I had great expectations of this completely pre-produced drama, despite the worrying delays in getting it into a viewing schedule. The story looks interesting, the cast was pretty and it seemed to continue the conversation about humanity and artificial intelligence started so compellingly by the earlier I'm Not a Robot.

However, four episodes in (this show suffers from the annoying episode break-up they use to slip ads into kdramas), I've had to drop it. The plotting is pedestrian and the characterisation slapdash, which is really unusual for a kdrama. I started watching Episode 4 (7-8), wandered away and realised I wasn’t even watching it anymore. I was that bored.

The show is basically the standard ‘corporation as saeguk royal family’ thing with the overbearing King, the scheming Prime Minister, the arranged marriage, the spoiled Princess and the impoverished female lead interloper caught up in their schemes. The robot almost seems incidental as though it’s their ‘hook’ for making the same show they always make.

Everyone is raving about Seo Kang-joon’s performance as the Chaebol Prince/Android double but to me it’s all over the place (although a lot of that may be the writing). They’ve also given him this infuriating tic of winking when he’s being a human lie detector, which just comes off as stupid. Gong Seung-yeon is also uninspiring in her role as a disenchanted former fighter and current bodyguard but again this is due to the writing and I feel the actor can't be blamed for doing the best in such a poorly-constructed role.

It does not help that season 3 of the far-superior Humans has started in the UK and it’s actually exploring the themes this show is glossing over.