When the Stars Gossip

Flies, feelings and Zero gravity

This show is an ambitious blend of science fiction, drama, and absurdity—sometimes brilliant, other times baffling. The premise has potential: a space mission tackling groundbreaking experiments like flies mating in zero gravity, mouse surgeries, and human embryos developing to the morula stage. How they managed all this in five days is anyone’s guess—it took humanity decades to achieve a fraction of this!The $500 billion lottery win and sperm-egg fusion without microscope are the cherries on this over-the-top cake.All in a 5-day tourism package..
Moving on , For science enthusiasts, The concept of flies naturally mating in space for the first time could spark curiosity. But for others, waiting 20 minutes for this to happen might feel like a slog. The exaggerated timeline, while entertaining in its audacity, stretches believability to its breaking point.

The characters are a mixed bag. The FL is a rule-abiding nerd whose rigidity overshadows any warmth she might have brought to the role. The ML, played by Minho, feels miscast—not his fault, but the role doesn’t align with his usual charm. Park Hyung Sik might have been a better fit. The supporting cast brings their own share of chaos: alcoholic aunts, a control-obsessed conglomerate uncle, and a partner embroiled in infidelity. Their tangled personal lives often feel forced, overshadowing the core plot.

That said, the show does attempt to explore interesting themes. It delves into scientific curiosity, ethical dilemmas, and human emotions under extraordinary circumstances. If you can overlook the occasional (okay, frequent) logical leaps, there’s a quirky charm to its audacity.

As a longtime K-drama fan, I couldn’t help but notice the Netflix-isation of this show. The emotional depth and aesthetic simplicity that defined classic K-dramas are missing. Instead, we get forced alcoholism and a bizarrely out-of-place soft porn-esque scene in the first episode, which detracts from the narrative. This shift in tone may appeal to some but alienates traditional fans.

In summary, the show is bold and unique, though uneven in its storytelling. It’s worth a watch if you’re open to a mix of scientific curiosity and wild plot twists, but you’ll need to suspend disbelief and embrace the chaos. For fans of traditional K-dramas, this might not hit the same sweet spot, but it’s an interesting experiment nonetheless.

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Is WTSG an Allegory?

Perhaps WTSG is an allegory, where events and characters represented specific ideas or abstractions. (Also, farce can be an important component of allegory, as was on ample display in WTSG).

I think allegory is lost on us inhabitants of the 21st century. Allegory is complex and uncomfortable. We like quick and easy. Instagram, TikTok - all types of social media - cannot begin to understand allegory.

A Kdrama like WTSG can try to use allegory as the narrative arc, but in doing so gets roundly booed and robustly hated. Especially when we all went into this drama thinking it was going to a feel good, HEA romcom.

The story was full of plot holes and inconsistencies, but I'm not sure if it was a script problem or an editing room problem. Dialog and footage that ended up on the cutting room floor might have actually helped viewers better understand the characters' goals, motivations, conflicts, etc.

For example, I would have preferred that the Lee Min Ho character went on the mission under different circumstances, secretive, yes, but not outright illegal or unethical. The fact that he was doing something illegal made him immediately less sympathetic. But maybe the intent was that his character especially was meant to make us, as viewers, think a little more deeply about ethics, by that I mean what people ought to do, or which behavior is morally right. Ethics is not a scientific in nature, it is philosophical.

All in all, though, I 100% enjoyed the drama.

P.S. I think the OST (the 8 songs) is one of the best examples of songs and lyrics that match the overall themes and ideas of the drama.

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Zero Gravity at It's Finest

This series was the highlight of my weekends while it aired. filled with entertainment
and sometimes I'm hanging off the coach lol. It had some things that are unusual
and thats why I found it so refreshing to watch. You need to have an open mind when
watching it. It's not the kind of Kdramas you can predict what is going to happen.
People who rate the series badly are simple not a genre for them but they still watched
it purely because of LMH, which many are his anti fans. Some only want to see the ML
in Dramas they can romantacise him but they did not get that with his character.
WTSG is not predictable and I find the story itself very original and made me think after.
I laughed, cried, screamed, jumped and was absorbing every bit of it while watching.
If a series can make me nearly fall off my sofa. It's a freaking good one.
The Space scenes were executed beautifully. I recommend you watch it and ignore the
bad rating and negative comments. Actually avoid reading the comments before you watch.

