Whisper (Korean귓속말; RRGwitsokmal) is a 2017 South Korean television series starring Lee Bo-young, Lee Sang-yoon, Kwon Yul, and Park Se-young.[2] It aired on SBS from March 27 to May 23, 2017, on Mondays and Tuesdays at 22:00 (KST) for 17 episodes.

Whisper
Promotional poster
Genre
Created byHan Jung-hwan (SBS Drama Division)
Written byPark Kyung-soo
Directed byMyoungwoo Lee
Starring
Music byGaemi
Country of originSouth Korea
Original languageKorean
No. of episodes17[a]
Production
Executive producerKim Hee-yeol
ProducerLee Hee-soo
Production locationSouth Korea
Running time60 minutes
Production companyPan Entertainment
Budget5.65 billion won[1]
Original release
NetworkSBS TV
ReleaseMarch 27 (2017-03-27) –
May 23, 2017 (2017-05-23)

Synopsis

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Shin Young-joo (Lee Bo-young) is a charismatic female section chief police officer who is passionate about her career. With her family facing financial difficulties, she has to undergo much agony and pay off debts for her family. She speaks harshly, but has a heart of gold.

Lee Dong-joon (Lee Sang-yoon) is a virtuous elite judge, brilliant-minded and warm-hearted, and has a willingness to help weak people who need a listening ear.

Both of them join alliances together to uncover defense industry corruption at Taebaek, the nation's biggest law firm, which turns out to be one of the top scandals ever.

Cast

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Main

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The main cast of the series at the press conference doing the "whisper gesture". From left: Lee Sang-yoon, Lee Bo-young, Park Se-young, Kwon Yul.
A section chief of criminal division who fights for her father's unjustified defamation, but her fight backfires and she is dismissed from the police service. In the aftermath, she goes undercover at Taebaek Law Firm.
Known as a righteous judge who abides by the law and does not waver due to temptation, but he falls into a hopeless situation and has to work for Taebaek Law Firm.
A lawyer & Team Manager of corporate mergers and acquisitions in Taebaek Law Firm.
Frivolous, nonchalant and sarcastic. Daughter of the CEO of Taebaek Law Firm.

Supporting

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People in Taebaek Law Firm

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CEO of Taebaek and father of Soo-yeon.
  • Kim Hong-fa as Kang Yoo-taek
Jung-il's father. Chairman of Bo-gook Industries.
Soo-yeon's mother.
  • Jo Dal-hwan as Jo Kyung-ho
Jung-il's close friend.
Soo-yeon's personal assistant.
  • Kim Hyung-mook as Song Tae-gon
Choi Il-hwan's secretary.
Henchmen hired by Taebaek.

People around Lee Dong-joon

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A Hospital Director of Hangang Hospital and father of Dong-joon.
Dong-joon's step-mother.
  • Jo Seung-yoon as Lee Dong-min
Son of Dong-joon's father & step-mother.
  • Heo Jae-ho as Noh Ki-yong
Dong-joon's subordinate.
Dong-joon's mother.

People around Shin Young-joo

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Young-joo's father; falsely accused of murder of his close friend to stop him from whistleblowing.
Young-joo's mother.
Young-joo's ex-boyfriend, deceived her due to his own selfish needs.
  • Jung Yi-yeon as Jo Yeon-hwa
Young-joo's close friend, whose identity Young-joo borrowed for a while.

Special appearance

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Production

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First script reading took place at 2pm on January 24, 2017, at SBS Tanhyeon-dong Production Center, Ilsanseo-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. Filming for the drama began on February 1, 2017.

Before it was titled Whisper, its working title was Advance (Korean진격; RRJinkyeok). Writer Park Kyung-soo originally wrote it as a medical drama, then revised as a police drama, until SBS scrapped it completely. But in December 2016, the broadcaster gave the project the go signal, and it was revised as a suspense/legal melodrama.

Lee Bo-young and Lee Sang-yoon reunite again for this miniseries, after previously starred together in 2012 KBS2 drama series My Daughter, Seo Yeong. Lee Bo-young and Kim Hae-sook reunite as daughter and mother after playing the roles of daughter and mother in I Can Hear Your Voice.

Ratings

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In the table below, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.

