The Producers () is a 2015 South Korean comedy-drama television series written by Park Ji-eun, and directed by Seo Soo-min and Pyo Min-soo. It stars Cha Tae-hyun, Gong Hyo-jin, Kim Soo-hyun, and Lee Ji-eun. It aired on KBS2 from May 15 to June 20, 2015 every Friday and Saturday at 21:15 (KST) for 12 episodes.

Synopsis In the center of Yeouido is the KBS building. On its sixth floor are partitioned offices where employees work in the network's variety department, keeping hectic schedules of filming, editing and all-night meetings.

Cast

Main Cha Tae-hyun as Ra Joon-mo Gil Jeong-woo as young Joon-mo Chae Sang-woo as teenage Joon-mo A seasoned PD who has worked in the industry for ten years. Despite working on a lot of variety programs, he has no single masterpiece to call his own. A two-faced senior. Gong Hyo-jin as Tak Ye-jin Lee Ji-won as young Ye-jin Ha Seung-ri as teenage Ye-jin An experienced PD who works on a long-time music program. She is smart, haughty and never holds back in letting people know what she thinks. She uses her high position to abuse newbies. Kim Soo-hyun as Baek Seung-chan Park Sang-hoon as young Seung-chan An aspiring prosecutor who decides to join KBS because of his secret crush on a KBS employee. He becomes a rookie PD (producer-director) with the variety/entertainment division joins with Ra Joon-mo's team. As series progresses his interactions with cindy will turn into a relationship where possibilities of romantic relationship may be in store. Lee Ji-eun as CindySung, So-young (2 March 2015). "IU lands lead in Producers drama" . Korea JoongAng Daily.Park, Ah-reum (9 March 2015). "IU, Cha Tae Hyun and Kong Hyo Jin Confirmed for Producers" . enewsWorld. Park Seon as young Cindy A famous singer and celebrity who debuted as a trainee when she was 13 years old. She is called the "ice princess" for her poker face and complete control over her emotions. As the drama progresses we see hints of the fragile Cindy especially when interacting with Baek Seung-chan which she has kept hidden for all these years and eventually develops a romantic interest towards Baek Seung-chan.

Supporting KBS Park Hyuk-kwon as Kim Tae-ho,Namesake of the executive producer of Infinite Challenge on rival network MBC. chief producer of the variety department. Kim Jong-kook as Kim Hong-soon, PD of Open Concert. DramaFever. 20 March 2015. Seo Ki-chul as Jang In-pyo, director of the variety department. Ye Ji-won as Go Yang-mi, office manager of the variety department. Gi Ju-bong as Park Choon-bong, the president of KBS. Lee Joo-seung as Kim Joon-bae, floor director of 2 Days & 1 Night. Turns out to be a legendary ghost of KBS. Lee Chae-eun as Son Ji-yeon, writer of 2 Days & 1 Night.producers-as-1-night-2-days-writer-80001.html "Lee Chae-eun to star in Producers as 1 Night 2 Days Writer". Hancinema. 23 March 2015. Go Bo-gyeol as Wang Min-jung, youngest writer of 2 Days & 1 Night. Bae Yoo-ram as Ryu Il-yong, assistant director of 2 Days & 1 Night. Shin Joo-hwan as Hyung-geun, assistant director of 2 Days & 1 Night. Susanna Noh as casting writer of 2 Days & 1 Night. Kim Sun-ah as Kim Da-jung, youngest writer of Music Bank. Jang Seong-beom as assistant PD of Music Bank.

Byun Entertainment agency Na Young-hee as Byun Mi-sook, CEO of the agency Choi Kwon as Cindy's road manager Jo Han-chul as Secretary Kim Janey as Jini, a trainee of the agency Na Hae-ryung as Yuna, ex-singer of the agency Cho Seung-hee as Yu-ju, member of Pinky4 Kim Soo-yeon as Christine, member of Pinky4 Jung Mi-mi as Ha-neul, member of Pinky4 Park Seo-yeon, young trainee Lee Ji-ho as young trainee Kim Ye-won as young trainee Lee Seo-yeong as young trainee

