2011/SBS If you're looking for a drama that pushes boundaries, then this is definitely not what you're looking for. This one is all about continuing on the success of a formula that works well. As one would expect for a SBS prime time drama (previous dramas in this time slot are City Hunter, 49 Days, Dae Mul, My Girlfriend is a Gumiho and You're Beautiful), Protect The Boss delivers a solid story, solid characters, solid performances by the actors and a proper production. No surprises in this drama, you get what you expect. While I saw it being praised and highlighted because of the strong female lead, this isn't really new any more nor is is executed in an extraordinary fashion in Protect The Boss. Perhaps I have a different understanding of a strong female lead, but is not something that I would use to promote Protect The Boss for, or recommend it to someone else because of this. I'm slightly disappointed in Choi Gang-Hee's performance, but my only reference to her acting was the 2010 film Petty Romance. Her performance, I would consider superior to that in Protect The Boss. I wasn't especially impressed with Ji Sung's acting either, especially later on into the drama. He really shined in the first few episodes when acting as the paranoid and panicky Cha Ji-Hun. The plot forced his character to become normal, which was a shame. I have not seen any of his other dramas or films yet, but if anyone knows how to obtain Delicious Proposal from 2001, do let me know. I thought Jaejoong's performance was an excellent debut for Korean dramas. We should be seeing more from him in the future. His soundtrack for this drama were great as well. Definitely the best cast of the lead actors. I feel a bit bad for Wang Ji-Hye for having to play the unappealing characters such as in Personal Taste. I didn't expect the turn-around halfway into this drama though, good for her. I haven't seen any other dramas or films that cast her, I am looking forward to see one where she gets to play the lead character or at the very least something another than an annoying and spoiled Chaebol daughter. Nothing but praise for the supporting cast in Protect The Boss. Performances by company president Cha Bong Man played by Park Yeong-Gyu, his mother and veteran actress Kim Young-Ok, sister-in-law Shin Sook-Hee (Cha Hwa-Yeon), Eun-Seul's friend Myung-Ran (Ha Jae-Suk from Alone in Love) and the others are all excellent. Each is given a few moments in the last episode to close their stories properly. It comes across as a bit unnatural, but it's alright by me. The story as mentioned before is not spectacular, nor orginal or daring in any sort of fashion. It's what one would expect from a Korean drama so don't go in expecting taboo's to be broken. I was a little worried around episode 11, as the plot seemed to be coming to a halt. That was prevented by the corruption scandal twist, which worked its magic until episode 16 or 17, when the end was nearing. While there's no special recognition for the script, there are also no real complaints to be had. Even if you're watching many episodes in a short amount of time, this drama is unlikely to bore you and will keep you interested in the next episode. I am however going to have to say that I thought Secret Garden was a better execution of this concept. Everything that this drama does well, Secret Garden does just a little better. Fortunately, one doesn't have to choose between two drama's, so just watch them both if you like this particular variation of kdrama. Overall, it's a high value SBS production that does precisely what it is supposed to do, entertain. 7/10 http://www.reddit.com/r/KDRAMA/comments/lyv15/protect_the_boss???_???_2011sbs_easy_watching_710/