Hey, everyone! How’s it going? Today I’m here to review the drama Love is for Suckers, which takes the classic friends-to-lovers trope and throws it into the chaotic world of reality dating shows, creating a perfect storm of romantic tension, workplace drama, and emotional complications that will keep you hooked from start to finish.
Love is for Suckers aired on ENA from October 5 to December 1, 2022, every Wednesday and Thursday at 21:00 KST, spanning 16 episodes with approximately 60 minutes each. The series is now available on Netflix and Viki, making this romantic workplace comedy accessible to global audiences who love behind-the-scenes entertainment industry stories. Starring Lee Da-hee and Choi Si-won, this drama explores what happens when 20-year friendship meets professional obligations in the most awkward way possible.
This romantic comedy brilliantly combines workplace dynamics with personal relationships, creating a meta-commentary on reality dating shows while delivering genuine romantic moments. Love is for Suckers stands out by examining how friendship boundaries shift when professional and personal lives collide, especially in the high-pressure world of television production where everything becomes content.
Yeo Reum’s Professional Desperation: When Work and Heart Collide
Lee Da-hee plays Goo Yeo-reum, a television producer in her tenth year who works harder than most but struggles to create successful shows. Desperate for both career advancement and romantic fulfillment, she finds herself producing a reality dating show that becomes more complicated than she ever imagined.
Lee Da-hee delivers a powerhouse performance that captures the frustration of a woman approaching 40 who feels stuck in both her professional and personal life. Her portrayal of Yeo-reum’s desperation feels authentic and relatable, showing someone who has dedicated everything to her career only to realize success means nothing without personal happiness.
What makes Yeo-reum compelling is her evolution from someone who compartmentalizes her emotions for professional success to someone willing to risk everything for authentic connection. Her journey represents every working woman who has ever wondered if professional achievement is worth sacrificing personal relationships.
Jae Hoon’s Complicated Return: The Friend Who Changes Everything
Choi Si-won plays Park Jae-hoon, a plastic surgeon and Yeo-reum’s childhood friend who unexpectedly becomes a contestant on her reality dating show. His participation creates impossible professional and personal conflicts that force both characters to confront their true feelings after 20 years of friendship.
Choi Si-won brings depth and vulnerability to Jae-hoon, showing a successful man dealing with his own emotional wounds while navigating the artificial world of reality television. His chemistry with Lee Da-hee feels natural and lived-in, making their friendship believable even as romantic tension builds throughout the series.
The beauty of Jae-hoon’s character lies in how he challenges Yeo-reum’s carefully constructed boundaries between work and personal life. His presence forces her to question whether she’s been hiding behind professional obligations to avoid confronting her own romantic fears and desires.
When Reality TV Becomes Too Real
The series reaches its emotional peak when the artificial construct of the dating show begins affecting real relationships, forcing Yeo-reum to choose between professional success and personal integrity. The climax brilliantly blurs the lines between what’s genuine and what’s performed, creating moments where both characters must decide if their feelings are real or manufactured by the show’s environment.
These pivotal episodes don’t just focus on romantic revelation – they examine how modern media manipulates emotions and relationships for entertainment value. The resolution challenges viewers to consider whether authentic love can survive in an environment designed to manufacture drama, making every decision feel consequential and meaningful.
Success on Streaming Platforms
Love is for Suckers found its audience on international streaming platforms like Netflix and Viki, where viewers appreciated its unique blend of workplace comedy and romantic drama. The series benefits from its behind-the-scenes look at reality TV production, offering insights into how these shows manipulate emotions for entertainment. While the show received mixed ratings during its original Korean run, international audiences have embraced its authentic portrayal of friendship, career struggles, and modern relationships. Love is for Suckers demonstrates how workplace romances can feel fresh when combined with meta-commentary on entertainment industry practices.
Perfect Binge-Watching for Romance and Reality TV Fans
If you love friends-to-lovers romance with workplace dynamics, Love is for Suckers is the perfect series to discover on Netflix. This isn’t just another office romance – it’s a smart exploration of how friendship, professional ambition, and authentic love intersect in ways that feel both entertaining and emotionally honest.
Why This Meta-Romance Deserves Your Attention
Positive Points:
- Lee Da-hee and Choi Si-won deliver authentic performances with believable 20-year friendship chemistry
- Clever meta-commentary on reality dating shows while maintaining genuine romantic moments
- Strong exploration of career woman struggles and work-life balance issues
- Behind-the-scenes entertainment industry setting provides unique backdrop for romance
- Supporting cast creates engaging secondary storylines that enhance the main narrative
Negative Points:
- Some episodes lose momentum in the middle portion as noted by viewers and critics
- The reality TV show format sometimes feels repetitive despite the meta-commentary
- Certain dramatic moments feel manufactured compared to the authentic friendship dynamics
- Pacing issues where workplace drama occasionally overshadows romantic development
- The ending may feel rushed for viewers wanting more resolution of secondary relationships
Love is for Suckers proves that the best relationships often hide in plain sight, disguised as friendship until life forces us to acknowledge what was always meant to be something more.
Series Details
- Number of Episodes: 16 episodes (completed)
- Platform: Netflix, Viki
- Release Year: October – December 2022
- Current IMDb Rating: 7.2/10
- Genre: Romantic Comedy, Workplace Drama
- Production Type: K-drama (Korean Drama)
- Status: Completed series
- Protagonists: Lee Da-hee (Goo Yeo-reum), Choi Si-won (Park Jae-hoon)
- Antagonist: Professional obligations, emotional barriers, and the artificial world of reality television