Part Time Idol Review

I usually find all my Asian dramas on Netflix. That is pretty much the only thing that shows up on my home screen at this point. I went through and just added a bunch of random dramas for the sake of having something to watch.

Part Time Idol is about a legendary music producer who makes his comeback after leaving his company to go on a self healing journey. When he returns after 8 years, he decides he is going to create a co-ed idol group. As he is walking into the company, he stumbles across four trainees who inspire him. The producer finds each one of these trainees has the potential and takes them under his wing. However, each one also has a major flaw. Soo-ah has a severe case of stage fright and runs and hides in the bathroom any time she is getting ready to perform. Soo-hyun can not hit high notes when she sings. This is determined to be caused by her lack of confidence and stress. Hyeon-bin has an obsession with fame and social media. Hee-jung has anger issues. The music producer begins to prepare the group for their debut show. The CEO begins to sabotage the team for his own selfish and greedy reasons. The group (Part Time Idol), must learn how to face the challenges of becoming idols in order to become successful.

First off, I will say I feel like Part Time Idol was too short. There were times when everything just seemed to rushed. There are only five episodes with the average run time of 25 minutes each. It took the first three episodes to get the entire group together and their debut was the final episode. With that being said, that means there was one episode in which the group is together. One episode for the group to learn how to work together and grow together as a group. The timing was absolutely my biggest gripe about Part Time Idol.

Next, the characters are too difficult to connect with. I don’t know if the problem centers around the time restraints or if the character development was that flawed. I think the only one I really was able to care about was the music producer himself, and really I may only care because of his tragic past and his heart of gold.

The only other thing I can really say that disappointed me was the repetition of the music playing. Now I do understand why Part Time Idol’s “Red Carpet” was constantly played since the group was working on their debut show. However, I feel they could have mixed up a little more music.

Although there were a lot of negatives, Part Time Idol did have a few things going for it. First of all, I really liked the concept. A legendary music producer taking a bunch of misfit rookies who are filled with passion, and giving them the opportunity to prove that they have what it takes to become an idol. This is a chance they would never get otherwise.

I also liked the music. Although the variety wasn’t there, the quality of the music given was great. Part Time Idol’s debut song “Red Carpet” was super catchy. It played to the strengths of all the members and in doing so created a pretty great song.

The ending was also done pretty well. It also goes on to show what happens to all the members as well as the producer. Of course there is a happy ending, and they even left it open enough that if the creators ever decided to expand on the story, they could easily transition into a new season. The best part of all the credits have bloopers. Who doesn’t love bloopers?

Besides the concept and music, Part Time Idol also had its funny moments. For example, when everyone was trying to help Hee-jung with her anger problems, all the members had to use disraps in order to make her angry. Once Hee-jung exploded with anger, she raps for three hours straight. Everything about this scene is cringe worthy but still super funny in my opinion.

Overall, Part Time Idol was okay. It was average at best, but I will say it did have its moments. I found myself laughing out loud a few times. I truly think if they would have either turned it into a movie or gave the story a few more episodes, everything would have felt less rushed. If they would have turned it into a movie, I could have understood why it was rushed so I wouldn’t have minded as much. However, I will say the performance to the ending credits is well done. Wrapping everything up so nicely. So, if you get bored and are looking for a Korean drama that is short and sweet, you might like Part Time Idol. I can’t bring myself to give it anything higher than three stars. The lack of depth and disconnect makes it very difficult to give it anything higher.