Just the tip: Viu's new K-drama suspense thriller Mouse shocks in the first hour, is it worth watching?

So many shows, so little time. How do you know what's hot and what's not?

That's where our first impressions come in. We will watch the first episode of the latest series to hit your screens and tell you whether it's worth your time.

This week, we're looking at...

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Mouse (Viu)

What is it: The synopsis for this detective suspense thriller doesn't tell us much. All we know is that a young and righteous rookie policeman Jung Ba-reum (Lee Seung-gi from A Korean Odyssey) meets a psychopathic killer and his life changes irrevocably. He is partnered with Ko Moo-chi (Lee Hee-jun from Legend of the Blue Sea), a no-holds barred seasoned detective who holds the record of having the most arrests. Moo-chi has only one goal: to seek revenge on the psychopath Head Hunter who murdered his parents in cold blood when he was a child.

In addition, a new-fangled genetic test allows parents to find out if their unborn child carries a gene that makes them either a genius or a psychopath. Knowing this, would they opt for an abortion?

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What we like: Truth be told, I wasn't at all impressed with that storyline because it offered little room for imagination on what our protagonists would experience. I only watched the first episode because I have an unabashed soft spot for Seung-gi, though I later realised he only appears on the second episode.

Still, I was quite blown away after watching episode one. Quite early on, you'll understand why the drama is named 'Mouse' — a small creature that appears incapable of defending itself against bigger and more aggressive predators — and the parallels are interesting.

No spoilers here, but expect lots of spine-chilling horrors and surprises in just the first hour — each episode lasts around 85 minutes — though the time-jumping sequences might be a bit confusing.

More than one pregnant woman took the genetic test and — what are the chances — both unborn babies carry that scary gene. Does it mean we'll get two psychos in the series, or one genius who brings down the other psycho?

I also like that I see a few familiar faces in the supporting cast, like Ahn Jae-wook (Busted!), Jo Jae-yoon (Black), and Ahn Nae-sang (18 Again).

All eyes are on: Exactly who the boy Jae-hoon (played by prolific child actor Kim Kang-hoon) is, and who/what he grows up to be. I won't reveal why this character shakes up the first episode but look out.

To watch or not to watch: If you like this genre, then yes. The small bread crumbs left in the first episode are enticing enough for me to follow and they seem to promise a twisted journey to what I hope will be a sweet ending.

The gory plots also show the writer and director's appetite for the daring and unusual. But this isn't a show for your bedtime relaxation. Besides the obvious subject matter, too many characters are introduced in the first episode and it became a tad strenuous to follow who's who, especially since I don't know who will be a regular and who's a non-essential character.

If you like this, also consider: Another K-drama detective thriller Awaken, starring Namkoong Min, Seolhyun, Lee Chung-ah, and Yoon Sun-woo, which concluded its run on Korean TV in January.

A small village was plagued by a string of mysterious events 30 years ago which has never been solved. When a new series of strange incidents take place, police special task force leader Do Jung-woo (Namkoong Min) teams up with tenacious officer Gong Hye-won (Seolhyun) to investigate.

In an email interview with AsiaOne, Seolhyun – who's from the K-pop girl group AOA – said she took classes in an action school two months before the filming started because of her character's great physical abilities.

"Of course there were times when the going got tough, but keeping myself moving did make me feel closer to becoming one with Hye-won, and I felt really glad about it," she said.

Some of the most challenging scenes she did in the series included the ending in the first episode when the train went by, and the ending of episode four when a villa exploded.

The physicality of the scenes also caused co-star Sun-woo an injury.

"In the second episode, there was a scene of me running away quickly from a convenience store in the rain. During the filming, I accidentally stepped into a manhole and fell over. I remained calm and cool, but when I got home that day, my arm, knee, and even my pelvis were covered in injuries. I had about a week of inconveniences when it came to washing up and it was really tough for me," he said.

The first four episodes of Mouse are now available on Viu, iQ.com, and the iQiyi app, while the full series of Awaken is up on Viu.

kwokkarpeng@asiaone.com