improved a lot as an actor, although the acting seemed off track sometimes. Lee sung Kyung was phenomenal and I love her so much

I don't know why this one remained so underrated in sk, as well as internationally, when rom- coms are always so hyped.

The best rom-com I have watched in the first half of 2022, and would watch it again asap.

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Unexpectedly fun and entertaining drama

Honestly, the plot of this drama is quite cliché, which tells of a famous actor falling in love with his agency staff who used to be his college friends. there is a lot of love that springs up in the star force agency and the storyline is very predictable. Even so, I like this drama. the couples in Shooting stars have great chemistry and they are adorable.

I think the writer and director are pretty good at describing life behind the scenes in the entertainment world, especially drama actors. The visuals of the actors on this drama are the best. The humor is funny too. Lots of love stories but not complicated and frustrating. stories that are light and can be watched with a blank brain. It could be one of the entertaining healing dramas. Don't forget to praise the cameos that were presented, yeo hajin, anchornim, penthouse squad etc.

From this drama, I now understand why artist scandals are so sensitive. because it will have an impact not only for the artist but also for the staff who working at the agency. This drama also illustrates how dedicated the manager and staffs are to protecting the artist. The good thing that can be taken from this drama, we as fans and lovers of the work of the actors must be aware that celebrities are human too, they can make mistakes, can fall in love, and will eventually marry the person they love. There's no need to be possessive and feel betrayed. Not everything can go according to our wishes .. No need to be sad for long. let it all pass. Oh Hanbyeol once said: 'The most useless thing in this world is worrying about celebrities.'

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All problematic stuff aside, still boring

I feel like I have to discuss this drama in two parts — one covering the problematic issues that it has and one covering it as a drama and nothing more.

On the first part —it's insane to me that in 2022 we're still dealing with the issue of the so-called "Third World" being portrayed like this. The story starts with Gong Tae-sung in Africa for some charity work, and right off the bat it was problematic that they not only kept referring to his presence in Africa (no specific country) as if the continent was a monolith, but also that the charity work that he did was digging wells, building schools, and "bringing water to Africa." I felt like I was thrown back in the early 2000s with this sort of outdated stereotype, not to mention the yellowish filter that was placed over all the shots in Africa, as if the entire continent was nothing but mud and dry dirt.

This all took place in the first episode, and I was grateful that GTS came back, hopeful that there would be no more mention of Africa if that was how they were going to portray it. Unfortunately, there was, and every time Africa was mentioned it just completely took me out of the show. It was always either in the context of saying how great of a person GTS was for his charity work, even saying something super weird like how there was an African child that did not have a father and so GTS "became his father." All of these mentions just felt utterly unnecessary — there are much better ways to show that someone is a good person and I can't believe that all those scenes, with dialogue about how Africa now has water and education because of this savior character, got through the writers, the directors, the actors, the editors, etc. and made it all the way to air.

Now, all that aside, I felt like I didn't connect with the drama at all either. Immediately I realized that there were far too many characters. I rarely like ensemble dramas and this is a perfect example of why. Every subplot felt half-assed and incomplete, and every character felt boring and cookie-cutter. There were several romantic ships and my interest in each of them went up and down; the writing for them just felt boring.

At the start, I was most interested in the main leads — after all, enemies-to-lovers is a great trope when done well, and I definitely liked some of their bickering scenes and their flashbacks to college. But even though the chemistry was quite good, the development for them was awkward and almost sudden. Another thing I really hate is when two characters completely alter their personalities and dynamic with each other after they get together; it often makes the relationship suddenly boring and that's exactly what I felt about these two. No more bickering (not even playfully) and while some scenes were still sweet and fun, it got old very fast.

The two main side ships were okay but I definitely felt like they were just THERE and going through the motions of getting together; I started feeling that way about a lot of side characters individually as well, even when there started to be a backstory plot with GTS's mother and also a friend who had died. Both of these plotlines felt like they could individually take up the entire 16 episodes if the right depth and emotion had been dedicated to them, but it just wasn't and combined with a bunch of anti-fan and drama-filming subplots it all just felt like a big hodgepodge of plots where none stood out.

