So its midway through October and I don’t see any of the very big budget and high profile K-dramas scheduled for the remainder of the year, other than Squid Game 2 which has been perched in the 2024 holiday season for quite some time. That means anything we’ve been waiting for from the top stars or production teams are likely airing in 2025 and here’s a reminder sneak peek in case anyone forgot what’s still to air. There is multi-decade period drama Show Business with Gong Yoo and Song Hye Kyo written by award winning Noh Hee Kyung chronicling the rise of K-ent. Long finished space romance When the Stars Gossip (Ask the Stars) with Gong Hyo Jin and Lee Min Ho should finally air. There is Lee Bo Young coming back with award season bait Marry Kills People opposite Lee Min Ki and Kang Ki Young. Love her or hate her top screenwriter Kim Eun Sook has fantasy romance All the Love You Wish For with Suzy and Kim Woo Bin. Then there is IU and Park Bo Gum in When Life Gives You Tangerines which may kick off the year with a January 2025 premiere. We also have a dual male lead of Hyun Bin and Jung Woo Sung along with female lead Jeon Yeo Bin in thriller Made in Korea. And last but not least Kim Soo Hyun brings an entire clown car of talented supporting actors and actresses in Knock Off.
Pingback: Show Business with Gong Yoo and Song Hye Kyo Lead the Most High Profile K-dramas on Deck for 2025 | Parlour News Korea
Jun Jihyun and Kang Dongwook Tempest is probably the biggest production for next year. Show Business is likely not to air till early 2026 as part of the 20th anniversary event of TVN. Park Bogum also has his big budget tentpole drama Good Boy with Kim SoHyun and the very likely to be critically acclaimed drama More Beautiful Than Heaven with Kim Hyeja and Han Jimin. I’ll also add Treaure Island to the list even though Park Hyungshik is not a big star just yet but this looks to be the big SBS drama for 2025 along with Taxi Driver S3. Overall 2025 might be a banner year compared to 2024 which has been pretty quiet and underwhelming.
Wow tvN is having their 20th anniversary in 2026? I hope we get a tvN20 Awards ceremony to celebrate the works of the ten years leading up to the anniversary since the tvN10 Awards ceremony represented the works of the first ten years.
Goblin, My Mister, Mr. Sunshine, Crash Landing on You, Queen of Tears, Vincenzo, Hospital Playlist, 100 Days My Prince, Our Blues, Prison Playbook, Forest of Secrets, Mr. Queen, Hotel Del Luna, What’s With Secretary Kim, Yumi Cells, Flower of Evil, 25 21, Under The Queen’s Umbrella, Crash Course In Romance, Marry My Husband. There are just so many shows that represent the 10 years leading up to the upcoming 20th anniversary and there’s still a little less than 2 more years to go.
I love 2024 so far. Whirlwind, goodbye earth, uprising. It might be lack buzz but it doesnt lack quality for me
I’m more interested in Gong Yoo and Seo Hyun-jin’s drama!
Thank you!!!! I was just going to say where is the trunk!! A quick search says they finished filming in February of this year. I’m shocked it isn’t available yet, Anyways, I just can’t wait. Seo hyun jin is one of my bias, and Gong Yoo Oppa just has my heart. Also a part of me is seriously shipping them😊😊…… I’m shameless, I know 😂. However ask the stars is my most anticipated, my baby boy is there after all❤️
Some dramas to look forward to. Some hard pass. I hope kdrama land is starting to rise again.
Jeon Yeobeen has been replaced by Won Jian for Made in Korea. Show Business wasn’t announced as part of CJ Enm’s lineup for 2025 which could mean Studio Dragon is not co-producing the drama, it’s not airing on tvN or it’s going to air in 2026. Kang Dongwon and Jun Jihyun’s drama is going to air mid-2025 and could be eligible for Baeksang. Hyperknife with Park Eunbin and Sol Kyunggu is also looking good from the previews. Ask the Stars has begun filming their promos but still doing some reshoots.
Ask the stars is still doing reshoots? After 2 years? That’s going to be jarring to watch.
Jarring is the perfect description. This is high af budget, with a very dragged out schedule spanning years so anything less than a mega MEGA hit will probably have tvN execs banging their heads
With Gong Yoo, I will watch…
So many high profile dramas next year (a ton of them in Disney + actually). But December will see the premier of PBY’s Lightshop which might be a biggie as it’s from the makers of Moving.
Other than that, others have mentioned but JJH/KDW’s drama will be huge going in. As will KES’s drama. I’m personally very excited for Made in Korea (Hyun Bin finally!!!), Tempest, Melo
Movie (with the most exciting pairing of all) and obviously Knock Off. The awards will be fierce!
I’m expecting Knock Off, Hyperknife and Made in Korea to be gritty in the award winning, critically acclaimed way. However, I watch kdramas for romance so I prefer the ones with. Tangerine has a boring released premise so far but I trust IU to pick a good drama. Suzy and Kim Woobin’s reunion will hopefully live up to the hype. Ask the Stars… the more I hear about it and all the delays, the more uninteresting and forgettable it feels even before airing. But let’s see – I like the PD and the leads. And there are several other drama I’m keeping an eye on. But I’ll wait for actual trailers before making up my mind.
2024 was so disappointing after an amazing start with MMH, LR and QOT. JN is doing some damage repair but tbh this year isn’t it for me. We had just a few unexpected hits vs unexpected flops. Ready for 2025 where all the big dramas come in.
Not in any specific rank, my top 5: Melo Movie, Knock Off, Trunk, Nine Puzzle, North Star.
I hope Knockoff is coming early 2025 and not getting pushed back like all the other dramas seem to be these days. It’s my most anticipated one!!!