[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/250px-The_King_of_Dramas-p1_1813.jpg]]
A KoreanDrama and RomanticComedy Series about Anthony Kim, a brilliant but amoral and ruthless TV producer. After his fall from grace, he attempts to regain power using a script from a very naive but talented young assistant writer, Lee Go Eun, who believes dramas should carry a message. Oh, and she also hates Anthony and his methods. The show deftly combines comedy with a stark and realistic portrayal of [[TruthInTelevision the corruption that goes into producing a top drama]].
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'''This Series contains examples of:'''
* AirplaneArms: Go Eun likes to pretend she is flying above places to which she has been. [[spoiler: Anthony's CharacterDevelopment shows when he does it too.]]
* AntiHero: Anthony, natch. Though where he is on the sliding scale can vary.
* {{Archnemesis Dad}}: The Chairman of Empire [[spoiler:to CEO Nam. Until Nam pleads with his father to stop his machinations/plotting against Anthony which are hindering all Nam is trying to do at Empire productions.]]
* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: Anthony and Go Eun have several moments, notably [[spoiler: the lengths to which Go Eun goes in order to help Anthony pay back the Watanabe Group's loan and when he defends the originality of her script, stating that she is the only thing in which he believes]]. Kang Hyun Min picks up on several of these, draws conclusions, and [[ShipperOnDeck tries to get them to admit it]].
* BadassInANiceSuit: Anthony again. Even with that weird fluffy collar of his.
* {{The Big Damn Kiss}}: [[spoiler:In Go-Euns dreams, literally. She dreams Anthony gives her her {{First Kiss}} and a very {{Forceful Kiss}} at that]]
* BitingTheHandHumor
* CareerEndingInjury: [[spoiler: Anthony's optical neuropathy, or so he believes.]]
* {{Cool Old Guy}}: Director Goo. He sees right though all the BS that diva actors and producers dish out and tells it like it is.
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: This drama is riddled with them, [[spoiler:with [[HonestCorporateExecutive CEO Nam]]]] being a notable exception.
** Anthony leans heavily toward this in the beginning, [[spoiler:though he is [[PetTheDog surprisingly generous]] to people (and their families) who die or are injured while working on his dramas. He also never took more money than the Chairman told him to use for [[EveryManHasHisPrice bribes]].]] but changes little by little.
* CuteButCacophonic: Bit Na's cute as a button, but her voice is pretty much nails on a chalkboard.
* DeceptiveDisciple: What Go Eun's mentor believed her to be after Anthony had Go Eun revise the "Elegant Revenge" script. [[spoiler:It didn't help that he [[BlatantLies blamed]] Go Eun and accused her of being overly ambitious.]]
* {{Determinator}}:
** Anthony will stop at nothing short of possibly murder to get his new comeback drama produced.
** Go Eun may be hopelessly out of her depth and comfort zone but she gamely plugs on.
* DisappearedDad: Go-Euns dad died in a boating accident when she was a child and [[spoiler: Anthony's abandoned him and his mother when Anthony was born]]
* EiffelTowerEffect: Our favorite Namsam Tower shows up when Anthony surveys the city from his new office space in Episode 15.
* EngineeredPublicConfession: Happens ''twice'' with President Oh. [[spoiler: First Anthony plays a recording of Oh badmouthing Kang Hyun Min to him and a handful of his other actor buddies, which leads to Kang Hyun Min dropping his contract with Empire and signing on to work with Anthony's company instead. A few episodes later, Oh confesses over the phone to his mole at World Productions that he orchestrated Kang Hyun Min's drunk driving scandal and had Go Eun hit by a car. This nearly gets broadcast over a press conference on national television when his mole has a sudden HeelFaceTurn.]]
* {{Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas}}: [[spoiler:Anthony]] is absolutely devoted to his blind mother.
* {{Expository Hair Style Change}}: [[spoiler:For Kang Min he cut his hair to show his new dedication to being a serious actor and Go Eun to show the passage of time into a more mature wifely type]]
* GoodParents: Both Go Eun's and Anthony's mothers
* HeroicFireRescue: Anthony runs into a burning building and piggyback rescues a background actor. It becomes an EstablishingCharacterMoment for him, as the film crew watches in awe.
* HonestCorporateExecutive: [[spoiler:CEO Nam]]. He [[ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules resigns]] when his [[ArchnemesisDad Archnemesis]] [[BigBad Dad]] [[BreakThemByTalking reveals]] to him [[WhatYouAreInTheDark the reason]] for his promotion. Interestingly, [[spoiler:the situation is revealed as a LeaveYourQuestTest by [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Anthony]], who tells him that the broadcasting station will be corrupt [[WatchingTroyBurn without]] him.]]
* HospitalGurneyScene: When an extra got injured on set.
* HotSpringsEpisode: The events at the yakuza's estate start the ball rolling.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Anthony actually isn't that horrible a guy. He just goes really far out of his way to make sure no one ever knows it.
* LampshadeHanging
* {{Longing Look}}: Anthony to Go-Eun more and more often.
* {{Love Will Lead You Back}}: [[spoiler:Sung Min Ah is absolutely convinced Anthony will remember his past love for her and they can start over again...despite his almost complete indifference to her outside of work related matters and seeing his growing love for Go-eun.]]
* {{Man Child}}: Kang Hyun Min
* PairTheSpares: [[spoiler:Kang Hyun Min[=/=]Sung Min Ah]]
* ProductPlacement: Lampshaded in [[BitingTheHandHumor the first episode]]. The final scenes of the final episode of a drama are written, filmed, and edited mere minutes before airing ''just to put a carton of orange juice on the screen''. Also played straight as indeed there are many PPL scenes throughout the series.
* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: World Production CEO Anthony Kim, the producer whose work is repeatedly blocked by the power players in the drama world; Lee Go Eun, the rookie writer whose reputation was ruined by Anthony; Kang Hyun Min, the ManChild top star actor; Director Goo, a recovering alchoholic [[spoiler:who had previously left directing and started drinking after an actor died on his set]]; Sung Min Ah, who can't stand Kang Hyun Min's behavior [[spoiler:and was dumped by Anthony]]; and [[spoiler:Hee Jee, TheMole]].
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: A lot of tension arises from personality conflicts among the major characters working on "Morning in Kyeongseong."
* {{The Reason You Suck Speech}}: [[spoiler:Anthony gives one to Kang Hyun Min after he bugs Go Eun to change the script to suit him yet again.]]
* {{Trauma Induced Amnesia}}: [[spoiler: Played with in Episode 7. The episode trailers really lead you to believe that Go Eun has amnesia after getting hit by a car in the previous episode. Turns out she was [[FakingAmnesia faking]] to get Anthony riled up.]]
** Anthony tries to recover [[spoiler:Go Eun]]'s memory by [[BerserkButton reminding her how mean he's been to her.]]
* WillTheyOrWontThey: [[spoiler:Anthony and Go Eun get married, so yes they do, but his stuff in her bathroom points to them being intimate before that.]]
* WhoNamesTheirKidDude: [[spoiler: Anthony's real name is Kim Bong Dal. Apparently this a very rustic, old fashioned name that does not fit his suave image at all; Go-Eun is the only one who knows.]]
* {{Unkempt Beauty}}: Go Eun. Everyone seems to think she is pretty, except Anthony Kim.
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