Season 1
8 episodes Oct 26, 2016
Overview
This fantasy drama follows an indie band singer who repeatedly undergoes unwanted time slips and the girlfriend he must save from an unlucky fate.
Seasons
1 listed- Status
- Ended
- Seasons
- 1 season
- Episodes
- 8 episodes
- First aired
- Oct 26, 2016
- Last aired
- Dec 14, 2016
- Episode length
- 31m
- Network
- Netflix
Latest episode: S1 E8 Episode 8 (Dec 14, 2016)
Cast
8 people
Reviews
4 min readThe Loop We Can’t Escape
I keep thinking about the first time I watched One More Time’s trailer. There’s a moment—just a few seconds—where the lead, played by L, stares at his own reflection in a rain-streaked window. The camera lingers, not on his face, but on the glass, where the raindrops blur the line between inside and out.
It’s a small thing, but it stuck with me. Because that’s what this series does: it takes the familiar trope of a time loop and makes it feel like something you’ve lived, not just watched. Not with grand special effects or high-stakes action, but with the quiet, suffocating weight of repetition.
The premise is simple, almost deceptively so. An indie band singer, trapped in a time loop, relives the same day over and over, trying to save his girlfriend from an unseen fate. It’s Groundhog Day meets 500 Days of Summer, but with the emotional rawness of K-drama.
What makes One More Time different isn’t the mechanics of the loop—it’s the way it treats time itself as a character. Not as a puzzle to be solved, but as a prison. The series doesn’t rush to explain the rules of the loop or dazzle us with sci-fi spectacle.
Instead, it lets the repetition seep into the bones of the story, turning every small decision into something heavy with consequence.
Take the music. L, the lead actor, is also a member of the K-pop group INFINITE, and his real-life identity as a musician bleeds into the show in ways that feel organic, not gimmicky. The OST, particularly the song One More Time, isn’t just background noise—it’s a lifeline.
Buzz & Rumors
Public reportsBehind the Scenes of One More Time: The K-Drama Blending Romance, Music, and Fantasy
Hyun Wook Song’s 2016 series One More Time (Korean title: Heeojin Daeumnal) carved out a niche in South Korea’s crowded drama landscape by fusing romance, music, and a touch of the supernatural. Starring L (Kim Myung-soo) of INFINITE fame alongside Yoon So-hee, Shin Ji-soo, and Lee Tae-im, the show promised a fresh take on second chances—both in love and life. latestnetflix.com's read is that but how did this unconventional blend of genres come together, and what made it stand out?
A Genre-Bending Experiment
One More Time defied easy categorization. Marketed as a "romance, music, and fantasy" drama 
, it leaned into the growing appetite for K-dramas that mixed emotional storytelling with high-concept twists. The series followed characters navigating love and loss, with a supernatural hook that allowed for creative storytelling—though specifics of the plot’s fantastical elements remain scarce in available snippets.
The inclusion of music as a core genre wasn’t just a tagline. Given L’s background as a K-pop idol, his involvement likely brought musical performances into the narrative, though details about original soundtracks or live scenes aren’t confirmed in the evidence. Yoon So-hee, known for her roles in Who Are You: School 2015 and The Doctors, added star power, while veteran actors like Kang Nam-gil and Kim Ji-young rounded out the cast with dramatic gravitas .
Casting Choices and Chemistry
L’s casting was a major talking point. As the leader of INFINITE, his transition to acting had been rocky—critics often dismissed his early roles as stiff or underwhelming. One More Time offered a chance to prove his range, particularly in a role that demanded both emotional depth and musical talent. Yoon So-hee, fresh off her breakout in The Doctors, was a strategic pairing, balancing L’s idol-turned-actor status with her own rising credibility.
Behind the scenes, rumors swirled about on-set dynamics, though no concrete details emerge from the snippets. The series’ 6.3/10 rating on SensCritique suggests mixed reception, with some viewers praising its ambition while others found the execution uneven. Whether this was due to clashing egos, tight production schedules, or creative differences remains unconfirmed.
Production Challenges and Reception
The show’s 32-minute episode runtime was unusual for K-dramas, which typically run 60–90 minutes. This brevity may have been a deliberate choice to fit a serialized, binge-friendly format, or it could hint at budget constraints. Either way, it set One More Time apart from its peers.
Critically, the series didn’t make major waves. Its 6.3/10 rating places it in the "decent but forgettable" category, though niche fans likely appreciated its genre-blending approach. The lack of buzz around awards or major nominations suggests it didn’t break through to mainstream success, but its cult following may have kept it alive in streaming rotations.
Legacy and What’s Next
Nearly a decade after its release, One More Time remains a footnote in K-drama history—a bold but flawed experiment. Its blend of romance, music, and fantasy predated the global explosion of K-content, making it a precursor to later hits like The Legend of the Blue Sea (which also mixed romance and fantasy) or Hospital Playlist (which centered music in its narrative).
For fans of L and Yoon So-hee, the series marked a stepping stone in their careers. L continued to balance music and acting, while Yoon So-hee cemented her status as a leading lady. Whether One More Time will get a second life via streaming revivals or nostalgic retrospectives is unclear, but its willingness to take risks keeps it relevant in conversations about underrated K-dramas.
Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as unverified unless a cited source confirms it.
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