Hit the Top

Hit the Top is a South Korean television series starring Yoon Shi-yoon, Lee Se-young, Kim Min-jae and Cha Tae-hyun. The drama aired on KBS2, from June 2 to July 22, 2017, on Fridays and Saturdays at 23:00 (KST) for 32 episodes.

Hit the Top is the first drama directed by Yoo Ho-jin, who directed the third season of variety show 2 Days & 1 Night; and the directorial debut of Cha Tae-hyun, who also co-starred.

Synopsis
In the year 1993, pop idol Yoo Hyun-Jae accidentally travels through time to 2017. Discovering that he mysteriously disappears in 1994 and is presumed dead, he begins to investigate into the reason for his disappearance while trying to adjust to life in the future. Meanwhile, Lee Ji-Hoon is an aspiring musician and is secretly enrolled as an idol trainee at Star Punch Entertainment. Ji-hoon struggles to hide this from his parents, who believe he has been studying for his civil service exams.

Main

 * Yoon Shi-yoon as Yoo Hyun-jae
 * A popular Korean pop idol from the 1990s and the lead partner of performing duo J2 . Known for his good looks, talent, and controversies, he accidentally time travels to 2017 and helplessly tries to adjust to the modern way of living. Lee Ji Hoon's biological father.


 * Lee Se-young as Choi Woo-seung
 * A cheerful, perky student who is also preparing with Lee Ji-hoon for the civil exam. After finding out about her boyfriend's infidelity with her roommate, she reluctantly moves in to Ji-hoon's apartment.


 * Kim Min-jae as Lee Ji-hoon
 * He is Lee Gwang-jae's foster child. Despite preparing to take a civil service exam, he is secretly struggling to become an idol at Star Punch Entertainment. It is later revealed that he is the son of Yoo Hyun-jae and Hong Bo-hee.


 * Cha Tae-hyun as Lee Gwang-jae
 * Lee Ji-hoon's adoptive father and World Planning Entertainment's CEO. Currently running a desolate management firm, he used to be Yoo Hyun-jae's hotshot manager. For years, he has harbored a one-sided love for Hong Bo-hee.

World Entertainment

 * Yoon Son-ha as Hong Bo-hee
 * Lee Ji-hoon's mother. Once a very famous K-pop singer in the 90s, her controversial relationship with Hyun-jae has led to her career's demise and now manages a bakery adjacent to the firm. She continuously tries to make a comeback to the entertainment industry.


 * Dong Hyun-bae as MC Drill
 * An aspiring rapper who secretly lives with best friend Ji-hoon at the latter's loft. A fellow idol trainee at Star Punch, he also harbors a secretive past, such as his military enlistment.


 * Lee Deok-hwa as Lee Soon-tae
 * President of Entertainment Management Association and the chairman of World Entertainment who ceaselessly tries to fund it despite its dismal state.

Star Punch Entertainment

 * Hong Kyung-min as Park Young-jae
 * The other half of J2 who was constantly overshadowed by his duo partner Hyun-jae. He currently manages Star Punch Entertainment using the latter's lost musical works that he secretly keeps in his office.


 * Im Ye-jin as Cathy
 * Chairwoman of Star Punch who is constantly critical of Young-jae.


 * Cha Eun-woo as MJ
 * One of Star Punch's popular idols, and a frequent recipient of works from Hyun-jae's lost musical material, which he is forced to claim as his own.


 * Bona as Do Hye-ri
 * An idol trainee who is on the brink of debuting. However, she is always pressured by her weight and appearance which keeps her from being presented to the music scene.

