The choice of MBC to introduce the Disney+ original series 'Casino' on TV, following 'Moving', has shown a smooth start.
The Disney+ original series 'Casino' (written and directed by Kang Yoon-seong), which aired on MBC on 4th, recorded a nationwide and metropolitan area household viewership rating of 4.5% according to Nielsen Korea, achieving the top rating for its time slot.
In particular, the scene where Cha Mu-sik (played by Choi Min-sik) decides to run a casino bar in Daejeon with Ahn Chi-young (played by Kim Min-jae) and begins the interior construction while monologuing, “Let’s go for it,” saw a spike in the viewership rating to 5.8% (metropolitan household, Nielsen Korea), reflecting the audience's expectations for the upcoming developments.
The first episode opened with Cha Mu-sik (played by Choi Min-sik), who dominated the Philippine casino scene, being urgently arrested by the Philippine National Bureau of Investigation on charges of murdering his benefactor and president of the Philippine Caris Hotel, Min Seok-jun (played by Kim Hong-pa), and Chinese gangsters. Cha Mu-sik appeared at a press conference with handcuffs on, maintaining an expressionless face while responding grandly to reporters' questions before ultimately expressing anger with low expletives.
That day's broadcast led viewers to Cha Mu-sik's unfortunate childhood. Young Mu-sik (played by Song Min-jae), who was left at a daycare due to poverty, reunited with his mother after two years, moved to Yeongju, and continued to survive at a gambling house run by his father, Cha Kyung-deok (played by Kim Roe-ha), who frequented prison as a gangster. His mother (played by Bae Hae-sun) ran a food business, while Mu-sik survived each day running errands for the gambling games.
Although he was naturally exposed to an environment of gambling, violence, and crime, the moments when he learned letters from his father at the gambling house were the only times young Mu-sik experienced happiness. However, when his father went back to prison, the family fell apart, and Mu-sik, who moved to Daejeon with his mother, unexpectedly reunited with his daycare friend Park Jong-hyun (played by Seo Yoon-hyuk) in front of Daejeon Station. After that, Mu-sik started selling newspapers and showed exceptional talent by selling out all the newspapers assigned to him on the first day.
As time passed, the grown-up Cha Mu-sik ran an English academy in Daejeon. Later, Mu-sik met the owner of gambling machine company Daemang Electronics, Chi-young, through an introduction by the now-detective Jong-hyun (played by Lee Moon-sik), and for the first time, he was introduced to baccarat at Chi-young's invitation. After discovering casino games, Mu-sik judged that he could make a lot of money with his instinctive business sense, closed the academy, and officially opened a casino bar.
In the second episode, airing tonight (5th) at 10 p.m., a tense development unfolds as the national tax service's crackdown team storms the casino bar operated by Mu-sik. The character leading the crackdown is the cold-headed Head of Team Kang Min-jung (played by Ryu Hyun-kyung). Upon hearing the news of the crackdown, Mu-sik rushes to respond, but ultimately faces a crisis as his business partner Chi-young is arrested. Cornered, Mu-sik ultimately makes the decision to flee abroad, disappearing while leaving the domestic casino scene behind.
Additionally, the second episode will feature flashbacks of Mu-sik's high school years. The young Mu-sik (played by Lee Kyu-hyung), who struggled to survive amid poverty and an abusive family, reveals his survival instincts through street fights, petty crimes, and relationships with friends. The origin of the character 'Cha Mu-sik', and his realistic growth story, will be revealed for the first time.
MBC plans to air Season 1 of 'Casino' (a total of 8 episodes), which was released on Disney+ in 2022, every Friday and Saturday at 10 p.m., while the upcoming Season 2 will be regularly scheduled every Sunday night starting from the 27th. Previously, attention was drawn to MBC by scheduling another Disney+ original series 'Moving', and through the TV scheduling of 'Casino', MBC aims to showcase a new model of terrestrial strategy scheduling.
[Photo] Provided by Disney+.
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