Disney+ has revealed its K-Drama lineup for this year, which includes seven original shows. This includes the period drama series Uncle Samsik, which serves as Parasite star Song Kang-ho’s first major TV project.
“The new Korean originals announced today really builds on the positive momentum and success of our APAC content slate last year,” Disney executive Carol Choi said in a statement (via Deadline). “We will continue to scale our creative ambition with a curated collection of APAC originals, centered on quality storytelling and top talent, in collaboration with the region’s most exciting storytellers.”
What are the new K-Dramas debuting on Disney+ in 2024?
Blood Free – will follow the story of a former bodyguard haunted by the failures of his past. After diving down a rabbit hole of tangled leads, he finds himself recruited to protect the CEO of a controversial lab-grown meat company who is also a survivor of the fateful attack that changed his life. The drama will be led by Kingdom’s Ju Ji-hoon and Moving’s Han Hyo-joo.
Unmasked – will be taking place in modern-day Seoul. It follows a crack team of investigative journalists who are fighting for their careers after broadcasting a controversial story. With time running out, the team are given an impossible task if they want to save their jobs – solve a twenty-year-old cold case involving a famous actor who disappeared without a trace. The series will star Signal and Under The Queen’s Umbrella actress Kim Hye-soo.
The Tyrant – Described as an action-packed spy thriller, the series follows a U.S. government agent as he tries to recover a deadly new virus stolen from the South Korean government. With everything at stake, the drama sees global intelligence agencies battle against nefarious parties to prevent the virus spreading across the world.
Gangnam B-Side – is a crime drama following a pariah detective pulled back into the game after his daughter’s friend goes missing. The latest in a long line of women to go missing in the Gangnam area of Seoul, the detective will delve back into a world of vice, drugs and corruption to uncover something that threatens to topple some of the city’s wealthiest elite.
Uncle Samsik – is described as a societal drama set in 1960s Korea, which will center around an idealistic politician, and a mysterious political fixer called Uncle Samsik who operates in the shadows. Together the pair form an uneasy partnership with the goal of transforming a struggling post-war Korea into a prosperous country where everyone can afford three meals a day. Besides the Song, the series will also be led by Mr. Sunshine alum Byun Yo-han.
Light Shop – is based on the popular webtoon by Kang Full. It is expected to be set in the same universe as last year’s coming-of-age fantasy drama Moving. The new series will follow a group of strangers, each struggling to come to terms with a traumatic event in their past. Going about their daily lives, each individual is mysteriously drawn to a light shop that sits at the end of a seedy alleyway. Guarded by a vigilant shopkeeper, the light shop could hold the key to the strangers’ pasts, presents, and futures. It will star Park Bo-young, Ju Ji-hoon, Bae Sung-woo, Uhm Tae-goo, Lee Jung-eun, Seolhyun, and more.
The Zone: Survival Mission Season 3 – Popular variety host Yoo Jaesuk and Girls’ Generation member Kwon Yuri are set to return for a brand new season of the hit variety show, which will feature also two other new hosts in the form of former UFC fighter Kim Dong-hyun and Single’s Inferno alum Dex. Together, the foursome will get up to more hijinks than ever before as they try to survive an increasingly complex range of challenges.