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Zero chemestry, worst drama that I ever whach

no chemistry between any characters. no connection between them, effectively nothing connects in this drama. everything seems unrealistic in a good way, new subject and comical sometimes, so many good actors in one show... I was so curious ... but you don't get with anything, you don't learn anything, you don't hope for anything. I kept hoping that would get better, but I've reached episode 8 and I'm terribly bored. I can't even see them kissing. everything is forced and toxic. no emotion, no connection, no feeling to convey to the public. ML and FL have nothing in common. I watched till there for LMH, that has a great acting in Pachinko and I really want to see him again in a new and diffrent kdrama. I hope for next one he will choose a good script that suits him and his talent and hope for a good chemestry with a FL. without chemistry you have nothing

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A Well-Directed but making you want to rewrite the script and send it back for reshoots

When the Stars Gossip is an ambitious series that showcases tremendous effort from the production team and a desire for innovation, steering away from clichés to appeal to an international audience. However, despite these efforts, the series ultimately fails on a large scale.

Why did it fail?
The series undeniably has many strong aspects and aimed for a grand scope, but it suffers from a major issue: a lack of clarity in its narrative purpose. It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly what When the Stars Gossip is trying to convey.

The story follows a romance between an astronaut and a gynecologist, but it also attempts to explore multiple other themes—without successfully tying them together. From the beginning, the series places itself in competition with top-tier dramas, raising expectations significantly.

Strong Performances but No Chemistry
The cast delivers impressive performances. Lee Min Ho surprises in a role that breaks away from his usual stereotype of the charming, wealthy romantic lead. He likely took on this risky project to challenge himself. Meanwhile, Gong Hyo Jin delivers a professional, natural performance that fits her character perfectly.
However, the couple lacks chemistry. Their relationship feels more like that of a married couple of 30 years rather than a fresh and passionate love story. This absence of spark makes it difficult for viewers to connect emotionally. he cool astronaut trio, which worked well and could have been truly endearing, faded away after episode 8. The Chaebol father, who played his role so well that I even started to 'like' him, had a satirical side that could have been even more striking and humorous.

An Internationally-Oriented Soundtrack
One of the strongest aspects of the series is its soundtrack. Featuring a strategic selection ranging from Hallyu pop-rock to hip-hop and classical music, the OST is clearly designed to appeal to a global audience.

A Well-Directed but Poorly Written Series
The director does an excellent job, and the production quality is commendable. Unfortunately, the real issue lies in the script.

The writer attempted to create an innovative story blending:
Science fiction, but not executed convincingly.
Themes of procreation and demographic challenges, relevant to aging populations in developed countries. This idea had great potential but ultimately falls apart due to logical inconsistencies.
Satirical comedy, which could have been a bold and effective choice—if fully committed to. However, the series oscillates between realism, comedy of absurdity, and serious drama without successfully uniting these tones.

As a result, the characters suffer from weak development. None are particularly engaging, and their actions often contradict their initial personalities. The love story escalates too quickly to be believable, and while the series raises profound philosophical and ethical questions, it fails to explore them meaningfully.

That said, episodes 7 and 8 stand out as particularly well-executed and engaging, proving that the series had the potential to succeed

A Misdirected and Misunderstood Project
Even the series’ promotional campaign was misleading. The teaser failed to accurately represent its tone, which may have contributed to the audience's confusion.