Baek's Family Kim Jong-soo as Baek Bo-sun, Seung-chan's father Kim Hye-ok as Lee Hoo-nam, Seung-chan's mother Park Hee-von as Baek Jae-hee, Seung-chan's older sister Park Jong-hwan as Baek Young-chan, Seung-chan's older brother Choi Sun-young as Baek Yoo-bin, Seung-chan's younger sister Kang Shin-chul as Myung Ji-hoon, Jae-hee's husband

Extended Im Ye-jin as Park Bong-soon, Joon-mo's mother Kim Hee-chan as Tak Ye-joon, Ye-jin's younger brother Jung Han-hee as Kim Tae-ho's daughter Yoon Yoo-sun as Kim Tae-ho's wife Kim Sa-kwon Lee Du-seok Jo Chang-geun Jin Yong-wook Jeon Heon-tae Hwang Min-ho Ahn Se-ha as manager Lee Jeong-ho as Reporter Kang Ryu Jun-yeol as Joo Jong-hyun

Special appearances

Episode 1 Girls' Generation-TTS"TaeTiSeo to Cameo on Star-Studded Drama Producer" . Soompi. 3 April 2015.Kim, Min-ji (3 April 2015). "TaeTiSeo to Appear as Cameos in First Episode of Producer" . enewsWorld.

Episodes 1–2 (cast members of 2 Days & 1 Night - Season 4) Youn Yuh-jung"Yoon Yeo-jeong to star in KBS Producer as herself" . Hancinema. 23 March 2015. Hwang Shin-hye Geum Bo-ra Hyun Young

Episodes 1–4 Jo Yoon-hee as Shin Hae-joo, assistant director on Entertainment Weekly and Seung-chan's crush."Jo Yoon-hee to cameo in Producer as Kim Soo-hyun's first love" . Dramabeans. 23 March 2015.

Episode 3 Shin Dong-yup Lee Young-ja Cultwo You Hee-yeol Yoon Jong-shin Jo Jung-chi Jun Hyun-moo Ahn Hee-yeon Nichkhun Jackson Wang Jo Kwon Sunmi Hong Kyung-min Jang Hyuk as Jang Hyun-sung, Ye-jin's ex-boyfriend Lee Chun-hee as Lee Min-chul, Ye-jin's ex-boyfriend

Episodes 3–4 Park Jin-young"Park Jin Young, Sunmi, Jo Kwon and Nichkhun to Cameo on Producer" . Soompi. 21 April 2015.

Episodes 4–5, 12 (cast members of 2 Days & 1 Night – Season 5) Sandara Park Minwoo Kim Ji-soo

Episodes 4–5, 10, 12 (cast members of 2 Days & 1 Night – Season 5) Kang Seung-yoon Kim Min-jae

Episode 5 as PD of 2 Days & 1 Night – Season 3

Episode 6 Lee Seung-gi Norazo

Episode 8 Go Ara

Episode 9 K.Will Park Bo-gum Monsta X Kim Ryeo-wook

Episode 10 Jung Joon-young as Cindy's anti-fan Roy Kim as Cindy's anti-fan Seol In-ah as Cindy's anti-fan Seo Kyung-seok as Cindy's lawyer fan

Episode 12 Song Hae Kim Saeng-min

Production The Producers was dubbed as "the most anticipated show" of 2015 because it served reunion between the actor Kim Soo-hyun and the screenwriter Park Ji-eun after the pan-Asia successful television series My Love from the Star (2013–14). The series was produced by KBS's entertainment department instead of the drama department and was helmed by director Seo Soo-min, whose past experience has been on variety shows. It was also the first terrestrial network drama to air in the Friday–Saturday time slot.

First script reading was held on 23 March 2015 in Gangnam District, Seoul, with no media presence. The first day shooting was held on April 1, 2015 on the 6th floor of the KBS building in Yeouido. Official posters for the drama were unveiled on 29 April 2015.

Original soundtrack

Notes Included in the special edition physical album only.

