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After a slowdown in new casting items following this year’s unusually long Chuseok holiday season, production companies and agencies are back to work, matching stars with juicy future K-drama projects. Read on to find out more. 1. Wonderful New World Lim Ji-yeon and Heo Nam-jun are set to headline the coming time-travel-themed romantic comedy Wonderful New World, which will air on SBS next year. Having drawn some of the best reviews of her career in the recent period drama The Tale of Lady Ok, Lim returns to Korea’s Joseon era (1392-1897) as Kang Dan-sim, a despicable woman who is poisoned as punishment for her evil deeds. When she wakes up, she finds herself in the year 2026, in the body of struggling actress Shin Seo-ri. Heo will appear as Cha Se-kye, the heir to a major family-run conglomerate known for his haughty attitude. He bumps into Seo-ri one day, initially mistaking her shamanic attire and odd behaviour for cosplaying. Lim, known to audiences around the world for her villain role in The Glory, will next be seen opposite Squid Game star Lee Jung-jae in Nice to Not Meet You. This year, Heo appeared in When the Stars Gossip and the recently concluded A Hundred Memories. 2. Kin and Sin The cast and streamer have been set for the family-themed gangland tale Kin and Sin, which will be headlined by Han Suk-kyu (Dr. Romantic) and Yoon Kye-sang (The Frog). Joining them on this Netflix Original series will be Choo Ja-hyun (Little Women), Yoo Jae-myung (Tempest), Kim Jong-soo (Low Life) and Go Doo-shim (Curtain Call). The noir drama will focus on three powerful crime families who tussle for control of Jeju Island: the Bu Clan are in charge of the island’s pig farming and horse racing, the Yang Clan control real estate development, and the Go Clan maintain sway over gambling. Han, who just appeared in Shin’s Project, will play Bu Yong-nam, the head of the Bu Clan; Yoon, recently seen in The Winning Try, will feature as his half-brother Bu Geon, whose role in the family is precarious. Choo and Go are on board as other Bu Clan members, while Yoo and Kim will portray the leaders of the Yang and Go groups. Kin and Sin will be directed by Choi Jung-yeol, who previously helmed the show Start-Up. 3. Beauty in the Beast Lomon (All of Us Are Dead), Moon Sang-min (Wedding Impossible) and Kim Min-ju (Hear Me: Our Summer) will join the Netflix fantasy romance Beauty in the Beast. Kim will appear as teenager Ha Min-soo, one of the world’s last remaining werewolves, who leads her life under the strict supervision of her father. She has surpassed her instincts, but now she is experiencing something for the first time that could change all that: love. Moon will play Kwon Hae-joon, a dashing school senior whose dazzling smile hides a secret pain. Lomon will feature as Lee Do-ha, another werewolf, who only takes on his beastly form when he is chasing down drug dealers. Lomon is currently shooting season two of All of Us Are Dead, and Kim, a former member of the Korean-Japanese girl group Iz*One, is now on set for the JTBC series Shining. Moon will next be seen in the period drama To My Beloved Thief. Beauty in the Beast is being written by Jin Han-sae, known for Extracurricular and Glitch, while Jin Hyuk (The Tale of Lady Ok) will handle the directing duties. 4. Flex X Cop season 2 The popular show Flex X Cop, starring Ahn Bo-hyun as a corporate heir who becomes a police officer, was already confirmed for a second season last year, but because of production schedule clashes, co-star Park Ji-hyun revealed at the time that she would be unable to reprise her role. The search for her replacement may have come to an end, as Jung Eun-chae (Jeongnyeon: The Star Is Born) is currently in discussions to appear in the sequel series. Jung is being eyed for the role of Joo Hye-ra, a completely new character rather than a recast of Park’s Detective Lee Gang-hyeon. Hye-ra, formerly a member of a counterterrorism squad, is set to become the new leader of Violent Crimes Unit 1, taking over after Gang-hyeon departs for training in America. She will now be overseeing Ahn’s chaebol-turned-detective, Jin Yi-soo. Jung will next be seen opposite Lee Na-young and Lee Chung-ah in the legal drama Honour.
