lighthearted cozy watch
i had a blast with this one. It took me to the old romcoms and both the young versions and the older ones did phenomenal and had insane chemistry . i liked the romance but what truly made me enjoy the show was the comedy which i think is the highlight of the show . my favorite scenes remains the friend's old husband getting washed in the toiled in an evil edit iykyk 😂😂😂 also wanted to know the villain which kept me on edge. Highly recommend to older audience . don't think younger audience would appreciate the older vibe. For me it was highly enjoyableWas this review helpful to you?
I Liked This Show A Lot
My Troublesome Star is a comedy that deals with a number of blights on society at the moment including the pimping out of underage girls (celebrities in training), how people become forgotten and fall through the cracks and difficult but unforgiving families, acquaintances and friends.Uhm Jung Hwa plays Im Se Ra very well. Her ability to transform from a down trodden actresses of yesteryear to rebound with grace and beauty, a delight. Sung Seung Heon does what he always does and makes it look easy as the demoted detective and undercover manager.
The OTP are fabulous together, Their relationship began 25 years ago, was lost due to events beyond their control and then reunited through suspicious circumstances. They have some funny moments, heartfelt moments and awkward moments.
The young versions of the OTP deserve a special shout out - perhaps even their own show.
The other main leads and supporting actors are superb. Their ability to be funny, disagreeable or grotesque round out and make the show. The second couple in this regard almost steal the show and are given substantial air time.
Some have said it’s not well written. I disagree. For comedians to be as good as they are in this show, the writing has to be very good. The show leaned in enough on the uncomfortable subjects without being heavy handed.
The epilogues after each episode are so well done. Make sure to watch the final one because it has a range of out takes in it that are a nice collection of behind the scenes.
All in all, My Troublesome Star was an unexpected delight.
Was this review helpful to you?
My Troublesome Star – Time-Shifted Stardom
🔹 Would I rewatch? Yes✨ Have you ever considered how one accident could change your whole future? This is exactly where the story begins.
📕Overview
🔹 12 episodes, Fantasy Romance
🔹 At the time of this review, 6 episodes have aired
🔹 Uhm Jung Hwa as Bong Cheong Ja: a once-forgotten actress now living in a future she does not recognize.
🔹Song Seung Heon portrays Dokgo Cheol, a detective reassigned from violent crimes to traffic duty.
🔹 In 1999, Im Se Ra won a prestigious acting award. However, an accident unexpectedly sends her 25 years into the future, where she wakes up as a middle-aged woman.
🔹 Great for fans of time-slip stories, romance, and second chances
🌸How It Felt Watching
🔹 Opening episodes shift from glamorous red-carpet events to everyday life in 2025, blending humor with bittersweet moments.
🔹 Watching Cheong Ja adjust to the years she lost feels both hopeful and emotional.
🔹 The themes come through loud and clear: figuring out who you are, bouncing back from tough times, and finding love again.
✨ Cast & Acting
🔹 Uhm Jung Hwa portrays Bong Cheong Ja with heartfelt humor and depth, making her performance the anchor of every scene.
🔹 Song Seung Heon portrays Dokgo Cheol, whose emotionally grounded nature enhances the romance with Uhm Jung Hwa.
🔹 Supporting cast (Lee El, Oh Dae Hwan, Lee Min Jae, Jang Da A) adds humor, loyalty, and tension that enriches the story.
🎵 OST
🔹 Lost Star (잃어버린 별) by CHEEZE
🔹 Again by Uhm Jung Hwa
🎨 Visuals & Production
🔹The cinematography captures the nostalgic warmth of 1999 alongside the slice-of-life in 2025.
🔹 The costumes emphasize Se Ra's vibrant youth style, which contrasts with Cheong Ja's more understated modern aesthetic.
🔹 Direction utilizes measured pacing to convey the emotions of the leads effectively.
🎞️ Production Style
🔹 What worked: Uhm Jung Hwa's performance, the emotional storyline, and the blend of fantasy and romance are all highlights.
🔹 What didn’t: Sudden changes in tone from comedy to melodrama can create an uneven experience.
🔹 Would I rewatch? Yes, it is a story of second chances worth experiencing again
☕ SpillTheDramaTea’s Rating: 8/10
a smooth cup, soothing yet rich in every sip
✏️ As SpillTheDramaTea, I enjoyed the plot twists as Cheong Ja rediscovered herself and took control of her future.
✨ What would you do if one night changed no
Was this review helpful to you?
Nostalgic, Amazing, Funny & Finally a new and worthy to watch romcom!
I didn’t watch such a great story & amazing acting since long time. Everything in this drama feels fresh and heartwarming. Uhm Jung Hwa did an amazing job in this role she adds so much vulnerability and strength that you can’t help but connect with her. Song is just great as usual, effortlessly charming and emotional, proving once again why audiences love him. Both have great chemistry and they compliment each other in an amazing way.