Others

 * Lee Han-soo as Mal-sook
 * Lee Jung-min as Heol-re
 * Son Soo-min as Beol-ddeok
 * Choi Seung-hoon as Shin Hwa
 * Kim Seung-hyun
 * Lim Sung-min
 * Kim Ji-hyun
 * Choi Ri-yoon
 * Ha Nam-woo
 * Lim Ji-seob
 * Kim Tae-bin
 * Hong Seok-yoon
 * Lee Ha-na
 * Yoon Sun-ah
 * Choi Jung-eun
 * Lim Yoo-mi
 * Yoon Kab-soo
 * Kim Young-hee
 * Lee Sung-hoon
 * Gong Min-gyu
 * Kim Yong-jae
 * Kim Ji-eun
 * Han Hyong-gyu
 * Lee Young-rae
 * Choi Nam-uk
 * Kim Do-yoon
 * Nam Seung-woo
 * Lee Ri-na
 * Ryu Ba
 * Uk Sa-na
 * Park Mi-hyo
 * Choi Seul-gi
 * Ko Jin-myung
 * Seo Hee
 * Kim Ji-yeon
 * Jo Moon-young
 * Kim Hyong-gyu
 * Kwon Hyuk
 * Seo Hye-jin
 * Choi Jung-eun
 * Ahn Nyu-mi
 * Lee Soo-min
 * Choi Yoo-sol
 * Min Do-hee

Special appearances

 * Kim Byung-chan
 * Son Bum-soo as Gayo Top 10 MC (Ep. 1)
 * Ko Chang-seok as Photographer (Ep. 1)
 * Shin Seung-hwan as Noryangjin Academy Instructor (Ep. 1)
 * Kim Sook as Kim Sook, a student and one of MJ's fans (Ep. 1–3, 8, 17–18)
 * Shorry J as Soo-jin, an ex-Star Punch Entertainment trainee (Ep. 1)
 * Park Hyuk-kwon as Director Park (Ep. 1, 7)
 * Choi Hwa-jung as herself, radio DJ (Ep. 1–2)
 * Kim Jun-ho as a karaoke customer (Ep. 1) / doctor (Ep. 3)
 * Kim Dae-hee as a karaoke customer (Ep. 1) / car crash victim (Ep. 2)
 * Jung Da-eun as reporter
 * Lee Kwang-soo as Yoon-gi, Choi Woo-seung's ex-boyfriend (Ep. 1–2)
 * Semmi as Choi Woo-seung's roommate (Ep. 1–2, 25)
 * Ahn Gil-kang as a criminal suspect (Ep. 2)
 * Choi Kwon as policeman interrogating Choi Woo-seung (Ep. 2)
 * Defconn as himself (Ep. 3)
 * Jang Hyuk (Ep. 3)
 * WJSN as Star Punch trainees (Ep. 4)
 * Monsta X as themselves (Ep. 4)
 * Kwon Ki-jong as a food delivery man/referee (Ep. 5)
 * Lee Yoo-jong
 * Kim Dong-hyeon as music producer at Star Punch Entertainment (Ep. 7)
 * Kim Il-joong as Challenge Music Star (TV show) host (Ep. 7–8)
 * Kim Jong-min (Ep. 8)
 * Jang Jae-young as MC at talent show (Ep. 10)
 * Lee Soon-jae as man at the convenience store
 * Yoon Ji-on as Detective
 * Kan Mi-youn as Ha Soo-young (Ep. 16)
 * Lee Soo-ji as a phishing scammer (Ep. 21)
 * Lee Ju-shil as Chairwoman Oh of Jongno Entertainment (Ep. 25, 28)

Production
Hit the Top is the second "variety-drama" produced by KBS after The Producers in 2015. It is produced by director Seo Soo-min, who is currently the chief producer for KBS's Happy Sunday programming block and the former PD of the now-defunct program Gag Concert. Seo also worked on a few episodes of The Producers.

Chorokbaem Media, the company behind The Producers, was tapped to produce Hit the Top for KBS. Sitcom writer Lee Young-chul (Potato Star 2013QR3, High Kick! and Once Upon a Time in Saengchori) is penning the script. The first script reading took place on April 3, 2017, in Sangam-dong, Seoul, South Korea.

Ratings

 * In the table below, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.
 * NR denotes that the drama did not rank in the top 20 daily programs on that date.