First teaser for Missing 9 crash-lands onto the scene

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

The very first teaser is out for MBC’s new mystery drama Missing 9, and it wastes no time in setting up the high-concept premise and introducing us to the nine plane crash survivors who must fend for themselves on a remote island.

The teaser opens with a plane suddenly plunging into its descent. Inside the luxurious private plane, oxygen masks dangle from the ceiling and passengers hang on for dear life as water surges into the cabin. In a creative use of numbers (that sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t), we meet our first passenger, “1eader” Jung Kyung-ho (One More Happy Ending), who plays a has-been pop star who used to lead an idol band, but is now barely hanging onto his celebrity status. Though he’s hit rock bottom in his career, he finds the strength and determination to lead the other stranded victims in their fight for survival.

Then we have Kim Sang-ho (Bring It On, Ghost) as the “Pre2ident” of talent agency Legend Entertainment, and Oh Jung-se (Beautiful Mind) as the loyal “Mana3er” to Jung Kyung-ho. Chanyeol (To the Beautiful You) plays the handsome “supersta4,” a renowned artist/composer who used to be in the same band as Jung Kyung-ho, but found greater success as a solo musician. He’ll serve as the much needed ray of light for the stranded.

Choi Tae-joon (Flower in Prison) assumes the mantle of “Trou5lemaker” and plays the former bandmate of Jung Kyung-ho and Chanyeol, who ventured into acting following the band’s fallout and was enjoying his second career boom. On the island, his egotistical nature sparks disharmony and doesn’t make island survival any easier. Lee Sun-bin (Police Unit 38) plays the top celebrity of Legend Entertainment. She’s the “Prin6ess” who doesn’t mince words, but hides a dark secret.

Tae Hang-ho (Moonlight Drawn By Clouds) plays the Head “Secre7ary” of Legend Entertainment, and Ryu Won (Uncontrollably Fond) is the mature and accountable billboard model and Hallyu star, and also the group’s “8utsider.”

Last, but not least, we have Baek Jin-hee (My Daughter Geum Sa-wol) taking on the role of Jung Kyung-ho’s rookie stylist and eventual love interest who becomes the sole remaining survivor of the nine, ergo the only “E9ewitness” to the devastating plane crash and its aftermath. The country will turn to her for answers, but how much of the harrowing truth she’ll reveal is uncertain because there’s something holding her back.

Quick flashes of bloodied, wet, and anguished faces show the quick downward spiral of the stranded passengers who struggle to beat the elements and make it out alive. The copy reads, “Top Star x Private Plane x Emergency Landing,” ending with “9 survivors, a mysterious corpse, and just one eyewitness.”

I’ll admit to not being very interested in this drama as it was going through a plethora of creative, casting, and title changes, but I’m surprised to see it shape up nicely into what appears to be an ambitious, dark, and electrifying tale. I’m very interested to see how they film the island scenes and whether or not the island will become a character in and of itself.

Missing 9 will air on MBC on Wednesdays and Thursdays and is set to premiere in January 2017.