Ep. Broadcast date Average audience share
TNmS[6] AGB Nielsen[7]
Nationwide Seoul Nationwide Seoul
1 March 27, 2017 15.4% (4th) 19.1% (3rd) 13.9% (4th) 16.1% (4th)
2 March 28, 2017 12.9% (5th) 15.3% (4th) 13.4% (5th) 14.9% (4th)
3 April 3, 2017 16.3% (4th) 19.8% (3rd) 13.8% (4th) 14.1% (4th)
4 April 4, 2017 14.2% (4th) 16.3% (4th) 15.0% (4th) 16.7% (4th)
5 April 10, 2017 13.5% (4th) 15.2% (4th) 14.9% (4th) 16.0% (4th)
6 April 11, 2017 13.0% (4th) 16.2% (4th) 14.9% (4th) 15.7% (4th)
7 April 17, 2017 12.9% (6th) 15.4% (4th) 14.9% (4th) 15.5% (4th)
8 April 18, 2017 13.1% (5th) 15.9% (4th) 16.0% (4th) 16.9% (3rd)
9 April 24, 2017 13.4% (4th) 14.9% (4th) 15.5% (4th) 17.1% (3rd)
10 April 25, 2017 10.9% (7th) 13.0% (4th) 11.9% (5th) 12.5% (5th)
11 May 1, 2017 13.4% (4th) 14.5% (5th) 16.0% (3rd) 17.2% (3rd)
12 May 2, 2017 13.1% (2nd) 15.0% (1st) 15.9% (1st) 17.1% (1st)
13 May 8, 2017[b] 13.5% (4th) 15.0% (5th) 15.8% (4th) 16.8% (3rd)
14 May 15, 2017 13.1% (6th) 14.1% (4th) 17.0% (4th) 18.2% (2nd)
15 May 16, 2017 13.3% (5th) 14.4% (5th) 16.4% (4th) 17.1% (3rd)
16 May 22, 2017 15.2% (4th) 17.0% (4th) 19.2% (2nd) 20.1% (2nd)
17 May 23, 2017 15.8% (2nd) 17.5% (2nd) 20.3% (2nd) 21.8% (2nd)
Average 13.71% 15.81% 15.58% 16.70%

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Recipient Result Ref.
2017 SBS Drama Awards Character of the Year Kim Kap-soo Nominated [8][9]
Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Monday–Tuesday Drama Lee Sang-yoon Nominated
Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Monday–Tuesday Drama Lee Bo-young Won
Excellence Award, Actor in a Monday–Tuesday Drama Kwon Yul Won
Excellence Award, Actress in a Monday–Tuesday Drama Park Se-young Won
Best Supporting Actor Kim Hyung-mook Nominated
1st The Seoul Awards Best Actress Lee Bo-young Nominated

Notes

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  1. ^ Originally scheduled to air for 16 episodes, the series was increased by one episode in lieu of the 2017 South Korean presidential election polling day. It was the final drama serial to air 60-minute episodes, following a repackaging of episodes in subsequent programmes.
  2. ^ No episode was aired on May 9 due to the broadcast of the 2017 South Korean presidential election polling day results.

References

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  1. ^ BRIEF-Pan Entertainment signs contract worth 5.65 bln won
  2. ^ Chung Jin-hong (January 27, 2017). "SBS drama 'Whisper' announces cast of stars" (in Korean). Retrieved March 15, 2017.
  3. ^ elliefilet (December 9, 2016). "Actress Lee Bo Young to make her return to dramas in 'Whisper'!" (in Korean). Retrieved March 15, 2017.
  4. ^ S.Ng (January 19, 2017). "Lee Bo Young And Lee Sang Yoon Might Reunite For Upcoming Drama" (in Korean). Retrieved March 15, 2017.
  5. ^ a b beansss (January 25, 2017). "Lee Sang Yoon, Park Se Young, and Kwon Yool join Lee Bo Young in new SBS romance drama" (in Korean). Retrieved March 15, 2017.
  6. ^ "TNMS Daily Ratings: this links to current day-select the date from drop down menu". TNMS Ratings (in Korean). Retrieved March 25, 2017.
  7. ^ "AGB Daily Ratings: this links to current day-select the date from drop down menu". AGB Nielsen Media Research (in Korean). Archived from the original on March 17, 2017. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
  8. ^ Yang Ji-yeon (December 31, 2017). "[2017 SBS 연기대상] 지성, '피고인'으로 대상…이보영과 '대상부부' 등극(종합)". Seoul Economic Daily (in Korean). Retrieved December 31, 2017.
  9. ^ Ji Min-kyung (December 31, 2017). "[2017 SBS 연기대상 종합] '피고인' 지성, 이변 없는 대상..."사랑하는 아내 감사"". OSEN (in Korean). Retrieved December 31, 2017.
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