According to an Ilgan Sports report on February 10, Lee Je-hoon has confirmed his appearance as the male lead in SBS’s upcoming drama There’s a Chance (tentative title) , drawing early attention as one of the network’s most anticipated legal series.
There’s a Chance is a Korean adaptation of the 2018 TV Asahi drama Legal V: The Former Lawyer Takanashi Shoko . The story centers on a disbarred lawyer who, after losing his license, becomes entangled in a series of new legal cases from outside the traditional legal system. Lee Je-hoon will take on the role of the disgraced former lawyer, marking another significant genre transformation in his career.
The drama will be directed by Kwon Da-som, who previously co-directed My Demon , with the script jointly written by Jung Jin-young and Kim Eui-chan. Production is being handled by Studio S in collaboration with Artist Studio.
However, even before its broadcast, the series has begun drawing attention, and criticism, for its decision to gender-swap the lead character from the original Japanese work. A post on the online community TheQoo, which has garnered over 71,000 views and hundreds of comments, criticized the remake for abandoning what made the original work distinctive. Many commenters noted that expectations had been high for a strong female lead and expressed regret over the gender swap.
Comments on theqoo:
- This drama was fun mainly for two things: watching the female lead’s luxury fashion and enjoying the “railway bento enthusiast” angle. How are they going to change that now? Lee Je-hoon is good at comedy, but still.
- If it turns out like Hush, it’s going to flop. Oh, so that’s why it’s a Japanese drama remake.
- Why do they keep spending money to buy Japanese originals? Settings and all that aside, it’s boring and I’m not watching. Are there really no writers left? This is exactly why the drama industry is failing. The industry is seriously stagnant.
- “Han-nam Republic” (a sarcastic, derogatory expression criticizing male-centered society)
- It feels like a country desperate to coddle men.
Actress Ha-young has also confirmed her appearance and will star opposite Lee Je-hoon. With her recent global recognition through Netflix’s The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call , where she portrayed Cheon Jang-mi, expectations are rising for her on-screen dynamic with Lee Je-hoon. She is also scheduled to appear in Netflix’s upcoming series Our Sticky Love alongside Jung Hae-in.
Lee Je-hoon’s casting further strengthens SBS’s 2026 drama lineup. Earlier this year, he met viewers through Taxi Driver 3 , which recorded a peak viewership rating of 14.2% and enjoyed strong public popularity. Following the series’ success, Lee Je-hoon once again won the Grand Prize at the SBS Drama Awards, adding to his previous win for Taxi Driver 2 .
He recently completed filming for Second Signal , the long-awaited sequel to Signal . However, the drama’s broadcast has been indefinitely postponed due to past personal controversies involving co-lead actor Cho Jin-woong, who has since retired from the entertainment industry. As a result, Second Signal was also excluded from CJ ENM’s officially announced 2026 tvN drama lineup.
Sources: Daum, theqoo
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