Jisoo may not be short of admirers in real life, but her reel life character Mi Rae, an overworked webtoon producer, feels the only way to get the date of her dreams is by subscribing to a dating simulation app. The BLACKPINK star makes her foray into the rom com space in Netflix’s Boyfriend on Demand. Set against the competitive world of webtoon publishing, Mi Rae hates the world of romantic clichés and even more so Yoon Song (Gong Min Jung), a webtoon artist who is a living nightmare for her, with predictable plot twists and perpetually tardy submissions.
As Yoon Song’s latest webtoon on a chaebol romance sees a dip in numbers and scathing fan comments, Mi Rae dismisses it as the absurdity of romance and the temperament of its creator. One doesn’t entirely blame her. After all, the time she spends chasing Yoon Song for submissions has already cost her a relationship, with her boyfriend walking out on her — the same boyfriend who is now getting married to someone else. Adding to her woes is her colleague and rival producer Kyeong Nam (Seo In Guk), who constantly irks her by simply existing.
Mi Rae eventually subscribes to a virtual dating simulation service called Boyfriend on Demand. The app allows its users to experience the date of their dreams. Initially skeptical, Mi Rae tries it for a lark, only to be swept into the world of a zany romance with a chaebol, played by Lee Soo Hyuk, as her suitor. As she is whisked away on fancy jets, designer wardrobes and the attention of a rich, handsome man, Mi Rae suddenly begins to understand the appeal of Yoon Song’s romantic clichés. Her new inputs send the webtoon’s ratings soaring. What begins as a one off trial soon becomes an obsession. Mi Rae upgrades to premium membership and is assigned a dating match manager, played by Yoo In Na. Soon she finds herself slipping into alternate realities and dopamine highs as she meets a series of handsome suitors — a college student played by Seo Kang Jun, a doctor played by Lee Jae Wook, a secret agent played by Ong Seong Wu, as well as K pop idol Jay Park playing himself.
From doll house like interiors to an in flight skirmish, an operating theatre and fan meets, Mi Rae is having the time of her life — all from the comfort of her home with just her headphones on. Timelines do not matter in the virtual world. She is reunited with Seo Kang Jun’s Eun Ho, now an architect, while the device even sends members mushy messages from their dates as they relive their own love stories. However, Mi Rae is in for a shock when she sees other women pouring their hearts out to her virtual boyfriend Eun Ho — the most popular date on the platform. Heartbroken, Mi Rae is advised by her dating manager that she can create her own ideal partner. She pours her fantasy into designing a sensitive man with a wild streak, dreamy eyes, a love for speed and adventure and cosy dates. Only to realise she has created someone who looks exactly like the man she considers the bane of her existence — Kyeong Nam.
Directed by Kim Jung Sik of Work Later, Drink Now, Boyfriend on Demand taps into the fantasy logic of the webtoon universe, imagining a producer who ends up reliving the very romantic scenarios of the works she creates. It’s an appealingly meta setup, complete with cutesy doll house interiors and dreamy men populating a fantastical world where everything seems picture perfect. Jisoo, who has often faced sharp criticism for her acting, should hopefully silence some detractors as she slips comfortably into the role of Mi Rae, an everyday woman juggling deadlines, difficult clients and a virtually non existent dating life. Seo In Guk once again demonstrates his ease with shifting between genres. His wry Kyeong Nam, who goes about life with a straight face — even making his confession in the most matter of fact manner — is quietly appealing. The two actors share an easy chemistry, with several charming moments between them.
However, despite its star studded ensemble, the show eventually becomes a drag, with the narrative turning loopy and repetitive — perhaps an unintended reflection of an app driven world. The writing gives neither actor much to work with. Even a seasoned performer like Seo In Guk feels underused, left circling scenes that never quite deepen the emotional stakes. The show leans heavily on its virtual reality gimmick, but beyond the novelty there is little narrative substance to sustain it.
