Summary
A fairly faithfully and doubtlessly well-intentioned remake, A Time Called You is impressively and handsomely constructed, but a little hamstrung by too many overlong episodes.
This review of the Netflix K-Drama series A Time Called You Season 1 does not contain spoilers.
It is not unusual for Netflix to release Korean remakes of popular shows. Money Heist and Designated Survivor have already recently proved that the formula works; a decent story is a decent story in any language, and the trademark quality of acting and production found in K-Drama tends to provide a little uplift overall.
But A Time Called You is riskier territory, as it’s not just a remake, but a remake of a beloved Taiwanese classic titled Someday or One Day. This is one of those instances where fans are outright disbelieving in the idea of a remake living up to the original. It seems destined to fail.
But does it?
A Time Called You Season 1 review and plot summary
The basic plot will obviously be familiar to anyone who saw the original, but it’s also reminiscent – perhaps because I watched it recently – of another K-Drama, See You in My 19th Life. That was about reincarnation, whereas A Time Called You is about time travel, but it’s a similar premise.
In summary, in 2023, a woman named Han Jun-hee loses the love of her life, Gu Yeon-jun, and in her grief, she’s transported back to 1998, into the body of another girl named Kwon Min-ju, and meets a fellow high-schooler, Nam Si-heon, who looks eerily like her lost love.
With the introduction of In-gyu, another student who has a crush on Min-ju, we have all the makings of a lightly fantastical love story.
One can’t envy the writers tasked with redoing this basic premise, or the actors reinventing these familiar roles, but everyone does a good, respectful job. It’s the production design and cinematography, though, that does most of the heavy lifting, providing clear delineation between past and present scenes and a handsome overall aesthetic that speaks to a production defined by quality and care.
You can fault A Time Called You, and many will, but not for its dedication to doing the story justice.
It will, though, be directly compared to its original incarnation. These comparisons are unavoidable but still regrettable, since for the most part this series is able to stand on its own as a thoughtful romantic drama.
Is A Time Called You good or bad?
A Time Called You is pretty inarguably a well-constructed and handsomely-produced drama that does a degree of justice to its iconic source material.
Side by side comparisons will be made and, frankly, they won’t all be favorable. But the show does work on its own terms, even if it also feels hindered by a grossly overlong runtime of twelve episodes, most of which stretch to over an hour. It’s a common problem among K-Dramas, and this one doesn’t manage to swerve it.
Fans, though, may well relish the appeal of a weekend-long binge, so mileage will vary.
Is A Time Called You worth watching?
For fans of the original this is a no-brainer, even as simply an exercise in curiosity. But even for those unfamiliar with the original version, A Time Called You is a compelling and impressive series with an engaging story and characters.
What did you think of the K-Drama A Time Called You Season 1? Comment below.
You can watch this series with a subscription to Netflix.
