Television series
The Legend of the Blue Sea
A mermaid from 500 years ago wakes up in modern Seoul and meets a con artist who may be her soulmate reincarnated. It's a romantic fantasy-comedy that swaps between magical wonder and everyday screwball charm, anchored by two leads with real chemistry. Perfect if you want something that treats impossible love seriously while never taking itself too seriously.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you like a romance where the fantasy premise is played for laughs and the leads have real chemistry, with a con-artist caper streak running underneath.
Skip it if you need a tight plot and quick pacing, since twenty episodes give the romance and the scams plenty of room to meander.
What it asks of you: Expect a long haul of about twenty episodes, with a light, playful tone that shifts toward something more earnest now and then, and it rewards patience more than close attention.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
Crash Landing on You2019
Same network, same chemistry magic. A South Korean heiress falls for a North Korean soldier. It's romance, comedy, and emotional depth in perfect balance—Lee Min-ho's energy channelled into a different actor, but that same warmth and humour.
But If you want pure fantasy, this one's grounded in geopolitics. Slower in places, and some plot threads feel uneven.
Goblin Slayer2018
Another Korean fantasy-romance about impossible reincarnated love across centuries. Gorgeously shot, genuinely funny, and the chemistry between its leads is electric. It nails the tonal balance you loved in Blue Sea.
But Longer commitment at 16 episodes. Melodrama in the back half can feel overwrought to some viewers.
My Love from the Star2013
A 400-year-old alien lands in modern Korea and falls for an actress. It invented the template this show follows—fish-out-of-water romance, comedy, mystery, and warmth. Essential viewing if you loved the magical-meets-mundane tone.
But It's 21 episodes. The ending divides people on whether it sticks the landing.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Legend of the Blue Sea
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Amélie2001
Both use fantasy logic to explore loneliness and the strangeness of finding your person. Both believe in magic as a metaphor for love making the ordinary world bearable.
An eccentric woman who's lived in isolation discovers love and connection in modern Paris. It shares Blue Sea's romance-through-whimsy approach: magical thinking applied to real people, beauty in everyday moments, a protagonist learning how to be human.
But French, not Korean. Much more surrealist and art-house. Subtitles and a completely different visual language.
More like this (4)
What's Wrong with Secretary Kim2018
Park Seo-joon and Park Min-young have the same easy, flirtatious chemistry as your leads. Workplace romance, light fantasy elements, genuinely funny banter. Less grand but more consistently entertaining.
But Simpler story. If you want epic scope and magical stakes, this is smaller in scale.
Descendants of the Sun2016
High-stakes romance between a soldier and a surgeon in a war zone. Glossy, exciting, and you feel the weight of both the action and the emotional commitment between them.
But Less comedy, more melodrama. Grittier and less fantastical—it trades wonder for realism.
She Was Pretty2015
A woman pretends to be prettier to impress her first love, a magazine editor. Light, charming, with real comedy moments and surprisingly heartfelt. Park Seo-joon again, radiating charm.
But The premise is dated. Relies on beauty-standards humour that lands unevenly now.
Splash1984
Your show is essentially a remake of this, but with Joseon Dynasty reincarnation mythology and Korean sensibility woven through. Watching both shows you how the same story becomes completely different depending on culture and era.
A mermaid falls in love with a man in New York. It's the ancestor of your show—the same premise, but played as '80s rom-com magic. Charming, funny, emotionally direct, and oddly touching about what it means to cross worlds for love.
But Dated special effects. Tom Hanks is younger and less worldly than you might expect. The tone is broader and sillier.
People
Cast
Production
- Park Young SooExecutive Producer
Recommended by
Guardian: The Lonely and Great God, Hotel del Luna, Tale of the Nine Tailed, Kill Me, Heal Me, The Bride of Habaek 2017, Lovely Horribly