2026 new year special drama
IU and Byeon Wooseok starring 'Perfect Crown' to Song Hyekyo and Gong Yoo's "Slowly, strikingly", Shin Mina and Ju Jihoon's "The Remarried Empress", Suzy and Kim Seon-ho starring "Portraits of Delusion" and Son Ye-jin, Ji Changwook's "Scandal". In 2026, blockbuster dramas with all-time great casting are expected to continue the K-content boom.
# IUXByeon Wooseok 'Perfect Crown'
The first anticipated 2026 work being mentioned is 'Perfect Crown.' Scheduled to air on MBC in April, 'Perfect Crown' is a status-breaking romance drama set in a 21st-century constitutional monarchy Korea about Sung Heeju (played by IU), a woman from a chaebol family who has everything except noble status and finds it irritating, and Grand Prince Ian (played by Byeon Wooseok), the king's son who is sad because he cannot have anything, as they carve out their destinies. The constitutional monarchy setting featuring a grand prince and the fact that the broadcaster is MBC evokes memories of the past popular comic-based drama 'Palace.'
In particular, this work is counted among 2026's most anticipated because it brings together all-rounder actress IU (as Sung Heeju), who stirs Korea, and the ever-popular leading actor Byeon Wooseok (as Grand Prince Ian). They will portray Sung Heeju, the second daughter of a chaebol family who has everything except status, and Grand Prince Ian, a royal who has nothing besides his status, depicting an unusual romance that defies social rank and fate. IU, who swept various award shows last year with When Life Gives You Tangerines, and Byeon Wooseok, choosing his first drama since Lovely Runner, are expected to show a picture-like, beautiful chemistry.
# Song HyekyoXGong Yoo "Slowly, strikingly"
The new work "Slowly, strikingly," starring Song Hyekyo and Gong Yoo, is expected to be released on Netflix this year. "Slowly, strikingly" is a Netflix series set in the Korean entertainment industry of the 1960s to 1980s, when brutality and violence reigned, depicting the growth stories of those who had nothing but threw themselves into pursuing shining success. Originally working under the tentative title "Show Lady," Song Hyekyo and Gong Yoo as the lead female and male roles attracted attention in the broadcasting world from the planning stage for what was expected to be a blockbuster worth hundreds of billions of won.
Moreover, the script for "Slowly, strikingly" is penned by star writer Noh Hee-kyung. Known for works such as "Dear My Friends" and "Our Blues," Noh Hee-kyung, loved for her dazzling casting, distinctive voice and character appeal in each release, reunites with Song Hyekyo once again after "That Winter, the Wind Blows." Having opened the K-content door with Kingdom and simultaneously lowered global fans' barriers to Korean historical drama, Netflix raises curiosity about whether it can also lower global fans' barriers to Korean period pieces with "Slowly, strikingly."
# Shin MinaXJu JihoonXLee Jong-suk "The Remarried Empress"
If Netflix has "Slowly, strikingly," Disney+ has the highly anticipated K-content "The Remarried Empress." Adapted from the popular web novel and webtoon of the same name, "The Remarried Empress" decided to boldly retain the original setting that evokes medieval Europe—a fantasy romance featuring Nabit (Shin Mina) and Sobieshu (Ju Jihoon)—without modernizing it. Although domestic fans worried the production might evoke foreign re-enactments centered on foreigners, those concerns turned into anticipation once stills were released. Above all, the original work is known to have a strong overseas fandom, reaffirming its strength in the global content market.
The drama portrays a grand romance fantasy epic in which Nabie, the perfect empress of the Eastern Empire (played by Shin Mina), is served divorce papers by Emperor Sobieshu (played by Ju Jihoon), who has fallen for the runaway slave Rasta (played by Lee Se-young), and in accepting the divorce she demands permission to remarry Prince Heinri of the Western Kingdom (played by Lee Jong-suk), setting off the story. In addition to Shin Mina and Ju Jihoon, actors Lee Jong-suk and Lee Se-young join to form a dazzling cast lineup. On Netflix, Ju Jihoon, who recorded double-hit series with Kingdom and The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call, raises curiosity over whether he will receive praise on Disney+ as well with "The Remarried Empress," following Light Shop in the Moving universe.
# SuzyXKim Seon-ho "Portraits of Delusion"
Originally expected with the meeting of Ryu Jun-yeol and Han Sohee, "Portraits of Delusion" lifts its veil with the casting of Suzy and Kim Seon-ho. Leaving behind the noisy personal-scandal controversies surrounding the casting changes, the recast was met with applause. There were some disturbances during filming. Rumors surfaced that the production crew dumped trash in the forest at the Jeju filming site, and stories circulated that location shoots were canceled due to strained relations between China and Korea.
However, with the production's quick apology and response and the release of Suzy's still cuts, attention shifted back to the work itself. "Portraits of Delusion" tells the story of painter Yoon Yiho (played by Kim Seon-ho), who is commissioned to paint the portrait of Song Junghwa (played by Suzy), a captivating lover from around 1935 in Gyeongseong who never emerged into the world for more than half a century and is surrounded by suspicion and rumors, and as Yiho approaches her mysterious secret, the events that unfold. Director Han Jae-rim, who directed "The Face Reader" and "The 8 Show," helms the project, which is adapted from a popular webtoon.
# Son Ye-jinXJi ChangwookXNana "Scandal"
The film "Scandal," which shocked theaters when it starred Bae Yong-joon, Lee Mi-sook and Jeon Do-yeon, is reborn as a drama. Now it reunites the likes of Son Ye-jin and Ji Changwook. How the audacious subtitle of the provocative original work "Joseon men and women, the ways of love" will be realized through a bold series is the key question. The drama will be presented as a Netflix series that depicts the story of Madam Jo, a woman with outstanding talent confined to living only as a Joseon woman; Jo Won, Joseon's greatest womanizer who pursues pleasure and fun over office and advancement; their audacious and dangerous love contest; and the woman Heeyeon, who becomes entangled in that contest. It is expected to break down the walls of TV drama.
To this end, Son Ye-jin, Ji Changwook and Nana have come together. Son Ye-jin, of Crash Landing on You and Something in the Rain, chose a new drama for the first time in four years since Thirty-Nine. Ji Changwook, favored by global fans as a visual actor, will play Jo Won, Joseon's top playboy who pursues pleasure and fun rather than official advancement. Nana, praised for the Netflix series Mask Girl, will play Heeyeon, who lost her husband and lived preserving her chastity while trying to fend off Jo Won's advances, showing an even more complex inner life.
Overall, the lineup of anticipated works is concentrated among global OTT platforms led by Netflix and Disney+. This corresponds with the actual trend of most Korean drama titles preferring OTT distribution. However, there are also anticipated works slated for terrestrial broadcast, such as 'Perfect Crown.' Attention is focused on the outcome on the 2026 drama success map. <
[Photos] Provided by MBC, Netflix, Disney+, and respective agencies.
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