“When the Stars Gossip” Too Obsessed with Sex Scenes? Improbably Script Full of Mating

Premiering on January 4, tvN’s new Saturday-Sunday drama “When the Stars Gossip” tells the story of Eve Kim (played by Gong Hyo-jin), a boss at a zero-gravity space station, and Gong Ryong (played by Lee Min-ho), an uninvited space tourist.

“When the Star Gossip” is a highly anticipated K-drama project, as it not only received a huge investment, but also featured the two “rating guarantee” stars – Lee Min-ho and Gong Hyo-jin.

However, upon the series’ release, it became clear that the 50 billion won production budget had gone up in smoke. The disjointed narrative, much like the zero-gravity setting, scattered aimlessly. Despite the delayed release and the meticulous attention given to production, the drama devolved into a chaotic mess of nonsensical romantic encounters and bed scenes by just the second episode.

Particularly, in episode 1, Choi Go-eun (played by Han Ji-eun), a second generation of a conglomerate, confesses to Gong Ryong by kissing him after suffering an ectopic pregnancy and miscarriage. In this scene, a bed scene comes out of nowhere. In addition, the bed scene was used as a device to reveal that Eve Kim and Park Dong-ah (played by Kim Joo-hun) are lovers.

Episode 2 is even more embarrassing. Rather than character explanations or build-ups for the narrative, it was full of stories about copulation, sperm, and eggs.

In particular, the scene of fruit flies mating for 20 minutes in the space station is shown in close-up. There is also a line that says, “The male finally started licking the female’s asshole. It’s a sign that he’s going to have sex. It lasts longer than a human.”

In addition, there is a scene of a daughter-in-law trying to make her husband’s sperm plump again, and a male rat that came to the space station to impregnate a female.

The bizarre parade of mating scene, which barely served any narrative purposes, simply baffled viewers.

While it’s plausible for a space station to conduct experiments related to reproduction and childbirth, this doesn’t mean viewers want to feel like they’re part of those experiments. The drama’s obsession with showcasing the zero-gravity setting seems to have overshadowed its responsibility to deliver a compelling drama. The foundational elements of great dramas—solid narratives and emotional depth—are absent here. Without them, it doesn’t matter if the story is set in space or backed by a 50-billion-won budget; it’s all futile.

On the other hand, excessive bed scenes seem to be an issue with tvN K-dramas in general these days. “The Queen Who Crowns”, the new historical drama of “The Glory” star Cha Joo-young also faced similar criticisms.