‘Entourage’ K-Drama: Korean Adaption Of Popular American HBO Series Wraps Up Filming, Reveals First Still Cuts For Fans
2016 has so far been a great year for Korean dramas, better known stylized as K-dramas. Though it is expected for free-to-watch Korean stations to produce hit series such as Descendants of the Sun and Moonlight Drawn by Clouds by the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) or Doctors and Scarlet Heart: Ryeo by the Seoul Broadcasting System, Total Variety Network (tvN) really upped their series-creating game.
Many of tvN’s K-dramas are highly admired among K-drama fans. Reply 1988 is recognized as the first K-drama to be considered a major success for 2016. Let’s Fight Ghost, Signal, Memory, and The Good Wife also did well. However, Another Oh Hae Young is so far the one K-drama that really pushed the popularity of the television company. The series was so good, it passed the double-digit ceiling on viewership, something that is very rare for any series on a Korean pay channel.
Unfortunately, tvN is also responsible for producing the most notorious K-drama of 2016, Cheese in the Trap. The series was based off a loved webcomic that is still ongoing. This fact caused the K-drama to go in a direction that needed an ending because typically, K-dramas are made for one season only. It really angered a lot of people so much that the cast and crew had to hightail it on vacation just to “get away” from their wrath.
Whether the K-dramas they produce are praised or hated, they are unique in their own right and earning recognition for tvN. Reportedly, tvN wants to continue to capitalize on that traction with a K-drama adaption of the popular American HBO series Entourage. Just recently, they finished filming for the upcoming series and released the first still cuts for promotion.
For those who never seen the 2004 American HBO series, Entourage is a story about Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier), an up-and-coming actor, and his “entourage” of friends. They consist of Vincent’s best friend and manager, Eric Murphy (Kevin Connolly), Vincent’s older half-brother who is his personal chef, trainer, and bodyguard Johnny Chase (Kevin Dillon), and one of Vince’s old childhood friends Salvatore Assante (Jerry Ferrara). Together they present a satirical comedy of what it is like to make it in Hollywood. It is also a fictional approach to Mark Wahlberg’s early career as an actor, too.
Entourage was so popular that it ran for 96 episodes across eight seasons and officially concluded with a silver screen version of the same name. No wonder tvN was quick to pick up on the K-drama adaption.
The upcoming series will star Seo Kang Jun as a top and trending actor. His entourage consists of Lee Kwang Soo as an actor past his prime, Lee Dong Hwi as a happy-go-lucky friend, and Park Jung Min as the manager.
It should also be noted that Entourage is 100 percent pre-filmed, which is something most Korean television companies are doing with their K-dramas these days, as it started back in June. However, tvN made it known filming has concluded and released the first still cuts (shown below) for promotional purposes, as reported by AllKpop.
The K-drama adaptation of Entourage still has a while until it airs as the scheduled debut air date is Friday, November 4. It will take over the time slot of Cinderella and Four Knights which is concluding this week. Probably the two reasons why tvN is not airing Entourage right after Cinderella and Four Knights concludes is so it does not get in the way of The K2. Also, it is possible their other currently-airing K-drama, Let’s Drink, might be ignored if Entourage were to start airing.
[Featured Image by Total Variety Network (tvN)]
