The 15 most anticipated K-drama series of 2026, from Scandals to Show Business

Many of our favourite K-dramas will be returning to screens with highly anticipated second seasons in 2026, while a raft of exciting new series from a dizzying array of top talent is poised to capture our imaginations during the next 12 months. Here, in reverse order, are the 15 Korean dramas we are the most excited about in 2026. 15. All of Us Are Dead season 2 Lead cast: Park Ji-hu, Yoon Chan-young, Cho Yi-hyun, Lomon This month, the first season of All of Us Are Dead marks its fourth anniversary and all signs point to 2026 being the year that fans of the Netflix zombie smash will finally get to sink their teeth into a new set of episodes. Filming is complete and everyone who survived the first season is back for more mayhem, with a few new faces joining the ride, including Kim Si-eun and Roh Jae-won, who both appeared in Squid Game season 2. 14. A Shop for Killers season 2 Lead cast: Lee Dong-wook, Kim Hye-jun It has been a much shorter wait for fans of Disney+’s A Shop for Killers, which debuted to acclaim this time last year and will soon return to our screens. After seemingly being dead all season, Lee Dong-wook’s mercenary protagonist was confirmed to be alive in the finale of the first season. With plenty of villainous characters probably none too pleased about that, there should be enough to keep him busy this year. He also has a lot of explaining to do to his grieving niece, played by Kim Hye-jun. 13. Can This Love Be Translated? Lead cast: Kim Seon-ho, Go Youn-jung First to hit our screens from this list will be this month’s Netflix romantic comedy Can This Love Be Translated?, one of two new series from Alchemy of Souls writers, the Hong Sisters. Go Youn-jung (Moving) features as a top star in need of an interpreter as she travels the world. That responsibility falls to the polyglot protagonist played by Kim Seon-ho (Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha). Despite his excellent linguistic skills, the language of love is not something one can learn from books. 12. Grand Galaxy Hotel Lead cast: Lee Do-hyun, Shin Si-ah, Lee Soo-hyuk, Lee Su-hyun The second Hong Sisters project due this year is Grand Galaxy Hotel, a spin-off of their hit show Hotel del Luna, which reunites them with Lee Do-hyun, this time playing a different character. The titular hotel is an establishment that caters to the souls of the departed. Lee plays the man who steps in to take over after the hotel’s CEO suddenly disappears, but he is hiding his own secrets. Shin Si-ah (Resident Playbook) plays the hotel’s only human employee. 11. Gold Land Lead cast: Park Bo-young, Kim Sung-cheol, Lee Hyun-wook Various airport and airline workers become involved in a criminal conspiracy in this new thriller from Hwang Jo-yoon, one of the writers of the classic film Oldboy. Park Bo-young (Our Unwritten Seoul) plays an airport security check agent who, thanks to her co-pilot boyfriend, discovers some illegal gold and is slowly drawn into the centre of a dangerous game involving a casino known as Gold Land. 10. The Remarried Empress Lead cast: Shin Min-a, Lee Jong-suk, Ju Ji-hoon Based on a popular webtoon, The Remarried Empress is a star-driven romance taking place in a fantastical kingdom. Shin Min-a (Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha) plays Empress Navier, who is shocked when her husband Sovieshu (Ju Ji-hoon, The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call) divorces her for another woman, only for Heinrey (Lee Jong-suk, Big Mouth), a handsome prince from another land, to appear before her. 9. Perfect Job Lead cast: Lee Jae-wook, Go Min-si, Kim Min-ha, Lee Hee-joon Lee Jae-wook (Alchemy of Souls) plays a jobless youth who comes across an offer that seems too good to be true. He accepts the position at the mysterious Spyder Human Resource Centre to pay off his debt, but it is not long before an investigator starts looking into the agency’s dealings. Perfect Job is co-written by Concrete Utopia screenwriter Lee Shin-ji and directed by Kim Da-min, who wrote A Killer Paradox and directed the indie favourite FAQ. 8. Road Lead cast: Son Suk-ku, Eita Nagayama Following Good News and Romantics Anonymous, Netflix continues its run of high-profile Japanese-Korean co-productions with Road. In this latest series from D.P. director Han Jun-hee, A Killer Paradox and Nine Puzzles actor Son Suk-ku will once again be playing a detective. When mangled bodies turn up in Tokyo and Seoul with bloody letters pointing to each other’s countries, Son’s Korean detective and his Japanese counterpart (Eita Nagayama, also in Good News) must team up to solve the crimes. 