The comedy "Potato Star," which starts on Sept. 23 is less about potatoes than it is about stars and in particular one star that looks something like a potato.
In this 120-episode tvN comedy, Yeo Jin Goo plays Hong Hye Sung, a young computer programmer who wants to become the next Mark Zuckerberg. It's the first major drama role for Yeo, who was last seen in "Missing You," playing the young Park Yoo Chun, and in "The Moon Embracing The Sun" as the young Kim Soo Hyun.
But Hong's plans for success are confounded when something mysterious happens to his neighbors, the Noh family. A star shaped like a potato falls to earth, changing the family's fortunes and not necessarily for the better.
It's a family with several generations. The oldest member is Noh Song. Lee Soon Jae, who starred in "High Kick," "Ugly Alert" and "Childless Comfort," plays No Sung. No Ju Hyeon of "King's Family" and "Live In Style" plays Noh Soo Dong, his son. Ko Gyung Pyo of "Flower Boy Next Door" and Operation Proposal" plays Noh Min Hyuk, a member of the third generation. Choi Sung Hyun of "Ten 2" and "I Need Romance" plays Noh Bo Young, a perfectionist who runs a popular blog. Also appearing comedy is the "Monstar" actress Ha Leon So as neighbor Na Jin Ah.
Since the fate of this family is literally in the stars and specifically in that one potato-shaped star, director Kim Byung Wook says the series will feature many celestial references.
"Even in the actual production we will include amusing astrological references," said Kim.
To help make the series seem more realistic, Kim did his research, asking astronomers for information about the planets.
Writers Lee Kwang Jae, Lee Yeong Cheol and Jang Jin Ah also did their share of research.
"I wrote about the planets for the first time," said Lee Kwang Jae. "I hope people can relate to the characters because I put a lot of effort into it.
The drama reunites director Kim Byung Wook with some of the actors and the production team from his popular "High Kick" series. That series had two sequels, "High Kick 2" and "High Kick 3," and helped launch the careers of many of today's favorite kdrama actors, including Lee Min Ho, Jung Il Woo, Kim Bum, Lee Jong Suk, Daniel Choi, Shin Se Kyung, Yoon Si Yoon, Chansung and Park Min Young.
