Rating: 0/10 | Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy | Seasons: 1 | Episodes: 12 | Status: Returning Series
Starring: Lee Jun-young, Son Hyun-joo, Lee Ju-myoung, Jeon Hye-jin, Jin Goo
I just finished “Reborn Rookie” and honestly? It’s a mess. Not in the fun, chaotic way. Just in the “why did I keep watching” way. The premise is genuinely interesting. A ruthless chairman wakes up in a young soccer player’s body and decides to get revenge on his family. That’s solid. That’s the kind of high concept that should work. But somewhere between the script and the screen, this show just falls apart.
The 0/10 rating on TMDB should have been my first clue, but I went in hopeful. I figured maybe it was one of those polarizing shows that people either love or hate. Nope. It’s just not good. It’s not even bad in an entertaining way. It’s boring and frustrating, which is somehow worse.
Season 1
The first episode sets things up pretty clearly. Lee Jun-young plays Kang Yong-ho, this wealthy chairman who’s about to hand over control of his company to one of his kids. He gets betrayed, ends up dead, and wakes up in the body of a young soccer player. Cool. Now he’s got muscles and youth and all this business knowledge, so he’s going to climb back up and destroy his family in the process.
The problem starts immediately. The show doesn’t know if it wants to be a revenge drama or a sports underdog story, so it keeps bouncing between the two and fails at both. The soccer stuff feels generic and tacked on. The revenge plot moves at a glacial pace. By episode four, I was already checking my phone during scenes that should have been tense.
Lee Jun-young does his best, but he’s not given much to work with. His character’s supposed to be this cold, calculating businessman, but the writing makes him come across as just… awkward in a young guy’s body. There’s no real wit to it. No charm. It’s just uncomfortable in the way the show doesn’t seem to realize it is.
Son Hyun-joo shows up as someone connected to Yong-ho’s past, and she’s probably the strongest part of the cast. At least her scenes have some energy. But even she can’t carry a show this poorly structured. The supporting cast is fine. Jin Goo’s there, Jeon Hye-jin’s there. Nobody embarrasses themselves, but nobody shines either.
The real issue is the pacing. Twelve episodes should be enough to tell this story with some momentum. Instead, everything feels stretched thin. We get long scenes of nothing happening, followed by plot developments that feel rushed and unearned. The betrayal that kicks off the whole story never lands emotionally because we don’t care about these people yet. By the time we’re supposed to root for Yong-ho’s revenge, I was just hoping the show would end.
The finale doesn’t really wrap things up either. It sets up a second season, which means the whole first season was basically just setup. And not even interesting setup. Just spinning wheels while we wait for something to happen.
Look, I’m not saying everyone will hate this. Maybe there’s an audience for slower-paced revenge dramas mixed with mediocre sports storylines. But if you’re on the fence about it, don’t waste your time. There are so many better shows out there doing similar things. This one just doesn’t justify the twelve hour commitment. Have you seen anything recently that scratched that revenge drama itch better than this did?
Episode Guide
Season 1 (12 Episodes)
Episode 1: Putting a Price Tag on a Dream
Chairman Kang Yong-ho announces that he’ll step down and choose his successor. His twins, Kang Jae-gyeong and Kang Jae-seong, instantly switch into competition mode. Jun-hyeon finally signs with Choiseong FC. On the way to celebrate it with his grandma, he gets hit by a car. After finding out he can’t continue his career, he focuses on the hit-and-run driver of the accident.
Episode 2: Episode 2
Episode 3: Episode 3
Episode 4: Episode 4
Episode 5: Episode 5
Episode 6: Episode 6
Episode 7: Episode 7
Episode 8: Episode 8
Episode 9: Episode 9
Episode 10: Episode 10
Episode 11: Episode 11
Episode 12: Episode 12
Where to Watch
Streaming availability varies by region. Check your favorite streaming platform to see if this title is available in your country.