It's funny because despite how much I was watching for the main ship at first, my favorite part of this drama ended up being a very minor side ship that had all but a few scenes every episode together — Jaehyun and Yuna, the actors from Be My Boyfriend who now play two actors. They captured the enemies-to-lovers really well and I really loved how cute the arc of their plot was.

Overall, I just felt like this drama was really messy. There were some funny scenes and interesting characters but the writing of the plot really didn't allow any of them to shine. Along with the problems that the drama had, I felt like this became something that I just watched without feeling any sort of emotional investment whatsoever.

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A Bit Disappointing…

My personal relationship with this drama was definitely one of love and hate. I have to say this because I’ve always loved Lee Sung-Kyung. She is good actress and since her days in Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo, she’s always impressed me with her acting. Though where my pet peeves slowly crept in came from the direction of the plot. For me personally, the relationship between our leads while acting as the kingpin for the events of the plot, felt often underwhelming and dispirited by cliches and monotonous setups.

Firstly, I’m going to say again that I had no problem with the cast at all . Kyung, her costar Kim Young-dae and supporting actors Yoon Jong-hoon, Kim Yoon-hye and Sojin were fairly decent here and were probably one of the saving graces of the drama series.

However where my issues did begin to manifest came through the actual screenwriting. I didn’t think it was entirely all doom and gloom per say. I actually thought the concept was interesting. It is still rare to see light shone upon the lives of those working behind the scenes in the entertainment industry and the drama was surprisingly willing to present this openly.

Yet unsurprisingly, the series relishes in the idea of bringing about all the joyous tropes and cliches of the hardworking and oppressed heroine into the generic stereotype of main female lead, Oh Han-byeol ( played by Kyung).

Now, I could see where they were going with Byeol as a character. Honestly, I have a lot of respect for shows which are willing to present the grisly realities of characters who work hard and the challenges that can arise for them. However in typical K-drama fashion, Byeol’s problems and issues are rarely tied with her character drive. Instead they were placed at the front of attempting to pair her off with main lead and unsurprisingly her rival and one of her artists that she’s forced to manage, successful star Gong Tae-sung ( played by Dae).

To be fair and like a lot of cliche dramas where we see unlikely love interests being paired off in a storyline, I certainly noticed that the character and relationship drive between Tae and Byeol did improve with time . However in between moments where we did actually see this relationship branch out and the storyline begin to mature at times , I still found it hard to ignore where there were garish moments of cheap comedy moments ( which raised a lot of issues)and questionable subplots.

This is where I could find a slightly grating element of the show. For me personally this came through the problems of the plot becoming quite monotonous in parts where we saw the same repetitive scenario of an issue/ point of conflict being raised, the main leads having to face it and “ struggling” with their feelings/ bond and then making up and repeat. I don’t always necessarily think having issues or dilemmas in a relationship is bad and can allow room for growth for characters. But rather than offering opportunities for us as viewers to see new problems arise or at least for even the characters to be conflicted with their own personal growth and careers was kept minimal.

As for the styling and OST I have to say I was in the middle with its impression on me. It was by no means bad. I liked how smooth some of the transitions were and typical of K-drama fashion, it was fairly sleek at times. However I can’t really say that on reflection that there were many scenes which really spoke out to me or made me do a double take. I know some may argue that a lot of editing and styling is down to production value but I’d argue that you don’t necessarily have to have state of the art equipment of editing teams to make an impression on fans; just intuition and imagination. Again, not saying it was bad just felt a bit lacking here and there.

Shooting Stars definitely feels as though it will win over more international drama fans than domestic in the long run. Do I think this is necessarily a bad thing? No, of course not. I don’t always think popularity is necessarily marked by the quality of a show but one of the main reasons why I decided to bring this up in my final thoughts came through acknowledging why it may appeal to some, especially in the international K-drama community.

It’s cheesy and easygoing fluff filled with a good mixture of familiar and rookie stars who helped to freshen up the roles to a certain extent.

On the other hand for me personally, I felt as though the show felt like a bit out of place and time in the sea of dramas for 2022. The writing felt a bit stale in parts including the character and plot writing and I felt as though what could’ve been a good springboard for a lot of old tropes and cliches being taken into a new light or being given a new spin slowly descended into a cesspit of predictable storyline. Overall a 7.0/10. Not bad but certainly could’ve been a better show for me.

