K-Content News
SBS to air sports drama 'Racket Boys'
- May 27, 2021
SBS to air sports drama 'Racket Boys'
Updated : 2021-05-26 16:41
By Lee Gyu-lee
Sports have been considered as an unpopular subject in TV dramas with many shows about sports and athletes failing to garner popularity. However, SBS managed to hit a home run in 2019 with the baseball series "Hot Stove League," garnering a 19.1 percent viewership rating and winning an award at the WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival.
The network hopes to hit another ratings home run in the sports drama genre with the upcoming series "Racket Boys," which portrays junior badminton players.
"Sports dramas have been considered difficult to become hits. But what's different is that our series will cover the core value of badminton, unlike previous series that only included sports as a portion or a concept of the overall storyline," series director Jo Yeong-gwang said during an online press conference, Tuesday. "So the actors have been training really hard as if they were real badminton players."
The show follows a junior high school badminton team from a small town. A city kid named Yoon Hae-kang (Tang Jun-sang) joins the team, which is on the brink of falling apart, when his dad, Hyun-jong (Kim Sang-kyung), takes a job as its coach to rescue the team. It is written by Jung Bo-hoon, who is known for writing the tvN series "Prison Playbook."
The director, whose previous works include "Heart Surgeons" and "Hyde Jekyll, Me," explained that the series has three main themes. "Our series is about the racket boys taking on a challenge to win a national junior league, city people getting used to nature and connecting with people in a rural town, and the youths' coming-of-age story through badminton," the director said.
Emphasizing that badminton is an easily accessible sport that anyone can play, he expressed that the series will lead people to take more interest in the sport. And to do so, attention to detail was the key to making the series.
"When I first met the writer, she gave me a stack of papers the size of a phone book. It had a series of interviews with people in the badminton field… On the set, we have former coaches offering consulting on the details of the scene, like the characters' movements and postures while they play," he said.
The young actors who play the members of the team not only went through a long process of auditioning, but also underwent athletic training to prepare for their roles.
"The audition process lasted for about a month for the younger actors, which was tough, but also worth it," he said. "We wanted them to resemble professional players as much as possible and they did a good job. They would always keep themselves busy practicing badminton with each other on the set, voluntarily… the viewers will be able to see a good, exciting rally from our series."
Tang, who plays a young athlete struggling to adapt to country life, added that he took lessons for about four months before filming began. "I used to play badminton with my family and thought I was good at it. But it was a whole other thing when I actually trained. And after working really hard to look like a pro player, the result came out good," he said.
Actor Kim plays a former national team badminton player who takes a job in the countryside after going broke. As he leads the team for a chance to compete in the national league, he finds the purpose of his career.
He noted that he chose this series because it stands out from other shows coming out these days. "It has a unique story. It's a piece that will make you smile, but also make you cry at the same time," he said. "TV series usually follow trends. But when I saw this series' script, I realized that this is a series that our country really needs right now, especially when people are fed up and struggling through the pandemic."
The director also added: "the series will not only have dramatic sports competitions, but also heart-warming episodes that will touch the hearts of viewers."
"Racket Boys" is set to premiere on May 31.
Sports have been considered as an unpopular subject in TV dramas with many shows about sports and athletes failing to garner popularity. However, SBS managed to hit a home run in 2019 with the baseball series "Hot Stove League," garnering a 19.1 percent viewership rating and winning an award at the WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival.
The network hopes to hit another ratings home run in the sports drama genre with the upcoming series "Racket Boys," which portrays junior badminton players.
"Sports dramas have been considered difficult to become hits. But what's different is that our series will cover the core value of badminton, unlike previous series that only included sports as a portion or a concept of the overall storyline," series director Jo Yeong-gwang said during an online press conference, Tuesday. "So the actors have been training really hard as if they were real badminton players."
The show follows a junior high school badminton team from a small town. A city kid named Yoon Hae-kang (Tang Jun-sang) joins the team, which is on the brink of falling apart, when his dad, Hyun-jong (Kim Sang-kyung), takes a job as its coach to rescue the team. It is written by Jung Bo-hoon, who is known for writing the tvN series "Prison Playbook."
The director, whose previous works include "Heart Surgeons" and "Hyde Jekyll, Me," explained that the series has three main themes. "Our series is about the racket boys taking on a challenge to win a national junior league, city people getting used to nature and connecting with people in a rural town, and the youths' coming-of-age story through badminton," the director said.
Emphasizing that badminton is an easily accessible sport that anyone can play, he expressed that the series will lead people to take more interest in the sport. And to do so, attention to detail was the key to making the series.
"When I first met the writer, she gave me a stack of papers the size of a phone book. It had a series of interviews with people in the badminton field… On the set, we have former coaches offering consulting on the details of the scene, like the characters' movements and postures while they play," he said.
The young actors who play the members of the team not only went through a long process of auditioning, but also underwent athletic training to prepare for their roles.
"The audition process lasted for about a month for the younger actors, which was tough, but also worth it," he said. "We wanted them to resemble professional players as much as possible and they did a good job. They would always keep themselves busy practicing badminton with each other on the set, voluntarily… the viewers will be able to see a good, exciting rally from our series."
Tang, who plays a young athlete struggling to adapt to country life, added that he took lessons for about four months before filming began. "I used to play badminton with my family and thought I was good at it. But it was a whole other thing when I actually trained. And after working really hard to look like a pro player, the result came out good," he said.
Actor Kim plays a former national team badminton player who takes a job in the countryside after going broke. As he leads the team for a chance to compete in the national league, he finds the purpose of his career.
He noted that he chose this series because it stands out from other shows coming out these days. "It has a unique story. It's a piece that will make you smile, but also make you cry at the same time," he said. "TV series usually follow trends. But when I saw this series' script, I realized that this is a series that our country really needs right now, especially when people are fed up and struggling through the pandemic."
The director also added: "the series will not only have dramatic sports competitions, but also heart-warming episodes that will touch the hearts of viewers."
"Racket Boys" is set to premiere on May 31.
Reporter : gyulee@koreatimes.co.kr
