[HanCinema's News] Lee Dong-wook Proves his Reliability in "Tale of the Nine Tailed"

On October 7th Lee Dong-wook made his latest debut as a lead actor in the drama "Tale of the Nine Tailed", which premiered with 5.8% ratings, leading all primetime dramas for that timeslot. The action fantasy romance premise is a return to brand for Lee Dong-wook who saw a massive boost to his popularity following "Guardian: The Lonely and Great God" in 2016.

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Lee Dong-wook is one of the steadier leading men in South Korean drama production. He frequently receives plaudits for his nuanced performances, but has always struggled for a genuine breakout hit. Lee Dong-wook's dramas frequently only do just well enough to stoke the interest of casting directors for future projects. Lee Dong-wook has been the lead actor for nearly all of his dramas since "My Girl" from 2005, inhabiting a diverse niches from romance to fantasy to historical to legal dramas.

Yet to date it is "Guardian: The Lonely and Great God", a drama for which he was not the credited lead, that Lee Dong-wook is best known. "Guardian: The Lonely and Great God" had the advantage of allowing Lee Dong-wook to play a character from several different genres simultaneously, which proved an almost perfect use of his talents. While many associated Lee Dong-wook's charisma with his chemistry with co-star Yoo In-na, the more lukewarm reception to "Touch Your Heart" in 2019 belied this impression.

With "Tale of the Nine Tailed" Lee Dong-wook is carving out a similar niche, as the fantasy drama similarly requires him to jump between various genres within the same setting. This has allowed "Tale of the Nine Tailed" to have a reasonably strong premiere- but only in the context of the current weakened drama market. It remains to be seen whether "Tale of the Nine Tailed" can maintain its current momentum to the conclusion.

Written by William Schwartz