A Model Family Season 1 Review : The dark, twisted and gripping K-Drama is binge-worthy

STORY: Park Dong-Ha is a professor who pays a hefty bribe to one of his colleagues to get a promotion. But when the latter is arrested for sexual assault, Dong-Ha loses the money meant for his young son’s heart transplant. The guy lucks out when he stumbles upon a lot of dough on two dead guys. It seems like the answer to his issues, though he reckons it cannot be clean money. He doesn’t realise that he is caught between two Yongsoo and Sangseon Drug Rings. To stay alive, he becomes a drug mule.

REVIEW: K-drama has caught the viewers’ fancy globally and the latest addition in the dark crime thriller category does not disappoint either. The title is satirical as a desperate man uses blood money to save his family that’s on the verge of breaking. It’s not a fresh idea and the story is similar to Breaking Bad and Ozark, but the K-Drama has its own personality and identity. As Park Dong-Ha (Jung Woo) makes away with the cartel’s money, he needs to deal with the drug ring’s second-in-command, the dreadful Kwang-Chul (Park Hee-Soon) and a police officer, Joo-Hyun (Park Ji-Yeon), while his marriage and family are falling apart.

The series is a slow burn for the first four episodes as Dong-Ha has to take care of the dead bodies and the stash of cash while avoiding suspicion. From mid-season onwards, there’s more action and drama as the focus is on the Yongsoo and Sangseon drug rings. There are car chase sequences, double-crossing, deals, gang rivalry, and plot twists galore. Intelligent writing will keep you hooked, and you cannot afford to get distracted lest you miss a twist or important detail. The non-linear narrative and flashbacks that set the context will also demand your keen attention.

A Model Family has a good mix of thrill and intensity, but like the other shows of its ilk, it’s character-centric. From Jung Woo, Yoon Jin-seo as his wife Eun-Ju, Park Ji-Yeon as the intense cop, Park Hee-Soon as Kwang-Chul, Kim Sung-Oh as the up-and-coming drug lord, Choi Kang-jun, and to even Oh Kwang Rok as Da-Hong’s father (who gets limited screentime), every actor is a force to reckon with.

Director Kim Jin-Woo gives a binge-worthy series with each episode cleverly ending with a bang so that you return for more.