Long awaited TV drama “Reply 1988” will air its first episode Friday night at 7:50 p.m., with 16 episodes expected to unearth who becomes the husband of main character Hyeri, of Girls’ Day, in a similar style to U.S. sitcom “How I Met Your Mother.”

Entries in the retro “Reply” series -- “Reply 1997” (2012) and “Reply 1994” (2013) -- have all taken retrospective plotlines that comb through the female lead’s childhood friends in order to determine who her present-day husband is.

Hyeri (tvN)

Producer Shin Won-ho affirmed the “husband hunt” factor at a press conference held Thursday. He said, “Romance is the key quest that pierces through ‘Reply 1988.’ In order to compose a cohesive story we had to center it on a ‘and-they-lived-happily-ever-after’ ending. Also, first love’s nostalgia is a subject writer Lee Woo-jung is fond of.”

The four main husband candidates of Hyeri are as follows:

1) Junghwan (Ryu Joon-yeol)

Ryu Joon-yeol (tvN)

Junghwan is a typical “bad boy” whose only passion is soccer. He complains a lot, never gives into anyone easily, and is taciturn and unfriendly to everyone including his family. “Yes,” “No” and “I don’t know” are the most he would say to his parents.

Playing the part of Junghwan is rising star Ryu Joon-yeol, who debuted in 2014 with the short film “Midnight Sun.” In 2015 he successfully pulled off his feature-length role as broadcast jockey Yang-ge in “Socialphobia.” He also starred in “Glory Day” next to K-pop group EXO’s Suho and acted in a supporting role in Kim Soo-hyun’s TV drama “Producers.”

2) Sunwoo (Go Kyung-pyo)

Go Kyung-pyo (tvN)

Sunwoo is the class president of Ssangmun High School and a teachers’ pet. All the neighborhood moms want him as their son. He is popular between friends for his gentle and caring personality.

The actor for Sunwoo’s role, Go Kyung-pyo, has previously played in blockbuster Korean films “Roaring Currents” (2014) and “Coin Locker Girl” (2015) as a supporting actor. He also appeared in TV dramas “Cantabile Tomorrow” (2014), “Potato Star 2013QR3” (2014) and “Standby” (2012).

3) Taek (Park Bo-gum)

Park Bo-gum (tvN)

Taek is a genius Go player who entered the professional league at the age of 11. He earned the title as the youngest champion in the field at 13 and stayed on the throne from 1988 to present day. He is the highest-earning Go player, whose only friends are childhood friends Duksun, Junghwan, Sunwoo and Dongryong.

Acting as Taek is the hot rookie Park Bo-gum. He debuted with the movie “Blind” in 2011 and played in the TV drama “Cantabile Tomorrow” in the role of Lee Yoon-hoo. He also did supporting work “Coin Locker Girl” as the kind Sukhyun, who extends a helping hand to the main actress. Park is also a host on KBS2 entertainment program “Music Bank.”

4) Dongryong (Lee Dong-hui)

Lee Dong-hui (tvN)

Dongryong is the youngest member of the five-son family, who has conquered the school in terms of dancing. Called a “lizard in the backstreets,” there is no choreography he can’t copy. Although he may not be able to remember a single word in English, he can reproduce a dance routine he has seen once to a degree of perfection. He is always fast with information on where pretty girls gather and where to watch R-rated videos.

Dongryong’s role is taken by Lee Dong-hui, who will appear in Suzy’s upcoming film “The Sound of a Flower.” He debuted with the 2012 film “South Bound” and expanded his filmography with “Cold Eyes” (2013), “Way Back Home” (2013), “No Tears for the Dead” (2014), “Tazza - The Hidden Card” (2014), “Fashion King” (2015) and “Veteran” (2015). He’s also acted on the small screen, in “Gunman in Joseon (2014)” and “Divorce Lawyer in Love (2015).”

“Reply 1988” will premiere Friday at 7:50 p.m. on channel tvN.

By Lim Jeong-yeo (kaylalim@heraldcorp.com)

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