So...
Despite its flawed script and inconsistent narrative, This serie is still worth watching for its talented actors (10/10), the director’s efforts (9/10) , and the high production values. It raises thought-provoking questions about life, death, and the ethical limits of science. And making you want to rewrite the script and send it back for reshoots :)))

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A funny comedy, but not only

First, everything looks like it takes place really in outer space, starting with mice movements and ending with the actors' ones. Second, it's very funny: I laughed a lot! The entire family barely waits to Sunday afternoon, when we can watch two episodes in a row. Third, both Gong Hyo-jin and Lee Min-ho have strong personalities on screen in general, and here there is no exception. During the last episodes, despite being interested in science and reading a lot about life outside Earth, I couldn't imagine a few weeks without gravitation can be so physically damaging, so this is also an eye opener.

It may not appeal to everyone, especially if you expected a drama instead of a comedy, but if you give it a chance, you may not be disappointed. I really love it!

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we need 2016 drama back !! netflix stop plz get your hand off the kdrama

Netflix stop making kdrama!! everything was good until netflix entered to the world of kdrama ! we need 2016 drama back plz!
like whatthe he'll is going on with Lee min hoo to sign for such a ridiculous story!?
so meany critics about the scenario I don't wanna repeat other's idea but it's true the story is so stupid and ridiculous 🙄 +no chemistry between the cast .. disappointment 😞
lee min hoo I know this not your fault .. the cast is not going with the energy you r giving ..
I will keep giving chances to this show for lee min hoo only and I hope I dont give up

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ILLOGICAL BUT BEAUTIFUL

I don’t care how absurdly ridiculous this whole space ride of a drama; seatbelt clutched, spacesuit on. Brain turned off, only feels and emotions —take off: When The Stars Gossip. ride it with an open heart. Because the galaxy, in its vastness, is as chaotically beautiful as this drama.


There are countless things I could pinpoint just how much this drama objectively do not work. It genuinely feels like all the food you eat, congested and ground messily in the stomach, forming a big clamped turd as it ends up in one’s rectum. To put it simply, it’s as shitty as it could be. But what Korean MSG did the production put in for me to completely ignore all logic and be able to enjoy it as questioningly as I did? Yes, I was bemusedly amused through and through. One of the comments I read said, “You just gotta turn off your brain when watching this.” and it works! I was introduced to a new level of zany that ends up capturing hearts instead. In this drama, you open a new sense of wonder, a strange affection for the chaos that doesn’t make sense but somehow feels real. It’s like the mess becomes a kind of magic. Absurd and messy and utterly predictable and yet, you can’t help but hold on tight in this wild, messy story. It’s like getting your heart broken by someone with a clear red flag, but you just let it be because you felt happy, and you enjoy the moments of rawness only you could understand. Those imperfect flashes that cut deep but also shine bright, the kind that make the whole mess worth feeling. Maybe this was what the new album of Katseye meant. BEAUTIFUL CHAOS.

I love how everyone here shined in the embodiment of their roles. No one felt like they were stealing the spotlight, because the story allowed each of them to hold it. There was a rhythm in the mess. Llike constellations in a sky you didn’t expect to understand, but still found comfort in tracing.

Take Eve. Setting aside my immense love for Gong Hyo Jin, her character here hits hard to the core. You see a woman — driven, obsessed even — with creating life. And not just creating it, but preserving it, chasing it, almost romanticizing it. A woman so ambitious in giving birth to life in the most unexplored of environments, at her root, is an infant who was left alone on Christmas Eve. abandoned by the very person who gave her life. That moment with her biological mother, who stood there so audaciously, spouting excuses about just wanting to live and saying the child was nothing but a hindrance in front of Eve’s face. I really felt my whole heart break into pieces. Hearing that, you catch a glimpse of why Eve clings so desperately to the idea of life.It’s a rebellion. A beautiful, aching rebellion from someone who eagerly wants to let everyone know the miracle of life, and how this miracle should be nurtured and protected even despite being denied the same privilege from the one that birthed her. Thankfully enough, she got adopted by a loving man who molded her into becoming the Eve that she is. She is such a strong woman, so admirable. I mourn for her character, deeply..

