Wow! The Crowned Clown knocked off Kingdom to become my favourite sageuk drama. The combination of a well written story, strong cast, excellent directing, beautiful cinematography, stirring background music and all the attention to details produced MAGIC.

The director brought out the best in all the important characters. Best performances I've ever seen in Lee Se Young (Queen Yoo So Soon), Kwan Had Hyo (Shin Chi Soo - baddest of the lot) and Jang Hwang (Eunuch Jo). I've not watched Kim Sang Kyung (Chief Royal Secretary) before, but will go searching for his previous works soon. Yeo Jin Goo (Clown Ha Seon and King Lee Hun) takes the cake though with his phenomenal acting that was so nuanced and note perfect. From the flickers in his expressions to how he used his postures, he was completely mesmerising.

There's romance to keep the romcom girl in me happy. But my favourite relationships were the ones between Ha Seon and Chief Royal Secretary, as well as between Ha Seon and Eunuch Jo. It was such a pleasure to watch their bonds evolve and strengthen.

The overall story is far from unique, but how well the story was told and the layers in all the main characters made it a truly enjoyable journey.

Highly recommended watch.