appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Pierce Conran

Lead cast: Kim Rae-won, Son Ho-jun, Gong Seung-yeon
Latest Nielsen rating: 5.1 per cent
The First Responders returns for a new season of heroics and derring-do – and it is off to a better start than the first season.
While the show features a simple premise – a detective, a firefighter and a paramedic teaming up to save lives in emergency situations – the balance between its characters, played by Kim Rae-won, Son Ho-jun and Gong Seung-yeon, was uneven when the show launched on Disney+ in 2022.


With their return this summer, the roles of Jin Ho-gae (Kim), Bong Do-jin (Son) and Song Seol (Gong) are more clearly drawn, and season 2’s challenges give them all a chance to shine.
The First Responders is largely an episodic show, with background story and downtime for its leads kept to a minimum, but this year we have a main villain connecting each of the weekly emergencies.
The First Responders: Kim Rae-won leads emergency rescue K-drama
The antagonist is a mysterious and diabolical arsonist, who is challenging the team by setting off blazes in buildings that throw the first responders into hot situations.
While the fires are eventually put out, as the smoke dissipates bodies are found – the results of elaborate murders committed by the arsonist.
Firefighter Do-jin, nicknamed “Bulldog”, and paramedic Seol get to be the heroes while they pull out and resuscitate people from the various buildings engulfed in flames, while Ho-gae, who goes by the name “Jindo Dog”, is on the trail of the arsonist.
There is something of a battle of egos between Bulldog and Jindo Dog, and they tend to step into each other’s territory.

Bulldog does some good old-fashioned detective work to identify a rare pipe cutter used in one of the incidents, while Jindo Dog tends to muscle his way into the danger zones – sometimes he gets in the way, other times he lends a crucial supporting hand.
Between this pair is paramedic Seol with her calming presence, who spends her time putting them in their place. It’s a role that can come across as old-fashioned.
She has fewer heroic moments than her male co-stars, and even when she saves a man injured in a building collapse, she then needs to be saved in return.

Beyond her limited role in emergencies, Seol largely occupies the role of mother and lover. She occasionally tends to Ho-gae’s wounds and is also now Do-jin’s romantic partner. In a running joke, he keeps trying to pop the question but is always interrupted.
Anyone jumping back into the show generally knows what to expect, but season two wisely ups the ante straight away by introducing its villain and increasing the aura of mystery and danger around him.
Ho-gae goes to prison to meet Ha Young-doo (Choi Won-young), a despicable serial arsonist responsible for 49 blazes and over a dozen deaths, to try to learn more about the person he is after.
9 of the best new Korean drama series to look out for in August 2023
During the chilling Hannibal Lecter-esque interview that follows, the heavily scarred Young-doo waxes lyrical about the uncontrollable nature of fire. In his eyes he is not a murderer – he merely unleashed a terrible force that devours of its own accord.
After this season’s first major action set-piece, the team discovers a charred corpse in a car. A grisly autopsy follows, during which we learn that the man was deliberately trapped in the car and alive at the time of the fire.
We also learn that the body belonged to someone known to the team. He was the belligerent man who refused to move his car for emergency vehicles all the way back during the team’s first joint operation in The First Responders’ debut episode last year. This arsonist clearly has it out for our heroes, but why?

Compared to other episodic K-dramas revolving around heroic figures – usually those scrubbing up in the operating theatre – The First Responders is considerably less concerned with depth of character, which puts it in line with classic American procedural series, the kind that are purely interested in week-to-week cases.
This means the show’s set pieces lack some of the emotional pull of series such as Dr. Romantic, the recent third season of which was particularly effective, but it also means that there is a lot more time for the action and suspense.
The show’s narrow objective makes it a refreshingly clear viewing experience – offering no-fuss action-suspense that you can drop in and out of at any time without worrying about missing major plot points.

We can just sit back and watch Ho-gae, Do-jin and Seol save lives until they can unmask and put a stop to the arsonist.
The First Responders season 2 is streaming on Disney+.


