This Siti Never Sleeps At Night

Up all night so you know what to watch, read, and hear

Category Archives: tv review


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📺 TV Review: Wind Up (2026) – ☕🦋

Season/Episodes Covered: Season 1, Episodes 1-50

Quick Spark: A promising high school baseball player struggled with yips, putting his sports career in jeopardy. A mysterious transfer student appeared to help.

The Hook: It’s an almost 2-min duration for each episode. There are 50 episodes, which makes the whole drama to be 100 mins. Not even 2 hours. Very easy to consume with it’s TikTok/YouTube Shorts/Instagram Story format. The only problem? You have to pay to watch all 50 episodes or you will wait. Fortunately, for those who are reading this, yours truly paid to watch all 50 episodes. That’s the hook. If you set your settings to the default, the next episode will just play automatically. This format works for me. Though, I wish it’s longer. The director is the same one for Move To Heaven. That might clue you in on what to expect for this bromantic drama. I will not spoil it.

Character Chemistry: Both Jeno and Jaemin are members from the K-pop group, NCT or the sub-unit, NCT Dream. And they have both been known by fans as best friends and even twins. So, there is no doubt about their chemistry. But how’s their acting as their characters? They are not Jeno and Jaemin here. But Woo Jin and Tae Hee. It’s Jeno’s first time as an actor. On the other hand, it’s not Jaemin’s first foray in the acting world. For Jaemin, he’s also been known as the doppelganger of Nam Goong Min. And he does prove that he should be getting more acting offers. Jeno, for a first-timer, does quite well portraying his character. As fans would know, this man does not have an angry bone in his body. But Woo Jin is almost always angry. For good reasons. He does well in acting with his eyes. On stage, he has been known to be quite expressive. And he does the same here. And both of them together? Heartbreakingly sweet. This is supposed to be a bromance drama. Honestly speaking, as a BL watcher, this is toeing the line between bromance and BL. It’s a very thin line.

Pacing Check: It’s 2 mins each episode for 50 episodes. It’s not slow and it’s definitely very quick. I really wish it’s longer. If it’s a full-fledged drama – 12 or 16 episodes – I think the director would be able to flesh out each character more. Delve a little deeper with their back-story. But even with this short drama, the director did manage to touch a little bit of it without it being awkward. Each one makes sense. The flow is actually quite okay as well. I hope that if it does really well in Kitz app, the director would consider doing a full-fledged drama of it. It is a good coming-of-age youth sports drama that is worth to be shown outside of the Kitz app.

Final Sleepy Rating: ☕🦋 Wide Awake and Heart-Flutter (It’s a bittersweet drama that’s good for a late-night binge)

Status: Completed

Notable mention: The director mentioned that this work comes full circle for him working with SM Entertainment. He was the director for EXO’s music video, For Life. And worked with D.O. from EXO for Bad Prosecutor. Wind Up is his third work with SM’s artistes.

Stay awake with me,
Siti


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📺 TV Review: Pro Bono (2025) – ☕

Season/Episodes Covered: Season 1, Episodes 1-12

Quick Spark: A beloved judge was framed and demoted to work with a pro bono team, fighting for the voiceless.

The Hook: At the very beginning, it is kinda slow. But once it hits Episode 2, it gets interesting. Kang Da Wit was at the top as a beloved judge. Now, he has to lead a team of pro bono attorneys. Pro bono, if you don’t know, is voluntary and free. So, essentially, he was doing free work after earning a lot possibly as a judge. Each case the team takes on is intriguing. Initially, the cases seem simple. But the moment Da Wit digs deep into each case, simple is not it. And most times, they are fighting against the powerful people in the society. From having a stray dog as a client, to a child that’s trying to fight against God. From a pretty foreign wife who wants a divorce to a K-pop idol. Each case looks silly on paper and not worth Da Wit’s time. But once he and his team get into each case, it’s more complex than it looks. And with all of that, he is also trying to figure out who frames him. So, you just want to keep clicking on that “Next episode”.

Character Chemistry: I love the growth of each character. Each member of the team has a presumption of Da Wit being an attention seeker. But once they work with and learn from him, he’s not what he is made out to be. And what they learn from him is what helps him in the end. Despite their presumption, they use what they learn from him to help him dig the truth. Which is honestly cute. At the same time, working with them, Da Wit remembers the reason why he wants to be an attorney – to help with the less powerful and the voiceless. The part of society he was from. You can clearly see the teamwork and how Da Wit brings out the best from each of them. What I’m actually really glad of is that there’s no romance. There are some moments between Da Wit and Jung In but that was due to their past relationship. I’m also glad they didn’t make Da Wit and Gi Ppeum into a romantic couple and just keep it as a team leader and the smart right hand woman.