7. In the Net Lead cast: Kim Seon-ho, Park Gyu-young In this thriller co-directed by master filmmaker Kim Jee-woon (A Bittersweet Life) and Park Bo-ram (The Fiery Priest 2), Park Gyu-young (Sweet Home) plays a woman grieving the loss of her sister who meets a mysterious hacker played by Kim Seon-ho (Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha). In the Net is based on the 2017 mystery novel Second Sister by Hong Kong author Chan Ho-kei. 6. Perfect Crown Lead cast: IU (aka Lee Ji-eun), Byeon Woo-seok Following the acclaimed Netflix series When Life Gives You Tangerines, IU returns to star opposite Byeon Woo-seok (Lovely Runner) in Perfect Crown, directed by Park Joon-hwa (Alchemy of Souls). Set in a fictional present that imagines Korea as a monarchy, the show features the singer-actress as heiress Seong Hee-joo, who becomes entangled with the shy Prince Yian (Byeon), the second son of the king. 5. Bloodhounds season 2 Lead cast: Woo Do-hwan, Lee Sang-yi, Rain Another hotly anticipated follow-up this year is season two of the hit pugilist bromance Bloodhounds. Woo Do-hwan and Lee Sang-yi are back as the boxer buddies who use their fists to help those in need. Joining them as this season’s villain is K-pop icon Rain. While season one dealt with vicious loan sharks, this new set of episodes will take place in the world of illegal underground cage fights and gambling. 4. Variety Lead cast: Son Ye-jin, Jo Yu-ri Set in the brutal K-pop industry, Variety follows an agent hell-bent on renewing an idol group’s contract and one of the band’s obsessive young fans, who desperately wants to meet her favourite member. The latest show from Mask Girl mastermind Kim Yong-hoon is one of two major Netflix series with Son Ye-jin this year. It also features Jo Yu-ri, known for her roles in Squid Game seasons 2 and 3. 3. The Second Signal Lead cast: Kim Hye-soo, Lee Je-hoon, Cho Jin-woong The most exciting K-drama return of the year is undoubtedly Kim Eun-hee’s time slip procedural thriller Signal, which single-handedly kick-started the cable era of K-dramas a decade ago. The main cast is all back, which means that the show’s release date is up in the air – thanks to the sudden retirement of actor Cho Jin-woong after his history of juvenile delinquency was unexpectedly revealed to the public last December. Hopefully, this will not further delay what has already been an excruciatingly long wait for the return of one of the very best K-dramas of all time. 2. Scandals Lead cast: Son Ye-jin, Ji Chang-wook, Nana The French novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses is gearing up for its third Korean adaptation, following the classic 2003 film Untold Scandal with Jeon Do-yeon and the Chinese-Korean co-production Dangerous Liaisons with Zhang Ziyi. This Netflix update will once again take place in Korea’s Joseon era (1392-1897), and focus on a frustrated aristocrat (Son Ye-jin) who engages in a bet with her admirer (Ji Chang-wook), challenging him to seduce a beautiful woman (Nana) who has taken a vow of chastity. At the helm will be Jung Ji-woo, no stranger to acclaimed erotic dramas and thrillers with titles such as Happy End and Eungyo under his belt. 1. Show Business Lead cast: Song Hye-kyo, Gong Yoo One of the priciest K-dramas ever made, the Netflix series Show Business will mark the return of K-drama legend Noh Hee-kyung, the writer of Our Blues and numerous modern small-screen classics. Featuring a host of major stars headlined by Song Hye-kyo and Gong Yoo, the show will chronicle the birth and evolution of South Korea’s modern music industry, capturing the lives of a revolving cast of pop hopefuls and moguls from the 1960s through to the ’80s in scintillating period detail. For the 15 best K-dramas of 2025, read our ranking here.

The 15 most anticipated K-drama series of 2026, from Scandals to Show Business

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Second seasons of All of Us Are Dead and Bloodhounds join new series like Scandals and Show Business in our list of what’s coming in 2026

15. All of Us Are Dead season 2

14. A Shop for Killers season 2

Second seasons of All of Us Are Dead and Bloodhounds join new series like Scandals and Show Business in our list of what’s coming in 2026