Netflix K-drama The Wonderfools review: Park Eun-bin lifts fun but flawed superhero romp

HBO Max K-drama The Legend of Kitchen Soldier: Park Ji-hoon leads winning military comedy

Netflix K-drama My Royal Nemesis: Lim Ji-yeon leads period-infused fantasy romantic comedy

Disney+ K-drama Gold Land: crime thriller with Park Bo-young is polished but lacks urgency

Korean drama reviews

Disney+ K-drama The First Responders season 2: action-suspense drama picks up the pace in exciting new episodes

Kim Rae-won as Ho-gae in a still from K-drama “The First Responders”, which drops its second season on Disney+.

Son Ho-jun as Do-jin in a still from “The First Responders” season two.

Gong Seung-yeon as Seol in a still from “The First Responders” season two.

K-drama My Lovely Liar: Kim So-hyun, Hwang Min-hyun lead cutesy fantasy romantic comedy

Hwang Min-hyun (left) as publicity-shy songwriter Kim Do-ha and Kim So-hyun as Mok Sol-hee, known as the Liar Hunter for her ability to tell if someone answers a question truthfully or not, in a still from K-drama series “My Lovely Liar”.

Hwang Min-hyun as Kim Do-ha in a still from “My Lovely Liar”.

Kim So-hyun as Mok Sol-hee in a still from “My Lovely Liar”.

The 15 best K-drama OSTs of all time that you should add to your playlist, from Squid Game and Itaewon Class to Descendants of the Sun and Secret Garden

Jo Jung-suk in a still from “Hospital Playlist”.

The main cast of the K-drama series “Hospital Playlist”, one of the shows we recommend for their fantastic soundtracks. 

Netflix K-drama The Uncanny Counter season 2: hit fantasy action series goes bigger on its return but loses some of its charm

Jo Byeong-gyu in a still from “The Uncanny Counter” season 2. The Korean drama series is back after a near-three-year absence, but has lost some of its charm.

Kang Ki-young as Hwang Pil-kwang in a still from “The Uncanny Counter” season 2.

Jin Seon-kyu as fireman Ma Joo-seok in a still from “The Uncanny Counter” season 2.

Yu Jun-sang as counter Ga Mo-sak in a still from “The Uncanny Counter” season 2.

Kim Se-jeong as Do Ha-na in a still from “The Uncanny Counter” season 2.

K-drama Longing for You: Na In-woo, Kim Ji-eun lead thriller overstuffed with family and love triangle elements

Na In-woo as rural detective Oh Jin-sang in a still from “Longing for You”. The K-drama sees three people in law enforcement attempt to track down a serial killer.

Ren as Oh Jin-woo in a still from “Longing for You”.

Kim Ji-eun (left) as Go Young-joo and Kwon Yool as Cha Young-woon in a still from “Longing for You”.

Kim Ji-eun as Go Young-joo in a still from “Longing for You”.

Kwon Yool as Cha Young-woon in a still from “Longing for You”.

Disney+ K-drama review: Revenant – Kim Eun-hee’s occult drama starring Kim Tae-ri builds to chilling and cathartic climax

Kim Tae-ri in a still from “Revenant”.

Kim Tae-ri as occult sleuth Gu San-yeong in a still from “Revenant”, a chilling Korean drama now streaming on Disney+.

Kim Tae-ri (left) and Oh Jung-se as occult sleuths Gu San-yeong and Yeom Hae-sang, respectively, in a still from “Revenant”.

Hong Kyung as detective Lee Hong-se in a still from “Revenant”.

Oh Jung-se in a still from “Revenant”.

Lifestyle

K-drama

Entertainment

Culture

Film & TV

K-Pop

The Disney+ K-drama is largely an episodic show, with background story and downtime for its leads kept to a minimum, but this year we have a main villain
The show’s no-fuss action-suspense narrative means you can drop in and out of the series at any time without worrying about missing major plot points


Action-suspense drama The First Responders drops its second season on Disney+ – and this time, the main characters face off against a mysterious and diabolical arsonist.