That being said, a few supporting characters could have been given more depth, since the leads are so powerful that they overshadow the rest. and I wanted more romantic scenes between the leads, I truly wanted the series to be longer than 12 episodes, therefore I wish there is season 2 of it.
Still, these are small things compared to the overall brilliance. For me, My Troublesome Star is not just entertaining, it’s relatable and uplifting. It reminds you of old school Kdrama and how love, resilience, and humor can make even the toughest moments brighter. Definitely one of the standout K-dramas of this year!
Was this review helpful to you?
Breath of fresh air
It's been sooooooooooo long since I've been CRAVING for such a dramaa....... Every sense being the coolest breeze in summers and SONG SEUNGHOON being a scrumptious sweet treat.....Am I a liked biased because I love the cast sooooo much? yeahhhhhhhhhh, but trust me they are doing an EXCELLENT job......
The young and older actors suit soooooo well.....
I got no clue on why are people hating on this drama sm? Don't people read synopsis?
I am just writing this review cuz I feel it's unfair that people are hating on this drama.
DO TRY WATCHING IT if you are into fun little ROMCOMS....
plus Song Seunghoon is soooooo hwatttttt😭😭😭😭💙💙💙💙💙💙
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
The 25 year time jump was not done well
Overall Rating: 7/10(First half ~6/10, second half ~8/10)
It has a really fun and unique premise – a top star from the 90s/early 2000s suddenly disappears at her peak and reappears 25 years later with no memory, trying to make a comeback in today’s industry. The setup is fresh, and the show is mostly entertaining, especially once the romance finally kicks in during the latter half. If you’re mainly here for swoony romance, be patient – it is a slow burn in that regard and really only happens in the last episode or so.
The biggest issues are pacing in the beginning and, most noticeably, huge consistency problems across the 25-year time jump. A lot of characters feel like completely different people in present day compared to their younger selves, which hurts the emotional connection. Still, when it hits its stride in the back half, it’s genuinely charming and satisfying. Worth watching once if you like second-chance tropes, celebrity comeback stories, or just want something light with a happy ending – but probably not a rewatch for me.
Spoilers
The single biggest problem I had was how unrecognizable Im Se-ra / Bong Cheong-ja (Uhm Jung-hwa) became after the time jump. Young Seol-ah was ice-cool, confident, snobby (but only when someone truly deserved it), and emotionally rock-solid – basically peak diva energy. Older Bong Chenong-ja? Constantly on the verge of a panic attack, doing these breathy little “HAH!” gasps at everything (I seriously thought she was going to hyperventilate multiple times), and crying over literally anything. It felt like two different characters from the past to the present.
I kept waiting for them to say she had a brain injury from the car accident that altered her personality, because that would have at least explained it. But nope – they never mention it. Instead, we just have to accept that the poised princess of the 90s turned into the most fragile, whiny Ajumma imaginable overnight. The frumpy “bag lady” wardrobe and that wild hair were clearly to be comedic and show she “let herself go,” but come on – someone with decades of red-carpet training doesn’t suddenly dress like she shops exclusively at the dumpster just because she gained weight and lost her memory. She remembered being They Im Se-ra because she went on and on about not being the young beauty she thought she was, so she would have remembered all the glam treatments she did back then. I know they dressed her like that to make her look heavier but they could have accomplished it without making her look homeless.
She wasn’t the only one with personality whiplash:
Kang Du-won (Oh Dae-hwan) went from a bumbling, slightly incompetent but basically harmless dude when he was Im Se-ra's manager to a full-on cartoonishly evil schemer. He was polished with a businessman like demeanor that did not match that early shy slightly nerdy looking manager from before. People can hide their dark side, sure, but this wasn’t subtle two-faced behavior – it was a total core rewrite.
- On the flip side, the villains who were supposed to stay awful – Ko Hui-yeong (the jealous rival actress), was perfectly consistent. Evil then, evil now.
Go Bong-goo (Song Seung-heon) was thankfully the most consistent of the bunch. You could totally buy that the starry-eyed young fanboy grew into a more reserved, mature version who still melts around her. His character arc felt natural.
I did love Seol-ah’s rise-back-to-fame storyline – starting from nothing, clawing her way up, dealing with all the ugly industry politics. And I loved that literally every single bad person got their comeback in the end (justice was served and it was delicious). The final happy ending wrapped things up nicely.
So yeah, I don’t regret watching it – the good parts are genuinely good and heart-fluttery – but man, those character inconsistencies and Seol-ah’s nonstop breathy whining made me roll my eyes more than once. Nearly quit watching after the early episodes. One watch was plenty for me.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Disappointment
I didn't bother to watch EP2 and I think I'll drop:the first half of EP1 was great and couldve been a perfect opening for a time-travel revenge drama like Reborn Rich.. Jang Da Ah would've been perfect cast for both timelines like back then when Song Joong-ki aced Reborn Rich. The cast was all that made Reborn Rich perfect and here it could've been perfect too.
