Some twenty years ago, give or take, an underground music genre exploded into public awareness. Emo became the hot scene with its ironic song titles, asymmetric haircuts, punk influenced guitars and melancholy, introspective themes. At the peak of its popularity, System of a Down released a blistering track titled "Chop Suey!" about drug addiction and death from their album "Toxicity". What does this have to do with the 2022 Korean television drama "Behind Every Star"? Ok, quiz time:

Which of the following explains the commonality between the song and the show?

A. Toxicity is the name of the album and an accurate description of almost every character in "Behind Every Star"

B. "Grab a brush and put a little makeup" from the song also describes how the agents in "Behind Every Star" don't really solve anything. They just put a pretty facade on things and hope they go away.

C. The people responsible for both seem to have been heavily influenced by mind-altering substances, with differing outcomes for whether that was a good thing or not.

D. The tone and pacing of both cover the widest possible spectrum.

E. All of the above.

Answer below.

For those reading this review, please know that the song is excellent and to expect any return on the time invested in reading this review, please seek it out. It may not be everyone's style, but it is the absolute only hope to get any entertainment value from anything mentioned here.

Because it will not be found in "Behind Every Star".

It's part procedural drama with guest stars that are generally clients of Method Entertainment's agency. The agents have a more traditional serial arc. The procedural has some modest success with a few guest turns from the likes of Park Ho San, Oh Na Ra, Kim So Hyun and Kim Ji Hoon and more playing themselves as stars with various neuroses. The serial drama portion is a Category 5 hurricane of unpleasantness and odor and boor. Or bore? Both actually.

Seo Hyun Woo's Joong Don and Lee Seo Jin's Director Ma have absolutely zero charm, spine or energy. Kim Gook Hee's Eun Soo is a fairly significant supporting character that is entirely defined by her inexplicable attraction to Director Ma. Choi Yeon Kyu's Won Jae appears every episode multiple times but doesn't speak. Or perhaps he does, but it's meaningless filler. Hwang Se On's Hee Sun has the most potential of any character but her storyline alternates between a unlikely crush and an infinitely more unlikely series of acting misadventures. Shin Hyun Seung's Eun Gyul appears often. Has lines. Does things. Interacts with other characters. Things that should allow a viewer to obtain some impression or evaluation of what he might be like as a person. But he is so bland that absolutely nothing can be gleaned from observing him. He is as shapeless and formless and colorless as an inert gas.

Joo Hyun Young who made a minor character in 'Extraordinary Attorney Woo" into a viral online phenomenon does the opposite here - takes a major character and eliminates any sign of life from it. To her credit, the two portrayals are so incredibly different that it shows incredible range.

But the absolute rotting cherry on top of this reeking sundae is Kwak Sun Young's Je In. She is as self-destructive, shallow, selfish, shortsighted and superficial as any character that has ever leapt from writer's desk to screen. And all of it in a most uninteresting and grating manner possible. Even had the remainder of the show around her been praiseworthy, her presence alone would very likely have torpedoed everything she touched.

Apparently, "Behind Every Star" is an adaptation of a popular and successful French production. But it would be easier to understand the recent breakthrough in nuclear fusion than how this wreck of a drama is in any way associated with something that members of the human species sat through and enjoyed.

Not recommended. Answer to quiz: E