8 of the best new K-drama series in September 2023: A Time Called You and Song of the Bandits on Netflix, The Worst of Evil on Disney+ and more
There are a number of K-drama productions launching in September, among them some high-concept shows, including a Manchuria-set Western and two time-travel romantic dramas.
We preview eight of the best series debuting during the month.
1. A Time Called You
Lead cast: Ahn Hyo-seop, Jeon Yeo-been
The classic Korean timeslip romance gets a new twist in the coming Netflix melodrama A Time Called You.
Jeon Yeo-been (Glitch) plays Han Joon-hee, who in the present is struggling to get over the death of her boyfriend Ku Yeon-joon (Business Proposal’s Ahn Hyo-seop) a year ago.
One day, she finds herself transported back to 1998, into the body of high school student Kwon Min-woo. At Min-woo’s school she meets student Nam Shi-heon, who looks eerily like her late lover, and is beloved by all at school.
With cassette players, bike rides during summer showers and tender youthful romance, A Time Called You is awash in nostalgia. (Netflix, September 8)
2. Arthdal Chronicles: The Sword of Aramoon
Lead cast: Lee Joon-gi, Shin Se-kyung, Jang Dong-gun, Kim Ok-vin
Arthdal Chronicles, once the most expensive Korean drama of all time, returns with a new season.
Song Joong-ki and Kim Ji-won no longer feature in the main cast, but their characters remain, this time played by Lee Joon-gi (Flower of Evil) and Shin Se-kyung (Run On), who join returning players Jang Dong-gun and Kim Ok-vin. The Great Battle filmmaker Kim Kwang-sik takes over directing duties.
Set eight years after the first season (and shot four years later), The Sword of Aramoon will continue the story of Eun-seom (Lee), who fights for his tribe in the mythical land of Arth. (Netflix, September 9)
3. Han River Police
Lead cast: Kwon Sang-woo, Kim Hee-won, Lee Sang-yi, Bae Da-bin
Next month, Disney+ will run the action comedy Han River Police. The series will follow a police squad that tackles cases that take place on and along the Han River bisecting South Korea’s capital.
Kwon Sang-woo (Curtain Call) stars as the idealistic but short-tempered police officer Han Doo-jin, while Kim Hee-won (Moving) portrays his partner and polar opposite Lee Cheon-seok. Also working at their police station are Do Na-hee (Love Alarm’s Bae Da-bin) and Kim Ji-soo (Shin Hyun-seung of Adamas).
The series will also feature Lee Sang-yi of Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha and Bloodhounds. (Disney+, September 13)
4. The Day
Lead cast: Yoon Kye-sang, Park Sung-hoon, Yu-na, Kim Shin-rok
Yoon Kye-sang (Kiss Sixth Sense) leads the cast of the black comedy The Day, playing Kim Myung-joon, a down-on-his-luck man who needs money for his daughter’s hospital bills.
His ex-wife approaches him with a scheme to kidnap Choi Ro-hee (Yu-na, Pachinko), a rich couple’s child, and in desperation he accepts.
On the way to do the job, he accidentally hits Ro-hee. She loses her memory and they begin living together – she thinks Myung-joon is her father. Myung-joon wants to return her to her parents, but stumbles into a deep and dark mystery. (ENA, September 13)
5. 7 Escape
Lead cast: Um Ki-joon, Hwang Jung-eum, Lee Joon, Lee Yoo-bi, Shin Eun-kyung, Yoon Jong-hoon, Jo Yoon-hee
The writer and director and many cast members of hit prime time melodrama The Penthouse return for another slice of over-the-top soap opera thrills in 7 Escape.
The title refers to seven characters who become connected following a girl’s disappearance. Among them are The Penthouse veterans Uhm Ki-joon, Shin Eun-kyung and Yoon Jong-hoon as tech kingpin Matthew Lee, OB-Gyn Cha Ju-ran and Cherry Entertainment CEO Yang Jin-mo respectively.
The show also stars Hwang Jung-eum (Men Are Men) as drama production company head Geum Ha-ree and Lee Joon (Bloody Heart) as former gangster Min Do-hyeok. Rounding out the main cast are Lee Yoo-bi (Yumi’s Cells) and Jo Yoon-hee (Beautiful Love, Wonderful Life). (SBS, September 15)
6. Song of the Bandits
Lead cast: Kim Nam-gil, Seohyun, Yoo Jae-myung, Lee Hyun-wook, Lee Ho-jung
Kim Nam-gil returns in the action-packed Netflix spectacle Song of the Bandits. Echoing the modern film classic The Good, The Bad, The Weird, the show takes place in Manchuria and follows Korean characters who move there during the Japanese colonial occupation of northeast China for different reasons.
Kim is Lee Yoon, who used to work for the Japanese military but now marauds on the Manchurian plains as a bandit. The show also stars Girls’ Generation’s Seohyun (Private Lives), Yoo Jae-myung (Itaewon Class), Lee Hyun-wook (Mine) and Lee Ho-jung (Nevertheless). (Netflix, September 22)
7. Twinkling Watermelon
Lead cast: Ryeoun, Choi Hyun-wook, Seol In-a, Shin Eun-soo
Ryeoun (The Secret Romantic Guesthouse) appears in this youth romance drama as Eun-gyeol, a student born to deaf parents who possesses a musical gift.
After visiting a magical instrument store, he finds himself transported to the past, where he winds up forming a band with Yi-chan (Choi Hyun-wook, Twenty-Five, Twenty-One), Se-Kyung (Seol In-a, Business Proposal) and Cheong-a (Shin Eun-soo, A Model Family), who, like his parents, is also hearing-impaired.
Yi-chan has a crush on Se-kyung, who is a cello prodigy. (TvN, September 25)
8. The Worst of Evil
Lead cast: Ji Chang-wook, Wi Ha-joon, Im Se-mi
Ji Chang-wook (If You Wish Upon Me) and Wi Ha-joon (Squid Game) team up for the Disney+ thriller The Worst of Evil.
Ji is police officer Park Joon-mo, who goes undercover to infiltrate a pan-Asian drug gang run by the charismatic Jung Ki-cheol (Wi). Joon-mo is married to fellow police officer Yoo Ui-jung, played by Im Se-mi (True Beauty).
The series is co-directed by filmmakers Han Dong-wook (Man in Love) and Park Geum-num (Girl on the Edge) and written by Secret Reunion scriptwriter Jang Min-su. (Disney+, September 27)
