tvN Wednesday-Thursday drama, restarting after 8 months... 'Hot Goodbye' to deliver brilliant comfort (Comprehensive)

8 months after 'I'll Give You the Universe,' a Wednesday-Thursday dramaKang Hoon, Jo Hyun-chul, and Kim Jeong-jin unite as a trio of unknown comediansActors Jo Hyun-chul, Kang Hoon, and Lee Yi-dam, Director Jeong Ji-hyun, Moon Hee, Yoon Ga-yi, and Kim Jeong-jin (from left) attended the production presentation of tvN's new Wednesday-Thursday drama 'A Fiery Farewell.' /tvN[Reporter Kim Saet-byul] tvN is bringing back its Wednesday-Thursday drama slot after an 8-month hiatus. The new addition to tvN's Wednesday-Thursday lineup, which has continued to feature diverse experiments and challenges, is 'A Fiery Farewell,' a story about young people settling their brilliant failures.The production presentation for 'A Fiery Farewell' (written by Ahn Ah-reum, directed by Jeong Ji-hyun and Heo Seok-won) was held online on the afternoon of the 3rd. Director Jeong Ji-hyun, along with actors Kang Hoon, Jo Hyun-chul, Kim Jeong-jin, Lee Yi-dam, Moon Hee, and Yoon Ga-yi, attended and shared various stories about the work and characters.'A Fiery Farewell,' based on the Japanese drama 'Conti ga Hajimaru,' is a coming-of-age story about a trio of unknown comedians named 'Asura,' who were chasing their dreams, meeting a mysterious woman and finding their own tomorrows. It depicts the stories of young people who face failure in pursuit of their dreams, choosing the next step rather than giving up, with cheerful laughter.tvN's Wednesday-Thursday dramas were discontinued after 2023 and began meeting viewers again this year. As this is the first Wednesday-Thursday drama to be released in about 8 months since 'I'll Give You the Universe,' which ended in March, there is much interest in how 'A Fiery Farewell' will be received in its newly scheduled time slot.Director Jeong Ji-hyun cited the realistic stories of young people as the reason for choosing the project. He said, "It was the only youth drama among the projects I was offered. It's a story about people in their 30s achieving their dreams, and I felt a connection to the current youth and the youth I lived through." He added, "I was drawn to its realistic, sad, yet reckless and brilliant story."Behind-the-scenes stories related to the drama's title were also revealed. Director Jeong explained, "The original title was 'Asura Balbalta.' It's also the team name of the comedy trio of three people." He continued, "As we filmed the story and worked on the script, we wanted to convey the meaning of shedding failures and saying a fiery farewell to start anew."Actors Jo Hyun-chul, Kang Hoon, and Kim Jeong-jin lead tvN's new Wednesday-Thursday drama 'A Fiery Farewell,' working together as the comedy trio 'Asura.' /tvNKang Hoon plays Kang Tae-gu, the leader and breadwinner of the comedy trio. Tae-gu, who has endured 10 years of obscurity, prioritizes comedy in his life but struggles between his sense of responsibility towards the team and reality.Kang Hoon expressed his affection, saying, "When the director contacted me, I immediately said yes. Because he is a director I truly love." He added, "I enjoyed the script and wanted to support their dreams," explaining his reason for appearing in the drama.Jo Hyun-chul plays Kim Nam-il, the witty member of Asura. He is a character who struggles between his 10-year relationship with his girlfriend Lee Na-yeon (played by Moon Hee) and his dreams. Jo Hyun-chul highlighted his chemistry with his fellow actors as the key to his performance in this project.He recalled, "I'm not very talkative on set, but the actors and the director created a great atmosphere." He added, "I've been acting for quite some time, but this is the first project where I've had so much fun and played around while filming."He also expressed his desire for romantic acting. Jo Hyun-chul joked, "I was a specialist in romantic acting during my school days, but the broadcasting industry didn't come looking for me." Director Jeong chimed in, "I heard a rumor that Jo Hyun-chul wanted to do romance," drawing laughter.His co-star Moon Hee also expressed satisfaction with their chemistry. Moon Hee said, "The romance with Jo Hyun-chul senior was perfect. I was nervous and worried, but he provided a lot of ad-libs beyond the script." She added, "Those ad-libs touched my heart and made the scenes richer," expressing her gratitude. Jo Hyun-chul responded, "Romance is not something you can do alone. I focused on my co-star and tried to understand their thoughts."Kim Jeong-jin plays Han Jun-seo, the pragmatic member of Asura. As a character who experiences dilemmas between reality and ideals, the actor deeply empathized with the script. Kim Jeong-jin said, "When you work, you inevitably feel the gap between reality and ideals. This script resonated most with those emotions." He continued, "The way they dealt with failure is also how I wish to be. I cried a lot while reading the script and really wanted to do it."Actors Jo Hyun-chul and Moon Hee, Kang Hoon and Lee Yi-dam, and Kim Jeong-jin and Yoon Ga-yi (from left) form three couples, and tvN's new Wednesday-Thursday drama 'A Fiery Farewell' is set to showcase diverse romances. /tvNTo portray characters who dream of becoming comedians, they met with actual comedians. Jo Hyun-chul said, "I visited the comedians' room and observed their meetings, studying how they come up with and develop ideas." He added, "Comedian Song Pil-geun personally coached us on the skits, and it was really difficult. I came to respect and admire comedians even more."Director Jeong Ji-hyun shared his experience meeting comedian Jang Dong-min. He said, "We had a consultation and Q&A session for about two hours. I listened for a long time about their journey to becoming comedians, rather than the methods or processes of creating segments." He expressed his gratitude for the help it provided in preparing for the drama.Lee Yi-dam plays Go Eun-young, an ardent fan of Asura. Although she is an unknown figure who suddenly appears, she supports Asura more sincerely than anyone else. Lee Yi-dam introduced her character, saying, "Eun-young might be an unwelcome guest to Asura, but she is someone who sincerely supports them." She added, "She's a character you want to take care of and worry about when she's around."Yoon Ga-yi joins the cast as Go Ji-young. He said, "I wanted to do it so badly after reading the script that I would have begged for the role." He continued, "I believe it can be touching for viewers who have lived diligently in the past and are living brilliantly now," explaining his reason for participating.Finally, Kang Hoon described Asura's teamwork as 95 out of 100 points. He humorously added, "Because there are no flaws," and asked for anticipation for the drama.'A Fiery Farewell' is a 12-episode series and will premiere on the 11th at 10:50 PM.sstar1204@tf.co.kr[Entertainment Department | ssent@tf.co.kr]