Pacing Check: Was it slow in the beginning? Yes. Did it pick up after Episode 1? Yes. So, you just have to endure one episode before things get interesting to watch. There are only 12 episodes and each case, aside from Da Wit’s own, takes about two episodes max. So, each case does get enough time for you to get into it emotionally. The one about the child who was suing God was quite heartbreaking. I was sobbing.

Final Sleepy Rating: ☕ Wide Awake (Just makes you click that “Next episode”)

Status: Completed

Notable mention: Someone said this somewhere and I agree. Jung Kyung Ho does not have your typical leading man looks but he sure can carry off male lead roles well.

Stay awake with me,
Siti


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📺 TV Review: Taxi Driver 3 (2025) – ⚡

Season/Episodes Covered: Season 3, Episodes 1-16

Quick Spark: Our Rainbow Taxi gang is back again to save the world. One cosplay at a time.

The Hook: This is the one TV show which I watched while it was still ongoing. I’m the usual gal who likes to binge a show. But this one? This one I can’t binge. I had to watch it as it airs because it is that good and deserves all my patience. The show really knows how to grab the audience’s attention. The cases are interesting and some are inspired by true crimes. The way they resolve these cases are creative as well. In one episode, Kim Do Gi pretended to be a manager of a K-pop idol girl group and danced during the rehearsal for a music show. This famously happened before with Apink when one of their members had another schedule and their manager replaced her during rehearsal.

Character Chemistry: The characters and the cast members are like a family. The cast said so themselves. As a viewer, their chemistry can be seen through the screen as well. You can’t think of anyone else acting as their characters. You wouldn’t want to replace Lee Je Hoon as Kim Do Gi. You probably can’t think of anyone else fitting to play Mr. Jang other than Kim Eui Sang. And I know someone else was supposed to be playing Ahn Go Eun. But Pyo Ye Jin fit that role so much now that I don’t think viewers can see anyone else playing her. If there’s another season (which I felt there will be), it will always be these 5 cast members.

Pacing Check: Each of the cases that the gang took on has 2 episodes each with the exception of one the cases. That one had 3 episodes. And it’s enough for me. The writer did a good job in ensuring that the cases are resolved as quickly as possible. As a viewer, our attention span and interest is quite short. If it drags on longer, we can get bored.

Final Sleepy Rating: ⚡Electric (Keep the binge going!)

Status: Completed (or waiting for Season 4)

Notable mention: The cast members won awards recently while the show was still ongoing. Not only them. Even the guest actor won an award. That’s how good this show is.

Stay awake with me,
Siti


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🌈📺 TV Review: Ball Boy Tactics (2025) – 🦋

So🔥I had to keep this under wraps! Click here to read the full review!

Season/Episodes Covered: Season 1, Episodes 1-8

The Hook: I’m going to be real honest here. Among the Korean BLs I’ve watched so far, this one is the spiciest. There’s a whole 5-min bed scene that I was so shocked I had to pause. And then I felt awkward about the pause because I felt like a third-wheel so I continued. And when I continued, I was kicking and giggling like the fujoshi that I am.

Character Chemistry: The main couple – Kwon Jeong U and Han Ji Won – are so dang cute.

They weren’t awkward (especially the spicy bed scene) though I do wish that the writers flesh their story out more. Not the spicy bed scene. That’s 5 whole minutes and it’s more than enough. There were some time/scene skips that I wish were added. These would keep the story of this couple a little more cohesive. It’s none of the two actors’ fault though. More of the writer’s – not sure if they were short of time. Now, I really wish for a second season of this show. Why? The second “couple” – Byeon Seung Jin and Yang Eun O.

They are, of course, besties. Yet, I really suspect that Eun O doesn’t feel that being a bestie is enough for him. He’s hinted that he likes Seung Jin as more than a friend. But Seung Jin is an idiot (Eun O said so, not me). So, dear writer of the show, please have a second season. And this time, make it 16 episodes. So much more can be written for Jeong U and Ji Won. Jeong U is a star player of a basketball team and Ji Won being a former national gymnast. The writer did touch the angsty part of their relationship around that topic of being in the public eye. But I really want the writer to dig deeper there. What if the hidden relationship is not enough? Particularly for Jeong U. I don’t think he likes being in the closet. Ji Won, though, knew how it feels like to be a former national athlete and the fallout of being one. And of course, our second “couple” – how Eun O is going to drop the bomb on Seung Jin? I feel like there can be some yearning and angst between these two. There’s a little hint of it in the last episode.

Pacing Check: It’s quite okay. But I do feel that some scenes were just too fast. Some time or scene skips that made me feel a little confused as a viewer. So, personally, while 8 episodes is okay, 16 episodes or slightly more than 8 episodes would have been best. So, Season 2, please.

Final Sleepy Rating: 🦋 (Heart-Flutter but also 🔥)

Status: Completed

Notable mention: The man acting as Jeong U is so damn HOT. And, I like my men in glasses so here’s a screenshot of him being in one.

