• Title: The Rogue Producer Survives as an Idol
• Author/Story: Moonjin (original novel), Uzupotato (adaptation)
• Artist: HUBAE
• Rating: All Ages
• Genre: Drama, Contemporary, Transmigration, Idols, Celebrity,
• Hosted On: Tapas
• Official Link(s): English

Official Summary:

Seo Hoyoon, the genius producer of a popular idol survival show, is infamous for his sharp tongue and coldheartedness. Cursed by a trainee for it, he wakes up as a member of a flop idol group called “The Dawn.” To avoid being stuck in this parallel world forever, Hoyoon must make his group top-tier… but with the competitive industry and challenging tasks, it won’t be easy. With his wits, know-how, and a little help from those around him, will this producer-turned-idol make it big?

My Thoughts:

If you’re an idol fan, you know all about evil editing.

In a flash, your fave can go from a pathetic but pretty underdog to a manipulative monster playing everyone involved. Who amongst us hasn’t tried to watch a survival show only to leave, disheartened because your favorite was treated poorly? Mnet’s evil editing is legendary, after all.

In The Rogue Producer Survives as an Idol, the creative team seeks to humanize a producer notorious for some of that evil editing. Everyone hates Hoyoon. He’s the kind of producer that everyone loves to hate because he makes their faves look bad… but also catapults them to new heights.

At the end of his latest and biggest show, a trainee set to debut literally lays a curse on him because of the toll being widely infamous has taken on her before she even really had a chance to be an idol. With just a few words, she decides to doom him to an idol’s fate. Instead of Hoyoon being launched into an entirely new world, he’s sort of rewritten in his own world. He’s still himself and his younger brother remembers him, but the rest of the world has forgotten him entirely – along with all of his money-making accomplishments.

On top of that, Hoyoon has a system popup that lays out the facts: if he doesn’t debut successfully, he’s going to be trapped in a world that doesn’t remember anything about him.

Off the jump, I enjoy this series a ton. It’s in the same vein as Rookie Talent Agent Knows It All where a celebrity gets a second chance at life and takes it by the horns. The difference is that unlike Jung Yoon-Ho, the protagonist of that linked series, Hoyoon is a jerk. He is a complex, complicated character with layers and trauma… and he’s also a manipulative asshole willing to use everything at his benefit to get his way.

He blackmails multiple people in the first thirteen episodes. Sure, it’s all in service of his nugu group of misfits but… he is shady in this life. What humanizes him across the narrative is that you do get glimpses at what made him so mercenary. When Hoyoon was a young adult, he lost his parents in a car accident that nearly cost him his arm. The reactions from his extended family – desperate to exploit the brothers and take the insurance payout – set him on a desperate path to success.

Hoyoon has such a bad case of tunnel vision. To him, the only person that matters is his little brother and – within reason – he’ll do anything to support him. The difference between Hoyoon and a real evil producer is that Hoyoon doesn’t try to harm people. He takes reasonable risks. The only issue is that what’s reasonable to him leaves other people absolutely enraged. He thinks that debuting in a successful group is worth internet hate. He believes that it’s okay to blackmail a producer for a song. The ends justify the means as long as he stays in his limits.

And yet, he’s also… not a bad guy.

Everything he does has a reason that makes sense and as a producer, he provided guidance behind the scenes for idols who could’ve been in tricky situations. He loves his brother to the point of working himself to the bone. It’s clear that he comes to care about his bandmates. His relationship with his bandmates is wonderful. The leader of the group and him have such a fun electric dynamic. It’s also fun to see him experience a different side of fandom that might change his perspective on fans. For the first time, he has fans. They’re eager to see him and they like him. And now, he has to think about pleasing them rather than setting them off. There’s a scene where they’re walking the carpet to a stage and he has such a cute interaction with a bobble-head of a fan that’s so excited to see him. He’s confused by how to react to the idea that people like him. Isn’t that just sad?

Friends, I think I care him.

It also doesn’t hurt that this adaptation has gorgeous art and excellent story direction. The Rogue Producer Survives as an Idol is a solid and potentially iconic take on celebrity transmigration and reincarnation stories. Hoyoon is a handsome morally gray menace with a heart of coal. It’s fun to watch him figure out what matters in his life and build a bigger world than the one he shared with his baby brother.

Season one is done over on Tapas, but it looks like the second season has just picked back up in Korea. If you like behind the scenes celebrity stories, morally murky characters, and second chances at success… I actually do recommend this series about a devilish producer who has to be a better person in order to succeed.