And we have Gong Ryong. This, by far, may be Lee Min Ho’s best role and performance in my opinion up there with his character in Pachinko. Gong Ryong is a man with the unwavering need to save lives, even when he doesn’t quite know what to do with his own. It was so refreshing to see him as such a destitute, emotionally weathered character which made the performance all the more remarkable. Here, even when he's fumbling, hurting, scared, you believe him. You believe in him. Because despite everything, he believes in life. And in a drama where the science bends like gravity for how inaccurate it is, his resolve rings so loud and clear, it becomes the one thing that actually feels real, and you hold onto that. So even if the plot fails on logic and rationality, the characters don’t. They were played with heart. And Gong Ryong, I believe, was created and portrayed so beautifully.

We also have Chief Kang my most favorite character in the series, played wonderfully by Lee El. Her level-headedness and leadership are truly admirable. Even when her feelings were toyed with by Dong-a, who was in a relationship with Eve, of which two are her precious companions, she didn’t let her emotions interfere with her duty or cloud her judgment. Instead, she handled the situation with such cool composure, showing that her respect for both Dong-a and Eve was far greater than the role their feelings played in the ordeal. The level of emotional maturity she showed breathed a leeway for the plot to shift through motion more conveniently allowing the narrative to keep moving without drowning in melodrama. This, in retrospect, is a brilliant move from the writer and Lee El was able to portray it convincingly.

Dong-a, who was a jerk for playing with my two girls — Eve and Chief Kang, and although another convenience for the writer to play the whole cheating thing off, had a redemption when he — as I dare say — was so poignantly sexy as he risked his life taking off into outer space just to save Eve, including Gong Ryong. I was laughing and crying when the video was played of him crying for Eve’s life on his flight up to save her. And the whole flight down on Earth with the three of them, I was on edge the whole ride! My soul almost left as swift as their whole ride. But lol, before that, the way I screamed when he found Eve and Ryong naked in one thermal tent cuddling for dear life almost lifeless….and it being broadcast in the KSC headquarters, aaaaaaaaaaaaaa ahhaahashflsahfs 😭😭😭😭😭 The whole episode with those three on that particular flight made me pray for a preproduced drama hadahdfahs 😭 Dong-a was a real hero for what he did for real. Well, cheating aside.

Kang Kang Su, played by Oh Jung-se, I have to say, it feels like he wasn’t quite able to wash off his character embodiment from It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, which was a bit of a downer for me. I would’ve loved to see another side of him as an actor. But that aside, I have mixed feelings about the character he played here. He came off as selfish, strict, and nonchalant at first, but as the plot progressed, you start to see that he’s actually a really hardworking man despite his wealthy background. His dedication to his work — even at the expense of his love life, which later fell into the cliché of a man desperate to get back with his ex still made his development compelling. The gradual unfolding of his layered personality was a good sight. I even felt bad for him when he got fired as an astronaut and stripped of his long-invested fruit flies space project, and yet no one stood up for him. Everyone was so ready to let him take the fall, but selfishly helped Gong Ryong using the lottery ticket that belonged to Kang Kang Su himself. That was a total what the heck moment. And the fact that Kang Su didn’t even blame them? Wild. Not to mention the enormous amount of money he personally spent for the robot arm and other things– and not even a pinch of gratitude from them. I mean, he deserves the punishment as per protocol, but the team’s loyalty was just nowhere to be seen.

I love the characters individually, but as a team, they’re bad.

Go Eun, played by Han Ji Eun, is the most rational character out of everyone. Not the typical selfish chaebol brat you mostly see on TV, she was a solid grey character here and I really liked her. As for the rest of the space crew; Mina, Seungjun, and Santi..they were great companions, but they really screwed up when they got choked up by greed over Kang Su’s lottery ticket. They tried to make up for it later, but the fact that they stayed silent when Kang Su was being interrogated ust to protect Gong Ryong, whom they initially refused to help for selfish reasons, that part stung. Still, their trio added so much charm and life to the series. Flawed, yes, but undeniably lovable.