Chart performance + List of singles, with selected chart positions, showing year released and sales Title Year Peak chart positions Sales Remarks KORGaonChart positions for: "Heart", "Darling (OST Ver.)" and "To Be With You OST _ Preview 02" – "And... And OST _ Preview 03", "Love Begins With a Confession" and "The Two of Us" – "Palpitations" – "And... And" – "To Be With You" and "You and I" – "Heart" 2015 1 KOR: 2,500,000 OST Special Edition "Darling (OST Version)" 80 KOR: 21,893 OST _ Preview 01 "To Be With You" 51 KOR: 37,421 OST _ Preview 02 73 KOR: 109,090 "And... And" 39 KOR: 81,675 OST _ Preview 03 63 KOR: 108,147 "Love Begins With a Confession" 11 KOR: 657,531 "Palpitations" 29 KOR: 208,347 "The Two of Us" 93 KOR: 69,317 "You and I" 66 KOR: 27,831 OST Special Edition

Reception Commercial performance Yonhap News Agency reported The Producers would earn according to the broadcaster and industry sources. It reportedly earned alone from product placement and other sponsored advertisements which was above the average amount for a 16-episode series of about at that time. Also, it was sold to 12 Asian countries at high prices. However, KBS officials said that it would log lower-than-expected profits due to rise in initial production cost stating various reasons including the change of producer in the middle of the series.

Critical response The Producers received mixed critical response. Kwon Ji-youn writing for The Korea Times called the premier of drama "great boast and small roast" reasoning that despite having "an all-star cast, impressive cameos and an original setting and plot" the drama was "nothing out of the ordinary." She praised Kim Soo-hyun's acting calling the transformation from his former character on My Love from the Star "striking" and he and Gong Hyo-jin were only able to pull off humour scenes. It also received criticism from entertainment industry insiders regarding its verisimilitude, particularly in the drama's depiction of producers as the weaker party in dealing with celebrities, which they claimed is "highly unrealistic" unless top stars are involved.

Viewership The Producers drew an average viewership rating of 12.5% and topped the Content Power Index (CPI) rankings.

In the table below, the represent the lowest ratings and the represent the highest ratings.

+ Viewership ratings per episode of The Producers in South Korea Original broadcast date Title Average audience share Nielsen Korea TNmS Nationwide Seoul Nationwide Seoul 1 May 15, 2015 The Variety Department, Unintentionally 10.5% 11.8% 2 May 16, 2015 News of Quitting, Unintentionally 10.3% 10.7% 11.2% 12.3% 3 May 22, 2015 Pheasant Instead of Chicken, Unintentionally 10.2% 11.4% 4 May 23, 2015 Acting That Way, Unintentionally 11.0% 11.3% 13.5% 13.3% 5 May 29, 2015 Understanding Editing 11.2% 12.0% 10.8% 12.3% 6 May 30, 2015 Understanding Broadcasting Accidents 13.5% 14.5% 12.8% 14.4% 7 June 5, 2015 Understanding How to Play the Media 11.7% 12.3% 11.8% 13.4% 8 June 6, 2015 Understanding Love Lines 13.4% 13.7% 13.8% 16.7% 9 June 12, 2015 Understanding Cancelled Broadcasts 12.6% 13.5% 11.7% 13.3% 10 June 13, 2015 Understanding Previews 14.6% 15.4% 13.8% 15.6% 11 June 19, 2015 Understanding Ratings 13.4% 14.5% 13.3% 15.3% 12 June 20, 2015 Understanding a long-running program Average Special June 26, 2015 Understanding NGs 5.5% 7.5% 7.9% 7.9%

Awards and nominations +Awards for The Producers Year Award ceremony Award Nominee(s) Result 2015 8th Korea Drama Awards Grand Prize (Daesang) Kim Soo-hyun Best Drama The Producers Best Production Director Seo Soo-min, Pyo Min-soo Excellence Award, Actress IU Hallyu Star Award Kim Soo-hyun 4th APAN Star Awards Grand Prize (Daesang) Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries Gong Hyo-jin Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries IU 29th KBS Drama Awards Grand Prize (Daesang) Kim Soo-hyun Top Excellence Award, Actor Top Excellence Award, Actress Gong Hyo-jin Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries Cha Tae-hyun Kim Soo-hyun Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries Gong Hyo-jin IU Netizen Award, Actor Kim Soo-hyun Popularity Award, Actor Popularity Award, Actress Gong Hyo-jin IU Best Couple Kim Soo-hyun, Cha Tae-hyun and Gong Hyo-jin Cha Tae-hyun and Gong Hyo-jin Kim Soo-hyun and Gong Hyo-jin Kim Soo-hyun and IU

Notes

References

External links