Best Cast Ensembles of 2021

It's an impressive group of leads with the best performance among those five this season by Jung Kyung Ho. But what sets this ensemble above any other is the incredible work by actor in support roles, including Shin Hyun Bin, Ahn Eun Jin, Kwak Sun Young and Kim Gab Soo. None, however, were better than Jung Moon Sung who was an absolute pure delight.

The collection here is so impressive than Kim Joo Heon is an afterthought. Lee Sun Kyun is in a role where he has to emote more and it is more physically demanding than most of his usual work but he pulls it off (although the writing asks him to do some ridiculous stuff). Seo Ji Hye continues to expand her impressive range, here playing an ultraserious detective. Park Hee Soon is an ideal private investigator and Lee Jae Won shines as a duplicitous lab assistant. The best work, however, is from Lee Yoo Young who is magnificent as the once ignored wife and now desperate mother seeking the child she is convinced is still alive. Now if only the plot for "Dr. Brain" had come close to matching the excellence of its cast...

Any show that has Park Jin Joo will just about qualify for a list of the best ensembles just by her presence. She could be in eighteen different productions a year and it wouldn't be enough. But the supporting cast also includes some excellent work from Park Won Sang, Seo Jung Yeon and Ahn Dong Goo. The two boys (Song Ha Hyun and Kim Ji Hoon) who play the young versions of Choi Woong and Kim Ji Woong are fantastic. The standout here though is Choi Woo Shik who crushes it as the insomniac, oddball artist with a unique way of resolving conflict. 

There's more guest roles here due to the show's format but Lee Je Hoon and Tang Jun Sang as the two leads that are the foundation of this cast. Tang Jun Sang went on to possibly an even better performance in "Racket Boys" but in a remarkable year for Lee Je Hoon, he totally slayed here as the downtrodden and intractable martial artist suddenly charged with being the guardian of a special teen nephew.

The sheer number of actors that appeared in "Vincenzo" should have meant that there would be some weaknesses in the casting department. But while there might be a few that are might be in the "just ok" range, the vast majority here are well above average quality. Ok Taec Yeon and Kwak Dong Yeon are marvelous as Vincenzo's antagonists. Kim Yeo Jin is a treat as an unscrupulous lawyer. And Yang Kyung Won, Seo Ye Hwa, Kim Yoon Hye and Im Chul Soo are the finest of a stellar group of character actors.