I'm not saying Jang Da-Ah's acting was perfect in EP1 it really felt bad compared to how she acted in Pyramid Game. However I won't criticize her acting because the opening was great nevertheless and she just didn't have a proper chance to show her skills.
The 2025 scenario just messed up by giving another twist etc... Instead of having her time travel the 26 years or just wake up in another body or something like in Reborn Rich they just messed it up and lowered the excitement. I understand that this drama is probably just going to be about the integration of a ex-star into society as an average woman or something as they already implied 1999 was her all-time high of happiness in her life, however the opening was just too exciting.
I think there will still be some revenge aspects but then again without Jang Da Ah it will feel bad. The other cast is perfect too but I don't like the energy of the FL it's just too much of a romcom when they had such an opening for a revenge drama.
My guess: Director Choi probably hired someone to end super star Im Se Ra after she wasn't cooperative in being a pleasure to himself and his ultra rich clients or something and then the other star who saw Im Se Ra as competition took the role or something with her brother supporting this girl.. Not an amazing story but there's nothing else I could think of after this opening, however as said with Jang Da Ah it could've been better.. I'm not glazing her just saying I watched it mostly for her and because I expected something more than a romcom with it being the like 100th ish that dropped in Q3... Could've been the Reborn Rich of 2025!
Was this review helpful to you?
Gap on episodes
I'm watching this on Viki. I'm liking it so far. The only problem is, the gap between episodes. It's totally ridiculous! For being a short drama, it's like nearly a week wait between each episode. Viewers start off watching, check everyday to see if another episode started. And most likely will end of watching another drama for the time being . At times , it sits waiting until it's forgotten. This is a discouragement to viewers.Was this review helpful to you?
Impressively Bad
You ever watch a drama so bad that you end up mad and want your time back? Well if you haven't look no further than this one. The storyline is not only bad, it's not even interesting. The FL's acting is incredibly cringy and that wig is a complete eyesore. 6 episodes into a 12 episode drama and there's not a sign of romance in sight. I stuck it out for 6 episodes hoping it would get better because I love drama's where the leads are older but this one is complete garbage. Save your time and skip this one.Was this review helpful to you?
Horrible
Honestly, My Troublesome Star is the worst drama I’ve seen in a long time. The writing is all over the place, and the story feels flat and predictable. The scenes don’t flow well, so instead of pulling me in, they just feel choppy and disconnected.The female lead makes it even harder to watch. Her acting is really unconvincing, and whenever she tries to be funny, it just falls flat. To make things worse, the music is just as bad—it doesn’t fit the mood at all and ends up dragging the drama down even further.
The only thing that stood out in a somewhat positive way was the male lead. He actually has talent, but honestly, he deserves a much better project than this. It’s a shame he said yes to a role in a drama that’s this poorly made.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Keep hoping for it to get better! I'll hold out hope until the final episode.
Despite it having such good actors, I'm not loving it so far.Curly hair can look so gorgeous and the bangs as well when styled right. They went out of their way to make her look unappealing, especially with the red cheeks. Korean dramas need to start portraying curly hair better, instead of using it as poor prop for makeovers. (This reminds me of Princess Diaries from 2001. It is now 2025 and this is the best they can do?) The formula is getting old.
This is coming from someone who enjoys makeovers. But I am also someone who appreciates beauty in all its forms, I love women flaunting natural curls just as much as I love watching polished sleek hair.
The story so far is okay, but watching it is a bit trying because the female lead keeps stumbling like a new born calf and it is the kind of chaotic that I don't enjoy watching.
I still begrudgingly return expecting it would get better. The younger versions have a better story than the present ones. Man, I feel bad, the actors are actually ones that I like.
Was this review helpful to you?
Viki tricked me into watching it
I saw the poster for this drama and since I don't like the main actress I wasn't interested at all so much so that I didn't even bother to check what it was about. Today I log into Viki And see it as recommended within a list of time travel dramas so without even thinking I click.The first episode is so bad so amazingly bad wow!! the music doesn't make sense, the scenes are choppy, dialogue is cringe and so on...The only good thing about it is how the past scenes are shot, it looks really good, and the casting of the younger/older versions was very well done 10/10 no notes. The storyline, however, is very confusing, maybe because I only watched the one episode, I'm pretty sure what happened in between the two accidents will be explained, but still, a good drama will draw you in with just one episode even if it's so confusing it drives you mad, this one does the exact opposite and it's mainly due to how bad of an actor the main actress is, the scenes were she's supposed to be funny fall flat and her exaggerated expressions are uncomfortable to watch, it's sad because it's interesting enough to see a romcom with older mains and how a once famous actress is forgotten just cause she's old I would've liked to watch that if it were better written and cast a better main actress.
Was this review helpful to you?
