Streamers and broadcasters alike have reserved some major hitters for the summer season, and July promises to have a K-drama or two to suit all tastes.
1. Bitch x Rich season 2
Lead cast: Lee Eun-saem, Yeri, Kim Min-kyu
School web drama Bitch x Rich returns for a second season this summer.
In the first season, Kim Hye-in (Lee Eun-saem), despite coming from a poor background, is offered the opportunity to enrol at the top-class Cheongdam International High School after she is the sole witness to a murder there.
Baek Je-na (Yeri), once the school鈥檚 queen bee, is suspected of the murder, which creates ripples through the allegiances of her friends.
Kim Min-kyu (The Fabulous) joins the cast for season 2 as a new student. (Wavve/Viu, July 3)
2. Law and the City
Lead cast: Lee Jong-suk, Moon Ga-young
Three years after Big Mouth, Lee Jong-suk makes his long-awaited screen comeback alongside Moon Ga-young (True Beauty) in the legal drama Law and the City.
Lee plays Ahn Joo-hyung, a lawyer with a penchant for protecting the weak, being brutally honest with people and solving puzzles.
After nine years at a top firm, he has been recognised for his skills and draws a top salary. Though he has the opportunity to open his own firm and rise even further in the legal world, he is comfortable in his current workplace. That is, until his peaceful lifestyle begins to crack.
Law and the City is helmed by Park Seung-woo, who previously directed Lee in W: Two Worlds Apart. (TvN/Disney+, July 5)
Lead cast: Lee Soo-hyuk, Lee Da-hee, Arin
In the world of S Line, a new drama based on a webtoon of the same name, red lines appear over people鈥檚 heads, connecting them with people they have had sexual relations with in the past.
Lee Soo-hyuk (Doom at Your Service) plays Han Ji-wook, a dashing detective attempting to uncover the secret behind these lines, while Lee Da-hee (The Divorce Insurance) plays teacher Gyu-jin. Arin (Alchemy of Souls) plays Hyun-hob, a student who has been able to see the lines since she was born.
Director Ahn Ju-young previously made the well-regarded independent film A Boy and Sungreen. (Wavve, July 11)
4. Low Life
Lead cast: Ryu Seung-ryong, Yang Se-jong
Ryu Seung-ryong (Moving) and Yang Se-jong (Doona!) play uncle and nephew in the new Disney+ action drama Low Life.
Ryu plays Oh Gwan-seok, a criminal salvaging valuable artefacts off the coast of southern Korea. Yang plays Oh Hee-dong, who follows his uncle into a life of crime.
The series is based on the webtoon Pine by celebrated author Yoon Tae-ho (Inside Men), which was inspired by true events from the 1970s.
Directing the series is Kang Yoon-sung, known for The Outlaws and Big Bet. (Disney+, July 16)
5. The Nice Guy
Lead cast: Lee Dong-wook, Lee Sung-kyung
Following A Shop for Killers and The Divorce Insurance, Lee Dong-wook will be back on screens this July in The Nice Guy.
Lee plays Park Seok-cheol, the eldest grandson in a family of gangsters. Unlike many of his family members, Seok-cheol has a pure heart, which he reserves only for his first love Kang Mi-yeon, played by Lee Sung-kyung (Sh**ting Stars), who dreams of becoming a singer.
The show is being co-directed by filmmakers Song Hae-sung (Failan) and Park Hong-soo (Commitment). (JTBC, July 18)
6. The Defects
Lead cast: Yum Jung-ah, Won Jin-ah
Yum Jung-ah (SKY Castle) leads the series The Defects as Kim Se-hui, the chief director of a major hospital and a charity foundation.
Beneath her perfect image, she also runs an illegal adoption service and maintains the belief that only superior genes should survive. Any child that does not meet their new parent鈥檚 expectations is refunded and killed.
Won Jin-ah (She Would Never Know) plays Kim A-hyeon, a refunded child who managed to survive and grow up, and who leads a group of survivors seeking revenge against Se-hui. (ENA, July 21)
7. Try: A Miracle in Us
Lead cast: Yoon Kye-sang, Im Se-mi, Kim Yo-han
Yoon Kye-sang (The Kidnapping Day) leads Try: A Miracle in Us as Joo Ga-ram, a former rugby star whose career was ruined in the wake of a drug scandal.
Several years later, he returns to the sport to coach the high school team he once played for. He brings a lively energy to the pitch and is also reunited with his ex Bae I-ji (Im Se-mi, The Worst of Evil), who coaches the shooting team at the same school. (SBS, July 25)
Lead cast: Kim Nam-gil, Kim Young-kwang
Trigger, a new Netflix thriller starring Kim Nam-gil (The Fiery Priest) and Kim Young-kwang (Call It Love), presents a scenario in which people in Korea, a country with almost no gun crime, begin to receive firearms by post.
The series is written and directed by Kwon Oh-seung, who was acclaimed for his horror film Midnight.
Confusingly for local viewers, Trigger has the same Korean title as Disney+鈥檚 Unmasked, which launched earlier this year. (Netflix, July 25)