Netflix lays out its cards for the 2026 K-content lineup
by tccolb
Reading a good fortune for dramaland in the year of 2026, Netflix has drawn out their cards for what’s coming ahead in their latest video announcement, accompanied by a press event in Seoul. And though it’s getting harder to keep my expectations in check, it’s certainly helping to get my calendar in order for this year’s K-content lineup.
Title: The Art of Sarah
Production: PD Kim Jin-min / Writer Chu Song-yeon
Release date: February 13
Need to know: With Shin Hye-sun (Dear Hyeri) at the center of this mystery, crime-thriller, detective Lee Jun-hyuk (Mercy for None) has a troubling case to solve when our title character turns up dead. Because everything from her name to her life is a long-muddied mess of truth and lies, obscuring who she really was and how this ‟Sarah” came to be.
Title: Boyfriend on Demand
Production: PD Kim Jung-shik / Writer Namkoong Do-young
Release date: Q1
Need to know: Crossing between the virtual and reality to try her hand at romance, the office rom-com will soon have Blackpink’s Jisoo (Newtopia) growing from hate-to-love. And the other party is none other than her work rival and fellow webtoon producer Seo In-gook (Twelve).
Title: Bloodhounds 2
Production: PD/Writer Kim Joo-hwan
Release date: Q2
Need to know: Boxer buddies Woo Do-hwan (Made in Korea) and Lee Sang-yi (Good Boy) are back to reprise their roles for the crime-action’s upcoming Season 2. And this time, the webtoon-adaptation pits them against the town’s new baddie Rain (Red Swan) as well as the shady operations of an international boxing league.
Title: If Wishes Could Kill (previously Wish Your Death)
Production: PD Park Yoon-seo / Writer Park Joong-seop
Release date: Q2
Need to know: The youth horror series introduces an eerie wish-fulling app, making prey of students Jeon So-young (My Youth) and Kang Mina (Twelve) who find themselves cursed with death. This also entangles fellow schoolmates, Baek Sun-ho (Dear X), Hyun Woo-seok (Cheer Up), and Lee Hyo-je (Taxi Driver 3).
Title: Notes from the Last Row
Production: PD Kim Gyu-tae / Writer Jang Myung-woo
Release date: Q2
Need to know: Based on the Spanish play El chico de la última fila by Juan Mayorga, the Korean drama remake places literature professor Choi Min-shik (Big Bet, Exhuma) in a fraught mentor-mentee relationship with college student prodigy Choi Hyun-wook (My Dearest Nemesis). The suspense stars Heo Jun-ho (Mercy for None), Kim Yun-jin (Money Heist Korea – Joint Economic Area), and Jin Kyung (Spring Fever) as well.
Title: Teach You a Lesson (previously True Lessons)
Production: PD Hong Jong-chan / Writer Lee Nam-kyu
Release date: Q2
Need to know:Education Minister Lee Sung-min (Nine Puzzles) creates a (fictional) government agency led by Kim Mu-yeol (Queen Woo), Jin Ki-joo (Undercover High School), and Pyo Ji-joon (Good Partner) in this webtoon-adaptation. And the team is sent out to take a hard look at Korea’s education system on site and to take swift actions to address its current failings.
Title: The Wonder Fools
Production: PD Yoo In-shik / Writer Heo Da-joong
Release date: Q2
Need to know: Set back in ye olde 1999, the comedy-action adventure assembles Park Eun-bin (Hyper Knife), Cha Eun-woo (Wonderful World), Choi Dae-hoon (Pro Bono), and Im Sung-jae (Law and the City) to become our somewhat hapless but earnest superheroes. The fantasy also stars granny Kim Hae-sook (Tempest) and villain Sohn Hyun-joo (Your Honor).
Title: Mousetrap (previously The Rat)
Production: PD Kim Hong-sun / Writer Lee Jae-kon
Release date: Q3
Need to know: Based on a popular webtoon, the mystery-thriller pushes reclusive novelist Ryu Joon-yeol (The 8 Show) to make a risky offer of partnership with loan shark Sol Kyung-gu (Hyper Knife), in order to hunt down the ‟rat” who stole our desolate hero’s identity, life, and money.
Title: Our Sticky Love (previously Lovestruck)
Production: PD Kim Jang-han / Writer Mo Ji-hye
Release date: Q3
Need to know: Stirring up first love, co-habitation, and amnesia hijinks for our main pair, we begin the rom-com with the memory-less prosecutor Ha Young (THe Trauma Code- Heroes on Call) waking up one day in a countryside hospital. And she finds boxing coach Jung Hae-in (Love Next Door) by her side, who alleges to be her boyfriend.
