2023 has been an extremely successful year for OTT platform Disney+ in South Korea, as it strikes big with various popular dramas, from “Moving” to “Big Bet”.
As a result, expectations for 2024 K-dramas from Disney+ are higher than ever, and below is a comprehensive list, as revealed by the platform.
1. The Impossible Heir
- Release date: February 28, 2024
- Genre: Thriller, Business, Political, Revenge
- Main cast: Lee Jae-wook, Lee Jun-young, Hong Su-zu
“The Impossible Heir” starts as Kang In-ha (Lee Jun-young), who leaves his life of poverty behind after learning that he is an illegitimate son of a conglomerate owner. Shunned by the members of his new family, In-ha enlists the help of his childhood friend Han Tae-oh (Lee Jae-wook) to come up with a plan to take over the company and seize their spots at the top of society.
2. Blood Free
- Release date: April 2024
- Genre: Thriller, Drama, Sci-Fi
- Main cast: Joo Ji-hoon, Han Hyo-joo, Lee Hee-joon, Lee Moo-saeng, Park Ji-yeon
“Blood Free” tells the story of a new era of cultivated meat consumption in which animal meat has disappeared from the human dining table. As the biotechnology enterprise BF, which has ended the millions of years of domination and subjugation between humans and animals, dominates the culture meat market and shows rapid growth, the drama starts to follow the story of those who begin to harbor suspicions on the whereabouts of the CEO of BF.
3. Uncle Samsik
- Release date: May 2024
- Genre: Military, Historical, Business, Drama
- Main cast: Song Kang-ho, Byun Yo-han, Lee Kyu-hyung, Jin Ki-joo, Seo Hyun-woo
Set in the early 1960’s, “Uncle Samsik” depicts the friendship and desires of Samsik (Song Kang-ho) and Kim San (Byun Yo-han).
Kim San graduated from the Korean military academy and then went to the United States to study economics at a university. He returns to South Korea with a dream to help turn the country into an important industrial nation. Samsik appears in front of Kim San around this time and says that he supports his dream.
4. Gangnam B-Side
- Release date: 2nd Half, 2024
- Genre: Crime, Action
- Main cast: Ji Chang-wook, Jo Woo-jin
“Gangnam B-side” follows a pariah detective pulled back into the game after his daughter’s friend goes missing, the latest in a string of women to go missing in Seoul’s affluent Gangnam District.
The detective delves back into a world of vice, drugs and corruption to uncover something that threatens to topple some of the city’s wealthiest elites.
5. Light Shop
- Release date: 2nd Half, 2024
- Genre: Mystery, Horror
- Main cast: Joo Ji-hoon, Park Bo-young, Bae Sung-woo, Uhm Tae-goo, Seolhyun
Penned by the writer of “Moving”, “Light Shop” depicts the stories of the living and the dead whose worlds intersect through a mysterious shop that sells lamps.
6. The Tyrant
- Release date: 2nd Half, 2024
- Genre: Sci-fi, Action
- Main cast: Cha Seung-won, Kim Seon-ho, and Kim Kang-woo
As a spin-off of “The Witch” film franchise, the 4-episode series “The Tyrant” begins as a US intelligence agency discovered a secretive initiative called “The Tyrant Project” that was being conducted in Korea.
They demand that the Korean authorities terminate the program immediately. After dismantling the project, it was slated to be handed over to the US, but an unexpected incident occurred during the transfer process.
As a result, Cha Seung-won, Kim Seon-ho, and Kim Kang-woo’s characters have to embark on a journey to seize samples of the program.
7. Red Swan
- Release date: 2nd Half, 2024
- Genre: Action, Romance, Melodrama
- Main cast: Kim Ha-neul, Rain
In “Red Swan”, Oh Wan-soo (Kim Ha-neul) became a top golf player. Dreaming of having a perfect life within the upper class, she marries the successor of the Hwain Group. Now, Wan-soo works as the chairperson for a foundation and has gained worldwide fame through her charity work. She has Do-yoon (Rain) as her new bodyguard. Do-yoon, who graduated from the police university, excels in the martial arts. He joined the Hwain Group’s security team for a specific reason. Through her bodyguard, Wan-soo faces a secret of the Hwain Family.
8. Trigger
- Release date: 2nd Half, 2024
- Genre: Comedy, Office
- Main cast: Kim Hye-soo, Jung Sung-il
“Trigger” (working title) is an office comedy starring Kim Hye-soo, Jung Sung-il, and Joo Jong-hyuk set at Korea’s first Investigative Journalism Bureau.
Here, Kim Hye-soo’s character, who has a strong sense of justice, is offered the role of team leader. Her team, meanwhile, need to put their bickering aside and work together to save their mystery-documentary show before it gets slated.
Source: Disney+, Reddit, News1
