All of Us Are Dead, Hellbound and Taxi Driver set for season 2; Jang Na-ra, Jang Hyuk reunite for Family – K-drama casting latest

Popular K-dramas from the past few years have been granted rare renewals, including Netflix’s high-school zombie smash hit, All of Us Are Dead
Meanwhile, Jang Na-ra and Jang Hyuk, who previously paired up on screen in 2002 and 2014, are slated to reunite for new drama Family

K-drama news

Pierce Conran

Published: 2:15pm, 11 Jun, 2022

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Early June comes with good news for fans of several hit Korean drama series – a quartet of shows from the past few years have just been granted rare renewals.

Beyond that, a popular screen couple will reunite for their third series together, while the creator and star of one of the most sensational dramas in recent memory will also be returning with a new project.

Season two of All of Us Are Dead, Hellbound and Taxi Driver

Two of Netflix Korea’s most popular shows from the past year are reportedly getting follow-up seasons.

A still from Hellbound season one. Photo: Netflix

The team behind the high-school zombie smash All of Us Are Dead released a video featuring series leads Yoon Chan-young, Park Ji-hu, Lomon and Cho Yi-hyun thanking audiences for watching the show and announced that they’ll be back for a second season.

Meanwhile, Yeon Sang-ho’s unique occult thriller Hellbound, which ended its six-episode run on a cliffhanger, is also said to be getting a second season. Shooting is expected to start next year, with a release to follow either in the second half of 2023 or in 2024.

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Also getting a renewal is the SBS action revenge drama Taxi Driver. Actors Lee Je-hoon, Kim Eui-sung, Pyo Ye-jin, Jang Hyuk-jin and Bae Yoo-ram are all returning for the new season, which will air early next year.

Family

It’s been a busy week for Jang Na-ra, who this week both announced her engagement and was revealed to be headlining a new show.

Jang Na-ra in a still from Sell Your Haunted House.

The actress will star in Family, which will be directed by Jang Jeong-do, who usually works as a CP (chief producer). She last graced the screen in the popular real-estate-themed occult comedy-drama Sell Your Haunted House.

Jang Hyuk, currently appearing on screens in the period drama Bloody Heart, is said to be considering positively an offer to co-star. The pair previously lit up the screen together in Successful Story of a Bright Girl and You Are My Destiny.

Jang Hyuk will also be seen in cinemas this summer in action thriller The Killer. Jang Jeong-do is also involved with the current or soon-to-be-aired shows Our Blues, Link: Eat, Love, Kill, and Alchemy of Souls.

The Law

Parasite star Lee Sun-kyun is returning to the small screen a year after appearing in Apple TV+’s debut Korean series Dr Brain. He will lead new series The Law, which will be helmed by director Lee Won-tae, known for The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil, an action thriller about a serial killer starring Ma Dong-seok (also known as Don Lee) that was selected for the Cannes Film Festival’s Midnight Screenings programme.

Lee Sun-kyun (right) in a still from Dr Brain. Photo: Apple

Lee Sun-kyun is set to play Eun-yong, a financial broker who puts everything on the line when he plots his revenge against a dastardly cartel. Filming for the revenge drama will begin in July, with a release date to follow in 2023 once producers have decided on which platform it will appear.

Parasite, of course, won a best picture Oscar and the cast won the outstanding ensemble award from the Screen Actors Guild. Lee most recently featured in the acclaimed political drama Kingmaker earlier this year. The actor has been very busy of late, with a number of upcoming films and series in various stages of production.

Strong Girl Nam-soon

Squid Game and All of Us Are Dead actress Lee Yoo-mi has been cast as the lead in Strong Girl Nam-soon, a sequel to the smash hit show Strong Girl Bong-soon. Writer Baek Mi-kyung returns to script the series, which will follow an unusual family in Gangnam consisting of a daughter, mother and grandmother who are gifted with superior genes that give them incredible strength.

Lee Yoo-mi (left) in a still from Squid Game season one. Photo: Netflix.

Lee will play the granddaughter, a young woman from Mongolia looking for her mother, a justice warrior who will be played by Kim Jung-eun (My Dangerous Wife), while veteran actress Kim Hae-sook (Tomorrow) will appear as the grandmother, a tempestuous butcher.

Also confirmed for the cast are Ong Seong-wu (More Than Friends) as a detective investigating a drug bust, and Byeon Woo-seok (Record of Youth) as a mysterious villain. Work Later, Drink Now director Kim Jung-sik will direct the show, which is expected to air next year.

First Lady

The Penthouse writer Kim Soon-ok and actress Lee Ji-ah are returning for the upcoming series First Lady. As in that smash hit melodrama series, Lee will play dual roles, including the title role as a Korean first lady – the wife of the president.

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Working behind the camera will be High Society and One the Woman director Choi Young-woo. The Penthouse, in which Lee played the beloved high society queen Shim Soo-ryun, as well as her long-lost sister, ran for three seasons in 2020 and 2021, and scored some of the highest ratings in the history of broadcaster SBS.

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