Stay awake with me,
Siti


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📺 Variety Review: Chef & My Fridge – ☕

The Premise: Chef & My Fridge (also known as Please Take Care of my Refrigerator) is a South Korean variety show that invites 8 well-known chefs and 2 celebrity guests. In each episode, a pair of chefs will compete against each other to cook ingredients that come from the fridges of the guests within 15 minutes, in accordance to their orders (and tastebuds). Every episode, chaos usually ensues in the kitchen with the help of the equally chaotic hosts. It’s a long-running cooking variety show since 2014. It stopped in 2019 but rebooted on both JTBC and Netflix.

The Sleepy Scale Verdict: ☕I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so hard for every single episode. In fact, I used this show as my comfort show in between watching TV series, documentaries or movies. You would usually think Michelin-starred chefs are uppity. But no, these chefs are super hilarious. It truly increases their likeability. Chefs who participated in Culinary Class Wars even find this show to be more difficult. I can understand. Who would think you can cook some fine-dining food in 15 minutes? Not them either. The hilarity usually comes from that time limit and the name of the dish that the chefs come up with – like Su-Su-Su-Su-Super Udon with the Supernova dance from aespa.

The Standout Episode: I think the Su-su-su-su-Super Udon episode is Episode 7 on Netflix. Chef Hoyoung is usually the one coming up with these hilarious names for dishes and dancing to it. So, any episode that he’s in is entertaining. Anytime Chef Kim Poong comes on, just know that it’s going to be wild. And if you want some eye-candy, Chef Son Jong Won will provide you just that. So, it really depends on your mood for the day.

Watchability: You can just watch any episode. You don’t actually have to start from the very first season. If you like a certain celebrity like J-Hope, then you can just skip to those specific episodes.

Stay awake with me,
Siti


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🌈📺 TV Review: Secret Relationships (2025) – 🦋

⚠️ Spoiler Alert! Too much feels! Click below to reveal the full review and my fave moments!

Season/Episodes Covered: Season 1, Episodes 1-8

The Hook: I’m a sucker for yearning. And it’s not just on the main character’s side, Daon. But also on Seong Hyun’s side. His desperation when Daon pushed him away just tears me up. Boy was desperately wanting to be by Daon’s side 😭 Even if it meant he could die (he almost did). There are also yearning from the other two characters, Jae Min and Su Hyeon, but more psychotic. Imagine Daon as Cinderella, Seong Hyun is the Prince Charming and Jae Min and Su Hyeon are the stepsisters who were trying to get in their way.

Character Chemistry: Jun Seo (who played Daon) has chemistry with all three guys. Even if one of them acted as a psychopath and the other is a red flag who needs anger management therapy. Jun Seo and Sun Hyung (who played Seon Hyeong) are just so cutieful. It’s the enemies-to-lovers trope. Daon and Seon Hyung hated each other’s guts and then care and love started to form later. Seon Hyung fell first but Daon? Daon fell later but harder.

Pacing Check: It’s just 8 episodes and each episode is about 30 minutes. Of course, there’s the whole: “Wouldn’t it feel like Seon Hyung fall too fast in love with Daon?” Honestly? Daon is so pretty I’d be surprised if Seon Hyung took ages to fall for this man. Hello… he even cried prettily.

In terms of the plot twists, I was not surprised by Jae Min’s actual character. I was able to guess that something was wrong with that man from the first episode. But the one that got me surprised was the relationship between Su Hyeon and Daon. I didn’t expect that. Some people might say that the last episode is kind of weird but Jae Min is a psycho. Am I surprised that took a turn? No.

Final Sleepy Rating: 🦋 (Heart-Flutter but also 😭)

Status: Completed

Stay awake with me,
Siti


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The Judge from Hell: A K-Drama Review

Poster for Disney+‘s The Judge from Hell

Disney+‘s The Judge from Hell was released on 21 September 2024 and yours truly just completed it. Yes, it took me a long while. There is a reason for it, which I will delve in in the review. Click further for possible spoilers and review…

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The Perfect Couple: Unraveling Secrets in a Picture-Perfect Setting | TV Series

I’m going to be honest: It’s been a while since I’ve watched an English-language drama that it felt like my brain had to constantly remind myself that this is not a K-drama, why am I surprised that I can understand the language that the characters are speaking without having to read the subtitles.

Anyways…

This is No. 1 in the Top 10 TV shows on Netflix in Singapore currently so why not give it a watch. Watch, I did, in one day, which is a feat considering it can take me days usually to finish a TV show.

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Time-Travel Drama ‘Lovely Runner’ Review: An Addictive K-Drama Gem

I am someone who easily can drop a show, not because I don’t like it – I get spoiled a lot on TikTok. But this show is different – I decided to not let TikTok spoilers stop me from finishing this show and I’m absolutely glad that I made that choice. After finishing this show in one week straight, I can now understand why this show won the hearts of Korean people. It has all the ingredients of a really good K-drama.

Let’s begin…

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