Come September, Celestial Movies, the biggest 24-hour Chinese movie service in Asia and beyond, will debut not one, but two special events – the world TV premiere of Korean pop superstar Rain’s latest concert, Rain: The Best Show, and the first and exclusive broadcast of big-budget Korean action drama HERO. These two shows will dovetail Celestial Movies’ programme lineup beyond movies to provide the best of Asian entertainment featuring the biggest stars and productions to viewers of the cable channel.
With the first two episodes incurring a hefty US$1 Million production budget, HERO premiered as the Number One programme in its timeslot among all cable channels in Korea in March 2012.
What’s HERO about?
This ten-episode Korean action drama series is set in a fictional future where South Korea has gone bankrupt and its cities are crime-ridden and corrupt. HERO centres on a bad boy by the name of Heuk Chul (award winning actor Yang Dong Guen) who is the son of the Mayor of one of these crime-ridden cities. When Heuk Chul gets caught in the middle of a police sting, he ends up taking a bullet fired at the beautiful detective Ih-Ohn (Han Chae Ah). The serious injury causes Kim to fall into a coma and the only way to save him is to inject him with untested nanotechnology. Upon recovering from his near-death experience, Heuk Chul discovers that he posseses the superhuman ability to heal himself and regenerate. In the meantime, the dark truths of corruption that plagues the city begin to unfold before his eyes. Realizing the truth, Heuk Chul decides to use this newfound ability to fight against evil and make things right in this chaotic world.
When is HERO premiering?
HERO premieres exclusively in Celestial Movies on 3rd September and will air every day from Monday to Friday at 8pm, with an encore telecast at 10.45pm, on SingTel mio TV (CH52) and Starhub Cable TV (CH868). Starhub subscribers can also enjoy an exclusive HERO marathon of the show for free on 9th September, 1pm-6pm. Celestial Movies will be made free for viewing from 8th to 10th September to celebrate the channel’s maiden foray into Korean content.
Review of HERO
(x)clusive was invited to an exclusive screening of the action-packed drama HERO before the actual premiere date to catch a glimpse of what you viewers of Celestial Movies are in for this September. Just two episodes and I am hooked. In addition, if you are a fan of Japanese drama, Bloody Monday, then no doubt this is one drama you should definitely catch and would not want to give a miss. True enough that the actors and actresses are probably not familiar faces that many know their names at the tip of their tongues, but this should not be a deterring factor to not watch this amazing drama. One thing I like after watching the first two episodes is the fact that the script writers reveal just enough to keep the viewers intrigued yet the suspense and thrill element still exist. This is probably too early a judgement to make since I had only viewed the first two episodes, but it is honestly good enough to keep me anticipating for the third one. Plus if you like action flicks with a little crime and social element infused then you should totally give HERO a chance.
A short trailer of HERO:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_vZh4QgGvo]
Official Drama Poster of HERO:
Episodic Stills of HERO:
For more information, do visit Celestial Movies’ Website and follow their Facebook for latest updates.
Much thanks to SPRG for the awesome reception that evening and Celestial Tiger Entertainment for the event invite.