‘Sh**ting Stars’ Explores The Complex Co-Dependency Of Stars And Agents

“Shooting stars” could be a description of actors so incandescent that fans fixate on their every move. It could also describe what agents feel like doing when they are tasked with cleaning up the consequences of a star’s controversial and irresponsible behavior.

Inspired by the French TV show Call My Agent, the Korean drama Sh**ting Stars focuses on one celebrity agent, Oh Han-byeol, played brightly by Lee Sung-kyung, and also the star she’s tasked with presenting in the best possible light.

When devoted fans follow their favorite stars so closely, it’s hard for them to maintain a perfect image. Aside from the usual scandals that can tarnish a reputation, stardom in South Korea means dating is usually forbidden. Even the slightest hint that stars might be dating—a hug, a hand held, a conversation not related to work—and the agent must go into damage control, asking reporters to delete stories and issuing press releases to the contrary.

Often the agents are the last to know what their stars are really doing.

Han-byeol represents one of the nation’s biggest stars, popular actor and heartthrob Gong Tae–sung. She almost winces every time his name is mentioned. It’s not just the fact that he’s not perfect. Who is? They also have some questionable personal history.

When Tae-sung, played by Kim Young-dae, returns to Korea from volunteering at an undisclosed location on the African continent, he heads straight for Han-byeol’s side. Her private life already suffers from the endless star-related problems she has to clean up. Tae-sung’s return will naturally create more problems.

As was the case with Call My Agent, Sh**ting Stars promises lots of star cameos—Moon Ga-young, Song Ji-hyo, Park Jung-min, Choi Ji-woo, Lee Sang-woo, to name a few. These cameos will likely shine a light on the complicated co-dependent relationship that stars and their agents can have. It is possible to be an international star and yet be somewhat clueless about reality, to suffer from past trauma or have overwhelming feelings of inadequacy. That’s where an agent can be handy or even hold a star’s hand.

There’s more to the job than handing out press releases. It will be up to Han-byeol and her fellow staff members, played by Yoon Jong-hoon, Kim Yoon-hye and actor/CNBlue member Lee Jung-shin, to protect their actors’ careers.

Lee Sung-kyung was last seen in Dr. Romantic and About Time. This is Kim’s first leading role, but he previously appeared in Penthouse 2 and 3 and Extraordinary You.