Title: The East Palace
Production: PD Choi Jung-kyu / Writers Kwon Sora, Seo Jae-won
Release date: Q3
Need to know: King Jo Seung-woo (Divorce Attorney Shin) is the reigning monarch in this supernatural sageuk. And he appoints ghost slayer Nam Joo-hyuk (Vigilante) as well as the ghost-hearing court lady Roh Yoon-seo (The Frog) to investigate the haunting curse wreaking havoc on the palace grounds.
Title: The Scandal
Production: PD Jung Ji-woo / Writers Lee Seung-young, Ahn Hye-song
Release date: Q3
Need to know: Re-interpreting the 2003 Korean film Untold Scandal (which itself was adapted from the French novel Dangerous Liaisons), the sageuk romance involves Madam Sohn Ye-jin (Thirty-Nine) and Joseon’s Casanova Ji Chang-wook (The Manipulated) in a secret wager, with the chaste and widowed noblewoman Nana (Mask Girl) caught in-between.
Title: Dead-End Job (previously Perfect Job)
Production: PD Kim Da-min / Writers Kyung Min-sun, Lee Shin-ji
Release date: Q4
Need to know: Having been slaving away at several low-paying part-time jobs, Lee Jae-wook (Last Summer) is tempted by a curious suspicious employment agency offering 50 times more than his usual pay. But of course that is when everything starts to go terribly wrong. The fantasy-horror and mystery also stars Go Min-shi (Tastefully Yours), Kim Min-ha (Typhoon Family), and Lee Hee-joon (Karma).
Title: Road (working title)
Production: PD Han Joon-hee / Writer Jo Yoo-jin
Release date: Q4
Need to know: Adapted from the popular manhwa/manga Blue Road, the investigative crime-thriller partners Korean detective Sohn Seok-gu (Nine Puzzles) with Japanese detective Nagayama Eita (Even If You Don’t Do It) to solve an international murder case. The series is headlined by Kim Shin-rok (Tastefully Yours), Choi Sung-eun (Last Summer), and Jung Jae-young (On the Verge of Insanity) as well.
Title: Take Charge of My Heart
Production: PD Park Su-won / Writer Song Yoo-chae
Release date: Q4
Need to know: Sparks are flying in this fantasy rom-com with our chaebol Kim Young-kwang (Trigger) ailing from a battery-powered artificial heart. But never fear because Chae Soo-bin (When the Phone Rings) is here in this webnovel-adaptation and she can save his days forever more with her electric superpowers that literally re-charge our hero’s heart.
Title: Tantara (previously Show Business)
Production: PD Lee Yoon-jung / Writer Noh Hee-kyung
Release date: Q4
Need to know: Rolling out the red carpet back to Korea’s entertainment industry across the 1960s to 1980s, Song Hye-gyo (The Glory) and Gong Yoo (The Trunk) are at the center of this period story playing childhood best friends. And as we follow their journey, we’ll also encounter song composer Cha Seung-won (Mercy for None) as well as aspiring singer Honey Lee (Aema) and her daughter Seolhyun (Light Shop).
In addition to the list above, the following dramas are said to be streaming internationally on the platform (availability may differ by region):
- JTBC’s We Are All Trying Here (previously Everyone Struggles With Their Self-Worth), coming Q2
- SBS’s Sold Out on You (previously Sold Out Again Today), coming Q2
Netflix will also be releasing 4 original films over the course of 2026:
- Pavane, starring Go Ah-sung, Byun Yo-han, Moon Sang-min (Q1)
- Husbands in Action, starring Jin Seon-gyu, Gong Myung (Q2)
- Mission: Cross 2, starring Hwang Jung-min, Yeom Jung-ah (Q3)
- Possible Love(working title), starring Jeon Do-yeon, Sol Kyung-gu (Q4)
As well as 8 variety shows (outside of the currently airing Single’s Inferno 5):
- Agents of Mystery 2 (February)
- Ready or Not: Texas (Q1)
- Better Late Than Single 2 (Q2)
- Jae-seok’s B&B Rules (Q2)
- Kian’s Bizarre B&B 2 (Q3)
- Take a Hike (Q3)
- Culinary Class Wars 3 (Q4)
- The Devil’s Plan 3 (Q4)
The full video can be seen below!
Via Sports Donga
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