Actress Kim Tae-hee is returning to the small screen in five years as a ghost mom in tvN’s new comedy drama series “Hi Bye, Mama!”

Kim, a mother of two daughters, said her character in the upcoming drama, Cha Yu-ri, is one that is the most similar to herself of all the characters she has played so far.

“(Yu-ri) Is an ordinary mom of a daughter, a member of a family, and I felt she was the closest to myself,” the actress said during a video press conference held on Tuesday. “I approached the role thinking she is me. I thought about how I would act around people close to me and tried to portray that.”

Yu-ri gives birth to a daughter just before dying from an accident. Five years after her death, Yu-ri is able to return to her daughter and husband Kang-hwa for 49 days as a ghost. Upon returning to her family, Yu-ri finds out Min-jung is now next to Kang-hwa as his new wife and the mother to Yu-ri’s daughter.

Actor Lee Kyu-hyung, who starred in tvN’s 2017 black comedy “Prison Playbook,” takes up the role of Kang-hwa, confused between his two wives, one dead and another alive. Actress Ko Bo-gyeol plays Kang-hwa’s current wife.

“Hi Bye, Mama!” follows on the heels of tvN’s smash-hit “Crash Landing On You,” which ended last weekend after setting a record viewership rating for the cable channel.

Yoo Je-won who produced “Hi Bye, Mama!” said his latest work was a light and funny human drama.

“Since the drama deals with ghosts, I was aware we would be dealing with emotions that many of us have never felt before. I didn’t want to act as if I knew everything and force my emotions on the viewers. I expect people would be able to unfurl their own imaginations watching the drama and approach the matter of ghost naturally,” Yoo said.

Along with the key figures, the drama will be packed with many other unique characters, Yoo added.

“All the characters have their own stories, which will be unveiled step by step throughout the 16 episodes.” he said. “Although the drama doesn’t tell a special story, it depicts a universal emotion to which many viewers will empathize deeply with.”

Lee’s previous works include another hit series featuring ghosts, “Oh My Ghost” in 2015, and the romance drama “Tomorrow, With You” in 2017.

The producer also hinted of a brief appearance of actor Lee Jeong-eun in the drama. Lee, who played the housekeeper Moon-gwang in “Parasite,” also starred in “Oh My Ghost.”

The new series will start airing this Saturday on tvN.



By Choi Ji-won (jwc@heraldcorp.com)