Netflix’s most-watched TV series of all time — Squid Game — may not be returning until the Christmas season, but that doesn’t mean the fall schedule isn’t filled with Korean drama series to delight, horrify, and heal.
Gyeongseong Creature is poised to return with the fallout from its season 1-ending, time-jumping twist. The Hometown Cha Cha Cha writer-director team has reunited for a romantic comedy that looks to be as heartwarming as their 2021 hit. And Baeksang Award-winning director Mo Wan-il (The World of the Married) has us all guessing what is in store with the mysterious trailer for suspense thriller The Frog. Without further ado, here are five K-dramas to watch and watch out for in the coming months.
Release date: August 10-September 19
Episode count: 12
Recommended for fans of: Unfamiliar Family, Vincenzo, Crash Course in Romance, SHINee
Korean dramas tend to do multi-generational, community-centric storytelling better than American TV, and Romance in the House is the latest example. Son Na-eun (Apink, Ghost Doctor) stars as Byeon Mi-rae, a junior exec at a big mart who wrote her deadbeat dad off years ago. Mi-rae is the primary breadwinner for her family, paying her younger brother’s way through college, and ending up in the hospital from overexertion in the opening episode. When her father, Byeon Moo-jin (Jewel in the Palace’s Ji Jin-hee), returns from the presumed dead as a handsome, middle-aged multi-millionaire and buys the apartment building the family calls home, could things change? And will Mi-rae and the rest of her family accept it? SHINee’s Minho (Yumi’s Cells) stars as Mi-rae’s workplace love interest Nam Tae-pyeong, and Kim Jee-soo (Hwarang) plays hard-working mom Geum Ae-yeon, who never stopped loving her ex. So far, this show is a delight, and yet another recent example of an international K-drama that gives ample screentime to a complicated romance between middle-aged characters.
Release date: August 17-October 6
Episode count: 16
Recommended for fans of: Hometown Cha Cha Cha, Because It’s My First Life, Crash Course in Romance
Hometown Cha Cha Cha writer Shin Ha-eun and director Yoo Je-won (also known for Crash Course in Romance) reunite for Love Next Door, a romantic comedy about two childhood frenemies reunited in adulthood. The series stars Jung Hae-in (Netflix’s D.P., Disney Pluss Connect) as Choi Seung-hyo, a young architect on the rise, and Jung So-min (Alchemy of Souls, Playful Kiss, Because It’s My First Life) as Bae Seok-ryu, a product manager who returns home after a failure to try for a fresh start, Hallmark Movie-style. Of course, the move brings the two messily back together. Shenanigans ensue, dredging up deep and complicated feelings from the past. With such a strong team both in front of and behind the camera, this is poised to be one of the most delightful K-dramas of late summer/early fall.
Release date: August 23
Episode count: 8
Recommended for fans of: The Bequeathed, The World of the Married, creepy rural murder shows
There are K-dramas that work for K-drama fans, and there are K-dramas that find a broader audience. The Frog, which comes from The World of the Married director Mo Wan-il, is the latter. The dark, psychological drama set in a rural area of South Korea is poised to pull unsuspecting viewers in with its suspenseful tale of serial killers and small town secrets, unfolding across eight episodes. Kim Yoon-seok (The Chaser, Another Child) and Yoon Kye-sang (K-pop boy band g.o.d., Road Number One) star as two men running lakeside vacation rentals in a sleepy part of Korea. To reveal too much more of the plot would be a disservice. Added bonus: Go Min-so also stars, in a very different role than her turn as ex-ballerina Lee Eun-yu in monster drama Sweet Home.
Gyeongseong Creature Season 2
Release date: TBA
Episode count: TBA
Recommended for fans of: Tale of the Nine-Tailed
Note: This write-up includes major spoilers for the ending of Gyeongseong Creature Season 1.
The first season finale of Gyeongseong Creature wrapped up most of the supernatural plot threads in its Seoul-under-Japanese-occupation setting well enough—then, it gave us a jaw-dropping mid-credits scene. In it, we see someone who looks remarkably like Park Seo-joon’s Tae-sang living in modern-day Seoul, looking not a day older than he did in 1945. While he’s called by a different name — Ho-jae — the scar on the back of his neck suggests he is in fact the same man. Given the star power of season 1 co-star Han So-hee, we can assume Yoon Chae-ok, who seemingly died in a fatal attack from her monster mother while protecting Tae-sang, will be back in season 2 as well. Will the two finally have a chance to be peacefully in love? And did Chae-ok turn monster, as season 1 suggested? And how the heck did Tae-sang stay young over the course of 80 years? Gyeongseong Creature is the rare K-drama with a stunning first season cliffhanger. While the show didn’t always make the best use of its killer premise and all-star cast, the second season is another chance for this series to become an iconic one.
Release date: TBA
Episode count: 10
Recommended for fans of: Strong Girl Namsoon, It’s Okay to Not Be Okay
Nobody wants to live life as a plankton. But that’s how Hae-jo (Oh Jung-se) exists — well, not literally. According to the Soompi synopsis for this romantic dramedy, Hae-jo “dreams of a colorful future away from his plankton-like life where he feels like he doesn’t belong anywhere and doesn’t have anyone he cares about.” Will things change when he embarks on a journey with Jo Jae-mi (Squid Game and All of Us Are Dead’s Lee You-mi), his ex and an unhappy bride-to-be? Let’s hope so. Mr. Plankton may have a silly name, but it is written by It’s Okay to Not Be Okay scribe Jo Yong, which implies tons of angst before a potential happy ending. Also starring Grey’s Anatomy and Station 19’s Alex Landi in a rare Hollywood-Korean drama crossover moment!