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Sh**ting Stars was one of those dramas where there was enough humor and romance and likable characters and general cuteness to keep me around, but the story lacked in some important ways.

First, some of the plotlines went in directions I wasn't a huge fan of. For example, I think Oh Han Byul agreed to date Gong Tae Sung a little too quickly considering she'd been so disappointed by him before and still carried a lot of hurt from the experience to the point that she'd put up a wall in self-defense. I was expecting Tae Sung to have to work for it a little bit, but Han Byul agrees to date him rather quickly. There were also a couple of really dramatic subplots, namely Tae Sung's mom abandoning him as a child and his friend's untimely death, that felt very tacked on for the purpose of dramatics rather than meaningful storytelling. If they had tied these two subplots into the drama's overall theme of working in the entertainment industry managing celebrities and the toll being in the public eye can take on the celebs and those who work with them, maybe they would have been more effective. As is, they weren't integrated well, and I kind of zoned out whenever the drama focused on them. It didn't help that Kim Young Dae's more emotional character moments did not work for me at all. Whenever he was being cute or playful or jealous or argumentative (or smoldering, lol), he sold his character so well I wanted to buy plushie versions. But I did not like his way of emoting pain or anger or sadness. It always felt...weird. Even when he was just being more serious, I just wanted those scenes to be over.

And it must be said here that while there was some decent focus on what it's like working in the entertainment industry from the non-talent's perspective, the drama didn't do a very good of maintaining this focus throughout and was even at times very surface-level in this respect. At a certain point, the romance began to overshadow everything else to the story's detriment.

I also have to ask...what happened to the fun sense of humor the drama had in the first half, because the second half was kind of missing it. Of course, that is kind of the rom-com curse. The build-up to the leads getting together is a fun romp, but then they get together, and the romance (and comedy) sometimes loses its spark, and I think this drama is a good example of that. There's a lot of fun early on, but then the leads get together, and the whole thing kind of feels a little womp-womp. (That and I was disappointed by one of the secondary OTP's, as the characters I wanted together did not end up together. I had some pretty major Second OTP second male lead feels, lol.)

My last critique for this drama, which I really can't write this review without bringing up, is the Africa issue. A humanitarian trip to Africa (not a specific African country, but just...Africa) is used as a plot device for the male lead, and it's really just unnecessary. If they had left it in the first two episodes and not brought it up again, you could have chosen to ignore it. Or even better, they could have turned it into a celeb faux-pas where he went on the trip for the optics and it backfired on him. But it kept popping up, sometimes to help move the plot along in some way, and this just kept reminding the viewer of how poorly written and cringy it was.

So I'm disappointed with this drama. I don't think it's the worst drama I've ever watched, and I certainly got lots of enjoyment out of it. And like I said at the beginning of my review, there's some good humor and romance and lots of likable characters and overall general cuteness, so other viewers might have a more satisfactory viewing experience then me. I just don't think it lived up to its potential, and to me, that's a shame.

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A chaotic, star-studded romance.

This honestly seems like fanfiction where everyone falls in love despite the need for professionalism in the entertainment industry.
Plenty of heart-fluttering moments, along with some cringy ones. The main characters seem to have fewer scenes of bonding at the beginning, due to which their romance seems rushed. But when they do get together, it is absolutely adorable! The actors seem dedicated and passionate about their roles which is really commendable. The plot is not heavy on action, except for a few conflicts introduced later in the show, most of which are predictable. Yet, it still does a good job of keeping you engaged and curious. The direction of the scenes has been very thoughtful, especially in terms of the set design and colour tones used in certain frames. I think this drama could have been wrapped up in 12 episodes but by extending it to a 16-ep run, they invested in building the relationships of all characters alike. That's beautifully done.
I would definitely recommend it if you enjoy the enemies-to-lovers trope!

While this drama exceeded my expectations, I do have two points to critique here: *MILD SPOILERS, BUT VERY IMPORTANT*
1. The representation of African people was inaccurate, or controversial even. Portraying it as an underdeveloped continent only functioned as a device to further the storyline of the male lead.
2. There is a scene in episode 2 where the male lead almost unbelts his trousers to prove a point in front of the female lead which feels too exhibitionistic and icky.

Also, please be mindful and grounded while watching if mentions of suicide are triggering for you.

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