THE FABULOUS is a Netflix original series consisting of eight episodes, that is written by Kim Ji-hee and directed by Kim Jung-hyun. The TV series explores the adventures of a group of friends who are determined to take on the challenges of joining Seoul’s cut-throat fashion industry. Each of the pals is aspiring to one of the major jobs within the industry.
The plot of the series is straightforward, but it’s incredibly intriguing that the creators chose to tell it through the viewpoint of the fashion business. Ji Woo-min (Choi Min-ho) enchants everyone with his shy, carefree smile.
He does a smooth job of switching from being vulnerable and behaving like a lovely lover boy. On the other hand, Ji-eun’s (Chae Soo-bin) life is beautiful, perhaps a little too flawless for her own good. It would have been good to see more development and progress in her character.
Someone is always there to save the day for her whenever she has problems at work, demonstrating how model-perfect her career ended up being. The Fabulous greatly emphasises friendship throughout, using the fashion world as the ideal backdrop for all of the ups and downs. This TV series was engaging to watch because of its focus on friendship.
This was made feasible by the four main cast members’ great chemistry, which effectively conveyed their tight relationship. With them in your posse, you might start to think that everything is possible. In terms of their relationship, Ji Woo-min and Pyo Ji-eun just have a normal retroactively-came-to-the-realisation love affair, with little romanticism permeating through the many situations when he has helped her and she has blamed everything on him.
Honestly, I did not notice any romantic spark between Min-ho and Soo-bin. Given how the show starts, I was expecting more chemistry, but there isn’t much. Also, since I myself dislike love triangles, watching this series was tiresome since all I wanted at this point was for Ji-eun to choose a partner and resume the storyline.
Despite several parts where she might have performed a bit better, Park Hee-jung’s performance as Ye Seon-ho, the model going through an agonizing phase concerning her own professional front, was enjoyable to witness in her film debut role.
It was a nice series all around. K-drama fans will watch at least once, however I’m not sure if it has the re-watchability factor.
The Fabulous is now streaming on Netflix.
DIRECTOR: Kim Jung-hyun
CAST: Chae Soo-bin, Choi Min-ho, Park Hee-sung, Lee Sang-un
E-VALUE: 6
ACTING: 7
PLOT: 6