The whole team in the KSC headquarters was actually my favorite. Although they didn’t get the same level of character progression as those in space, they were personas I genuinely loved. Do-na with her snobbish energy but deep down is a pro-life softy, Eun-so as Eve’s mouse companion ust as obsessed with mouse copulation as she is, and Han Si-won, who always looked like he was one minor inconvenience away from quitting. He literally had that “of course that happens” look as everything was just a problem after problem. Their presence kept the ground scenes alive and entertaining in their own right.

Some may say the characters in this series are bad and senseless, but isn’t that the very nature of humans? Flawed, imperfect… yet still, they try. They continue to take each step into the unknown future, just as vast and uncertain as the universe itself. There’s no perfect way to live life, and maybe that’s fine. The decisions we make, the roles we try to mold ourselves into. They’re messy, confusing, and sometimes laughable. But in that chaos, there’s something honest. Something that mirrors the way we stumble through our own lives, holding on to meaning wherever we can find it. Maybe that’s what When The Stars Gossip was trying to tell us all along: life is absurd, beautiful, and heartbreakingly human. And somehow, that’s enough.

The drama explores motherhood in so many brutal, quiet ways. Eve wondering if her unborn child will ever understand why she chose to go down to Earth — knowing full well it could kill it. Fearing that Gong Ryong would hate the child because of the choices she made. Doctor Na, pleading with the universe to just give her one chance to become a mother. Women breaking under the weight of creation, trying to hold on to something that might love them back. All of life on Earth is carried in the hollow space of a woman’s womb… and the --sometimes too incomprehensible desperation of some to be a mother, a parent. All of which sits between nature’s supposed blessing, the selfishness of some to abandon, and the selflessness of others to love and protect what was left behind. The instincts of it all tangled, wild, and deep. And this drama tackled it in the most quietly devastating way. It didn’t scream about motherhood or glorify it blindly. Instead, it showed the ache, the desperation, the contradictions. It showed how creating life isn’t just biological. It’s emotional, spiritual…and terrifying. And in between all the chaos and absurdity, those moments hit the hardest.

All of which may have seemed like prolife propaganda by Korea, but honestly, they did well. Because it makes you reflect on your own being. Not just on producing life, but on being the life itself.

All in all, this drama was beautiful to me. Science is grounded in facts, yet it can be falsifiable. So you have to accept the absurdity of the drama’s scientific background -- its imagination giving birth to a theory. But they captured something meaningful: the connection between space and birth. It reminds us how small we are in the vast universe, yet how lucky we are to exist. To become something from nothing. A speck beside the brightest star. Living and breathing. The poetry of placing space and birth side by side. Both show how tiny we are, yet how miraculous our existence is. Even in the silence between stars, there is room for pain, forgiveness, and love. That feeling may be small, clamped tight inside us, but when we look up, we see it reflected in the night sky; clear, clean, and still shining.
Maybe that’s why this mess made sense. Despite the chaos and red flags, I held on. Because it made me feel something real. And maybe, that is all we needed.

I am beyond glad to give this series a chance. I would have let one of the most beautiful productions in Kdramaland.
Thank you so much, When The Stars Gossip Team! You all did a great job. 끝!

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Lovely

I came across this drama because as I always enjoy Lee Min-hos acting skills despite usually not being too keen on space themed dramas and admittedly largely watching romantic comedies/romance or action dramas.

I thoroughly enjoyed Lee Min-hos acting and the chemistry between him and Gong Hyo-jin was perfect for me. I just love how much range he has in terms of his roles and his ability to express a lot of emotion just with his eyes.

The story itself was a tad far fetched for me in terms of logical reasoning as to why what they were doing was necessary to do in space but it didn't take away from the casts dynamic acting so I enjoyed it anyway and to be fair many shows I like are not on the realistic side (I'm escaping from reality after all xD)

I am more of a happy ending person myself so I would just add that for those who want a pure happy ending over a sweet/tragic one it may be not on the top list.

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