The new SBS courtroom drama “Good Partner,” penned by Choi Yu-na, a real-life lawyer specializing in divorce, will realistically and directly portray the stories of couples whose marriages are on the brink of collapse.
Actor Jang Na-ra will portray a cold-hearted star divorce lawyer, Cha Eun-kyung, teaming up with a warm-hearted and passionate rookie lawyer, Han Yu-ri (Nam Ji-hyun), to put on the “world’s most perfect divorce show.”
Director Kim Ga-ram was surprised when she first read the script’s raw and realistic depiction of troubled marriages, which reminded her of “The Clinic for Married Couples: Love and War,” a popular 2000s Korean TV show that dramatized real divorce cases.
“Given the writer’s background as a lawyer, these stories could very well be true. But still I kept on asking how could this happen in real life. It’s a really spicy and bitter story that I hope no one ever experiences,” she said during a press conference for the drama at SBS headquarters in Yangcheon District, Seoul, Wednesday.
Kim anticipates that the drama will resonate deeply with viewers, triggering a range of emotions from laughter to tears.
“I thought that viewers might feel stimulated and have a ‘dopamine rush’ and sometimes may feel ‘this is too much’ while watching the drama, but it is what life is. My staff and I tried our best to depict the story as faithfully as possible. I hope viewers don’t just watch this drama and think ‘it’s just a drama,’ but rather one that viewers can talk about and discuss in relation to their own lives,” she said.
Choi, an experienced divorce lawyer, has been serializing the webtoon “Marriage Red” on her social media roughly based on cases she was in charge of. “Marriage Red” is a word Choi coined to describe the marital crisis — likened to a red traffic light signaling danger.
While filming the drama, Jang, who married a cinematographer she met during her previous drama “VIP” two years ago, found herself contemplating the complex nature of divorce — a topic she had not previously given much thought.
“While divorce is something that should be avoided if possible, it is also necessary. Everybody pursues a happy life, but conflicts happen, and there are times when 커뮤니티 being together (as a couple) could be more to lose than gain. So, I thought this divorce system should exist near people around us. There is a need to open up and talk about it,” Jang said.
Nam said one interesting point of the drama is how different lawyers bring diverse perspectives and solutions to the same case.
“Since Eun-kyung is a legal veteran and Yu-ri is fresh out of law school, they naturally see things differently, even on the same case. They argue their opposing views logically, clashing a lot at first. But I think it would be fascinating to see how, over time, they start to influence each other,” Nam said.
With an all-women team of writer, director and lead actors “Good Partner” is set to explore the dynamic “womance,” or special bond between female characters. The drama will premiere on Friday.